Lesley Manville

Lesley Manville (Jocasta) is a multi-award-winning stage, film and television actress, known for her Emmy- and BAFTA (British Academy Television Award)-nominated role as Princess Margaret in “The Crown,” and her Academy Award- and BAFTA-nominated role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Phantom Thread. She won the Best Actress Olivier Award (2025) for her role as Jocasta in the Oedipus production directed by Robert Icke for Wyndham’s Theatre. Other recent projects include Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer” for Apple TV+ and Ryan Murphy’s “Grotesquerie.” Lesley was featured in Luca Guadagnino’s award-nominated Queer, which premiered at Venice Film Festival; Mr Burton, opposite Toby Jones and Harry Lawtey; and Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Upcoming films include: Jack of Spades, Cold Storage, opposite Liam Neeson, Winter of the Crow, and Midwinter Break. For television, she will reprise her role as Susan Ryeland in the third and final installment of Anthony Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland Murder trilogy called “Marble Hall Murders.” Lesley has worked extensively with director Mike Leigh, most notably on Another Year, for which she won the prestigious National Board of Review Best Actress Award and the London Film Critics’ Circle Award (and also received BAFTA and BIFA nominations). Other films with Mike Leigh include All or Nothing (London Film Critics’ Circle Best Actress Award), Topsy-Turvey, Mr. Turner, High Hopes, Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, and Grown-Ups. Other films include Back to Black, The Critic, Ordinary Love, Let Him Go, Misbehaviour and both Maleficent films. Lesley’s extensive television career has seen her work on many highly acclaimed and award-winning shows, including “Sherwood,” which secured Lesley a BAFTA Supporting Actress nomination. She starred in three seasons of the BBC’s “Mum,” which won her an RTS Comedy Performance Award and two BAFTA nominations. Other TV includes “Citadel,” “Magpie Murders,” "I Am Maria," "Harlots," "Save Me Too," "Talking Heads," "World on Fire," "North and South," "Cranford," and "Other People’s Children" and "Bodily Harm." Upcoming TV roles include "Moonflower Murders" and the second installment of "Citadel" for Amazon. Theatre credits include: Ghosts (Almeida, West End and BAM New York), for which she won a Best Actress Olivier Award and Critics’ Circle Award. She also received Best Actress Olivier nominations for Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Bristol Old Vic, Wyndham’s, BAM New York and LA) and Grief (National Theatre). Other recent theatre includes The Visit at the National Theatre and Talking Heads at the Bridge Theatre. Her early career was dominated by work at the Royal Court Theatre working on new plays including Top Girls; Serious Money; Rita, Sue and Bob Too, and Borderline, as well as classics such as Three Sisters, The Pope’s Wedding, and Saved. For Royal Shakespeare Company: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, As You Like It, The Philistines, and The Wives’ Excuse. For the National Theatre, credits include His Dark Materials, Pillars of the Community, Her Naked Skin, and The Alchemist. For The Old Vic: All About My Mother and Six Degrees of Separation. In the West End: The Cherry Orchard and Some Girls. Lesley was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2015 and promoted to CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2021.