Tom Burke

Tom Burke made his screen debut as Roland in the 2000 direct-to-video film Dragonheart: A New Beginning. He also appeared in the television series Dangerfield and the television film All the King’s Men in 1999. His early television credits included State of Play (2003), in which he played Syd, The Young Visiters (2003), P.O.W. (2003), Bella and the Boys (2004), The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2004), Casanova (2005), The Brief (2005), Jericho (2005), All About George (2005), Dracula (2006), Number 13 (2006), The Trial of Tony Blair (2007), Heroes and Villains (2007), In Love with Barbara (2008) and Agatha Christie’s Poirot (2009).

Burke’s film credits include the short films The Burl (2003), Squaddie (2004), The Enlightenment (2006), Supermarket Sam (2007), Anastezsi (2007) and The Collectors (2007). His first cinema role was in The Libertine (2005), followed by I Want Candy (2007), in which he played John “Baggy” Bagley, and Donkey Punch (2008), in which he played Bluey. His other film credits include Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008), Chéri (2009), Death in Charge (2009), Roar (2009), The Kid (2010), Third Star (2010), Look, Stranger (2010), The Sweethearts (2011), An Enemy to Die For (2012), Cleanskin (2012), One Wrong Word (2013), Only God Forgives (2013), The Invisible Woman (2013), The Brunchers (2013), The Hooligan Factory (2014), The Souvenir (2019), The Show (2020), Mank (2020), Blood Sugar (2020), The Souvenir Part II (2021), True Things (2021), Living (2022), The Wonder (2022), Klokkenluider (2022), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Black Bag (2025) and Winter of the Crow (2025). He is also set to appear as TBA in the 2028 film Elden Ring, which is listed as being in post-production.

On television, Burke played Bentley Drummle in Great Expectations (2011) and journalist Bill Kendall in the second series of The Hour (2012). From 2014 to 2016, he portrayed Athos in The Musketeers. His subsequent television credits include War & Peace (2016), in which he played Fedya Dolokhov; Strike (2017–present), in which he plays the title role of detective Cormoran Strike; Responsible Child (2019); The Crown (2020), in which he played Father Derek “Dazzle” Jennings; Modern Love (2021); and The Lazarus Project (2022–2023), in which he played Denis Rebrov. In 2026, he appeared in Legends as Guy and California Avenue as Cooper. He is also set to appear in the recurring role of an unspecified character in Blade Runner 2099, which is listed as being in post-production.

Burke also is part of the cast of Legends, a Netflix drama series inspired by the true story of British Customs employees who went undercover to infiltrate drug gangs.

As a theatre actor, Burke has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared at venues including Shakespeare’s Globe, the Old Vic, the Almeida Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse and the National Theatre. His theatre credits include Hamlet in Gertrude – The Cry at Riverside Studios in 2002; Lord Clifford in The Wax King, an adaptation of Henry VI, Part 3, with The Dreaming Will Initiative in 2003; Fragile Land at Hampstead Theatre in 2003; The Monument at Finborough Theatre in 2003; Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2004; Malcolm in Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre in 2005; The Incarcerator at the Old Red Lion Theatre in 2005; Stephen in The Cut at the Donmar Warehouse in 2006; Carpeta in Scenes from an Execution at Hackney Empire in 2007; Kenneth in Glass Eels at Hampstead Theatre in 2007; Don Juan in Don Juan Comes Back From the War at the Belgrade Theatre in 2007; Dermot in I’ll Be the Devil at the Tricycle Theatre in 2008; Adolph in Creditors at the Donmar Warehouse in 2008; Robert Merivel in Restoration at Salisbury Playhouse in 2009; Otto in Design for Living at the Old Vic in 2010; Greg in reasons to be pretty at the Almeida Theatre in 2011; Louis Dubedat in The Doctor’s Dilemma at the National Theatre in 2012; Greg in Reasons to be Happy at Hampstead Theatre in 2016; Freddie Page in The Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre in 2016; Posa and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos at Northcott Theatre in 2018; Johannes Rosmer in Rosmersholm at the Duke of York’s Theatre in 2019; and Trigorin in The Seagull at the Barbican Theatre in 2025.

Burke played Adolph in Creditors, which was staged by Alan Rickman at the Donmar Warehouse in 2008 and subsequently premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York in 2010. The production earned Burke an Ian Charleson Award.