David Thewlis

David Thewlis is an English actor, filmmaker, and writer whose work spans independent British cinema, large studio franchises, television drama, animation, and theatre. He was born David Wheeler on 20 March 1963 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1984. He adopted the professional surname Thewlis, his mother's maiden name, because another actor was already registered under the name David Wheeler.

Thewlis began his screen career in British television and made his film debut in Little Dorrit in 1987. Early roles included appearances in Only Fools and Horses, The Singing Detective, Road, and the film Vroom, before he became strongly associated with director Mike Leigh. His breakthrough came with Leigh's Naked in 1993, in which he played Johnny, a volatile, articulate drifter. The role brought him major international recognition, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and established him as one of the most distinctive British screen actors of his generation.

Through the 1990s Thewlis built a varied film career in dramas, period pieces, fantasy films, and international productions. His credits from this period include Black Beauty, Restoration, Total Eclipse, Dragonheart, Seven Years in Tibet, The Big Lebowski, Besieged, Divorcing Jack, and Gangster No. 1. He often played complex, eccentric, or morally ambiguous figures, while also appearing in mainstream ensemble productions.

Thewlis reached a wider global audience when he played Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter film series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 and continuing in later entries through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. His later film work has included Kingdom of Heaven, The New World, The Omen, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, War Horse, The Theory of Everything, Macbeth, Anomalisa, Wonder Woman, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, The Amazing Maurice, and Enola Holmes 2. He has also worked as a filmmaker; his directorial work includes the feature Cheeky, and he has published fiction.