Simon McBurney

Biography

Simon McBurney is an English actor, writer, theatre director, and co-founder and artistic director of the acclaimed theatre company Complicité. He was born on August 25, 1957, in Cambridge, England. He studied English at Cambridge University before pursuing theatre training, including at the Jacques Lecoq school in Paris.

In 1983, McBurney co-founded Complicité, originally known as Théâtre de Complicité. The company became known for its innovative combination of physical theatre, movement, music, visual design, literature, and modern technology. Among its celebrated productions are The Street of Crocodiles, Mnemonic, The Elephant Vanishes, A Disappearing Number, The Master and Margarita, The Encounter, and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.

McBurney has also worked extensively in opera and directed productions including A Dog's Heart, The Magic Flute, The Rake's Progress, Wozzeck, and Khovanshchina. His work has earned numerous international honors, including the Konrad Wolf Prize and the Yomiuri Theatre Award for Best Director. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005 for his services to drama.

As a screen actor, McBurney has appeared in numerous films and television productions. His notable film credits include The Last King of Scotland (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), The Duchess (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Magic in the Moonlight (2014), The Theory of Everything (2014), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Nosferatu (2024).

Through his innovative approach to theatre and his work across film, television, opera, and radio, McBurney has established himself as one of Britain's most influential multidisciplinary theatre-makers.