Billy Postlethwaite

William John Postlethwaite (born 1989) is an English actor.

He is the son of actor Pete Postlethwaite,[1] and grew up in Shropshire.[2] He began training in acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2008 and graduated in 2011.[1] That same year, he made his stage debut as Grigory in the John Hodge play Collaborators.[3]

In 2017, Postlethwaite appeared in the Game of Thrones episode "Dragonstone", alongside singer Ed Sheeran in a scene that received critical and fan backlash for Sheeran's cameo.[1][4] In 2018, he had a role in Tomb Raider, a film adaptation of the video game franchise.[1] He starred as Boris Stolyarchuk in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl[5] and had a small role in Sam Mendes' war drama 1917.[6] In 2021, Postlethwaite joined the cast of Beforeigners for its second season.[7]

The actor took up the title role in Macbeth, in addition to the role of Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Watermill Theatre.[8] His performance as Macbeth received positive reviews by Judi Herman, writing for WhatsOnStage.com.[9] Macbeth had previously been portrayed by Postlethwaite's father, in 1997.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiegand, Chris (6 March 2019). "'I'm raising demons': Billy Postlethwaite on playing Macbeth in his dad's shadow". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Morton, Thomas (23 July 2017). "Billy Postlethwaite follows father's footsteps at Shropshire visitor centre". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Collaborators". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ^ Stutz, Colin (17 July 2017). "Ed Sheeran Deletes Twitter Account". Billboard. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  5. ^ Petski, Denise (23 May 2018). "'Chernobyl': Paul Ritter, Jessie Buckley, Adrian Rawlins & Con O'Neil Among Cast Additions For HBO/Sky Miniseries". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ^ Davis, Howard (14 January 2020). "1917's 1,000 Yard Stare". Scoop. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. ^ Goldbart, Max (16 November 2021). "HBO Max Drops 'Beforeigners' Season Two Trailer; Paul Kaye, Ann Akin, Billy Postlethwaite Join Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ Wood, Alex (2 July 2019). "Billy Postlethwaite to star in Watermill's Macbeth and Midsummer Night's Dream tour". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ Herman, Judi (5 March 2019). "Review: Macbeth (Watermill Theatre)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.