Douglas Hodge

Douglas Hodge, man, this guy’s done it all. Racking up some seriously heavy hardware—Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle—you name it, he’s probably dusted it off his shelf at least once. He’s one of those rare folks who bounces from stage to screen without missing a beat. Pop on Joker or Red Sparrow and there he is, slipping into a role like it was made for him. Gemini Man, The Report—he’s everywhere, honestly, and not just in the background. TV? Oh, he’s all over that too. Black Mirror, The Great, Penny Dreadful, Catastrophe, Lost In Space—he just pops up and steals the scene. And if you’ve ever seen La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway or in the West End, Hodge is the dude who absolutely owned it, both singing his heart out and scooping up the awards for it. Oh, and he was the original Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the West End. Can’t really top that for eccentric flair. The guy’s not just an actor, though—he’s worked for a decade with Harold Pinter, which is, let’s be real, kind of a masterclass in itself. He’s done a laundry list of Shakespeare and other classics at heavyweight places like the Royal National Theatre, RSC, and The Globe. Directing? Yeah, he’s got that covered too, with stints at Donmar and plenty of other stages, plus writing and composing musicals like 101 Dalmatians (yep, that one). Trained at RADA, council member at the National Theatre. Basically, Hodge is the definition of a theater geek’s hero.