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Allan Corduner

Allan Corduner is a British actor whose work moves comfortably between film, television, theatre and the spoken word. Born in Stockholm on 2 April 1950, he moved with his family to London when he was one and grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London. Music and the arts were encouraged early: before acting took precedence, Corduner considered becoming an orchestra conductor or concert pianist and developed as both a jazz and classical pianist. After studying at Bristol University and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Corduner began his professional career at Newcastle Repertory Theatre. Work at Birmingham Rep and the Actors' Company followed before his West End debut in Once a Catholic. He later appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in productions including Three Birds Alighting on a Field, Ice Cream and Caryl Churchill's Serious Money, which transferred to the West End and Broadway. His stage career also includes an acclaimed Broadway performance as Etches in the musical Titanic and the role of Fritz Litten in Taken at Midnight. On film, Corduner took one of his early roles in Yentl and found his first feature-leading role as Sir Arthur Sullivan in Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy. It is a fitting part for an actor with a strong musical background and a career built on precision rather than a fixed screen persona. His film work has ranged across genres, from Defiance and Burke and Hare to Woman in Gold and Tár. Television has given him another broad run of characters, including Andrea Verrocchio in the first two seasons of Da Vinci's Demons, alongside appearances in Exile, Midsomer Murders, Dancing on the Edge and seasons five and six of Homeland. Corduner's voice has been just as versatile. He has performed in BBC Radio plays, narrated audiobooks including The Book Thief, and voiced characters in the Harry Potter games and Bloodborne. Whether seen on stage or screen, or heard without either, his career reflects an actor at ease with language, music and sharply drawn character work.