Stephen Campbell Moore was born in London as Stephen Moore Thorpe. He was educated at
Berkhamsted School in
Hertfordshire (appearing locally in the
Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival) and trained at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, alongside
Orlando Bloom, where he was awarded the gold medal in his final year. He made his screen debut in
Stephen Fry's
Bright Young Things. He is primarily a screen actor. On stage he has performed with the
RSC and the
Royal National Theatre. Campbell Moore created the role of Irwin in the original
West End stage production of
Alan Bennett's play
The History Boys, and also played the character in the
Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong productions and in the
film version of the play. Bennett, participating in a question-and-answer session with the play's director,
Nicholas Hytner, said: "I think, of the three teachers, Stephen Campbell Moore, who plays Irwin, has the hardest job because he doesn't have the audience's sympathy until two-thirds of the way through the second act. Both Hector and Mrs Lintott have the audience on their side whereas he – who is teaching and getting results, which, in the ordinary way, parents would approve of – is not thought to be sympathetic until he reveals himself as quite vulnerable. That came as a surprise to me when I saw it rehearsed. In a sense, it takes the actors to show you what you've written". Reviewing the play for
The Guardian in May 2004,
Michael Billington wrote: "Stephen Campbell Moore makes Irwin both meretricious in his methods, yet effective in his results". In 2004, he starred as Lord Darlington alongside
Scarlett Johansson in
A Good Woman, based on ''
Lady Windermere's Fan'' by
Oscar Wilde, shot on location in
Italy. In the same year, Campbell Moore played the part of Hugh Stanbury in
Andrew Davies'
BBC adaptation of
Anthony Trollope's novel
He Knew He Was Right. In 2005, he starred as
Edward VIII alongside
Joely Richardson as
Wallis Simpson in the British television drama
Wallis & Edward. In 2008, he appeared in one episode of the television series
Lark Rise to Candleford as headteacher James Delafield, featuring alongside star
Julia Sawalha, and had
a regular role in the BBC series
Ashes to Ashes. He worked on the ABC miniseries
Ben-Hur in 2009, and appeared in the 2011 film
Season of the Witch. In 2012, he starred as Titus in
Jean Racine's
Berenice, alongside
Anne-Marie Duff in the title role, at the
Donmar Warehouse in London. Campbell Moore played the role of Viscount Hugh Trimingham in the BBC's
2015 adaptation of
L. P. Hartley's novel
The Go-Between. The same year, he played the role of
Maurice Wilkins in
Anna Ziegler's play
Photograph 51, with Michael Billington writing: "The play is also anything but a one-person show. Stephen Campbell Moore catches perfectly the obduracy and awkwardness of Maurice Wilkins, forever tugging at his slightly too-long sleeves". In 2017, he stayed in the cast of the BBC series
The Last Post despite learning shortly before the start of filming that he required surgery. An August 2018 announcement indicated that Campbell Moore would be among the new cast to join the original actors in the feature film
Downton Abbey, which started principal photography at about the same time.
Recognition and awards Campbell Moore was nominated for a 2006
Drama Desk Award for his work on the Broadway production of
The History Boys. ==Personal life==