Television Menzies' first professional television role, beginning in 1998, was an eleven-episode stint on BBC's long-running medical drama
Casualty. Then he featured in director
David Attwood's made-for-TV film
Summer in the Suburbs and a series-three episode of ITV's crime drama
Midsomer Murders. In 2002, Menzies portrayed Vince in ITV's romantic comedy series
I Saw You, appeared in three episodes of
SAS drama
Ultimate Force and featured in a series-one episode of
WWII drama ''
Foyle's War. He also appeared in made-for-television film A Very Social Secretary,'' directed by
Jon Jones, which launched UK
Channel 4's spin-off station,
More4. From 2005 to 2007, Menzies portrayed
Marcus Junius Brutus, Julius Caesar's friend and later co-assassin, in the
HBO/
BBC historical drama series
Rome (2005–07). He next appeared as William Elliot in
ITV's production of
Jane Austen's classic
Persuasion, and Derrick Sington in Channel 4's feature-length drama
The Relief of Belsen, which chronicled the British liberation of
Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp at the end of
WWII. In 2008, Menzies starred in two stylistically different miniseries; the first was BBC's anthology mini-series
Fairy Tales, in an episode entitled ''The Empress's New Clothes'', where he portrayed Aidee. The second was the series finale of BBC's
Bonekickers, which followed a team of British archaeologists as they investigated mysteries and conspiracy theories surrounding historical artifacts. The next year saw Menzies return to episodic television, with roles in ITV's legal drama
Kingdom, alongside
Stephen Fry, a special episode of BBC's comedy
Pulling and several episodes of
BBC One's spy drama
Spooks.
The Deep, BBC's 2010 science fiction-thriller mini-series set on submarines in the deep waters below
Arctic ice, saw Menzies star alongside
Minnie Driver and
James Nesbitt. That same year he portrayed real-life
Naval Intelligence officer
Ian Fleming in
PBS's mini-series
Any Human Heart, an adaptation of
William Boyd's 2002
novel, which chronicled historical events through fictional protagonist Logan Mountstuart. He would go on to feature in a series four episode of ITV's
Law & Order: UK, a British adaptation of
Dick Wolf's long-running
American procedural franchise. In 2011, Menzies featured as tabloid journalist Ross McGovern in BBC Two's seven part mini-series
The Shadow Line, opposite
Stephen Rea and
Chiwetel Ejiofor. The next year, in ITV's supernatural courtroom drama
Eternal Law, Menzies portrayed a fallen angel who had become a prosecuting attorney in
York,
England. He would go on to feature in an episode of BBC Two's political satire
The Thick of It, an episode of Channel 4's political thriller mini-series
Secret State, three episodes of BBC's medical satire
Getting On, and two episodes of BBC's
Shakespearean documentary ''Simon Schama's Shakespeare''. In 2013, Menzies first appeared as
Edmure Tully, the heir to House Tully of Riverrun, in
HBO's
Game of Thrones, which was based upon
George R. R. Martin's
fantasy book series. The role was recurring, with Menzies' final appearance occurring in the 2019 series finale. That same year, Menzies starred in the series two finale of Channel 4's anthology series
Black Mirror, and a two episode stint on BBC's long-running crime drama
Silent Witness. 2014 saw Menzies portray
Maggie Gyllenhaal's bodyguard, Nathaniel Bloom, in the BBC's Emmy nominated mini-series
The Honourable Woman, and Alexander in the series premier of BBC's dog training comedy
Puppy Love. The same year, Menzies first appeared in time travel drama series,
Outlander, which is based upon author
Diana Gabaldon's best-selling
series of novels. He portrayed the recurring dual roles of Frank Randall, a 20th-century historian, and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, his brutal 18th-century ancestor. From 2015 to 2019, Menzies appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Harries,
OB/GYN to lead character Sharon, in Amazon's original series
Catastrophe.
BBC One's adaptation of
John le Carré's
espionage novel The Night Manager saw Menzies, opposite
Tom Hiddleston and
Hugh Laurie, in the role of British intelligence director Geoffrey Dromgoole, in the spring of 2016. That same year, he starred in Channel 4's series pilot
The Circuit, a comedy set at a neighborhood dinner party. In 2017, in his first voice over work on television, Menzies portrayed Mandalorian warrior Tiber Saxon on
Disney XD's animated series
Star Wars Rebels. It was announced in 2016 that Menzies had been cast as
James Fitzjames, Captain of the
Royal Navy vessel HMS
Erebus, in AMC's anthology series
The Terror. The series, based upon
Dan Simmons' 2007
novel of the same name, chronicled a fictionalized account of real-life expeditionary ships
HMS Erebus and
HMS Terror during the
third Franklin Expedition of the Arctic in 1848. That same year, he appeared as the Duke of Cornwall in
BBC Two's adaptation of
Shakespeare's tragedy
King Lear, opposite
Anthony Hopkins and
Emily Watson. In March 2018, it was announced that Menzies had been cast to portray
Prince Philip, the
Duke of Edinburgh, in seasons 3 and 4 of
Netflix's historical drama series
The Crown, opposite
Olivia Colman as
Queen Elizabeth II. His performance in the series earned him the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, in addition to nominations for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, the
British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor, the
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and the
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also a part of the ensemble cast that won the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020. Menzies was announced, in June 2019, as a cast member for the
Channel 4/
Hulu original series
This Way Up, a comedy set around the life of an
English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) teacher, from actress and writer
Aisling Bea. In January 2022, he was set to lead limited drama series
Manhunt created by Monica Beletsky, based on the book ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer'' by James Swanson.
Film Menzies' first professional film role was 2000's dramatic comedy
The Low Down, opposite
Aidan Gillen, which premiered at the
Locarno Film Festival. His next role, in Miramax's 2004 biographical drama
Finding Neverland, saw Menzies feature opposite
Johnny Depp's
J.M. Barrie, the creator of beloved children's character
Peter Pan. The next year, Menzies appeared in the romantic comedy
Piccadilly Jim, opposite
Sam Rockwell, and director
Adrian Shergold's drama
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman, opposite
Timothy Spall. He also featured in
Casino Royale, Columbia Pictures' 2006
reboot of the
James Bond film
franchise, as personal aide to
M, chief of British secret intelligence agency
Mi6. In 2007, Menzies portrayed a Naval officer on the beaches of
Normandy, opposite
James McAvoy, in the
Academy Award-nominated adaptation of
Ian McEwan's WWII drama
Atonement.
The Rose Theatre, an
Elizabethan theatre outside London, produced a short video which was shown in 2009, and featured Menzies in the role of
Mephistophilis, in
Christopher Marlowe's play
Doctor Faustus. He would go on to appear in three films in 2010. The first was Independent Pictures' adaptation of Russian author
Anton Chekhov's
The Duel, where he portrayed Von Koren. Second was Swipe Films' production of
Jackboots on Whitehall, an animated film featuring puppets. Menzies, alongside
Alan Cumming and
Timothy Spall, provided voice work for the comedy spoof, which explored the idea of Nazis invading the United Kingdom at the end of WWII. In his third film of 2010, Menzies starred opposite
Genevieve O'Reilly in the drama
Forget Me Not, an independent film which premiered at the Culver Plaza Theater in Culver City, CA. The dramatic comedy
Hysteria (2011) featured Menzies, opposite
Maggie Gyllenhaal and
Hugh Dancy, in the story of the creation of the first
Victorian era vibrator. That same year, he would feature in writer Andrew Steggall's short film
The Door, an official selection at the 28th annual
Warsaw International Film Festival, which was based upon the tale
The Door in the Wall by
H.G. Wells. In 2012, Menzies starred in director
Carrie Cracknell's
Nora, a short film inspired by the
Young Vic's theatrical production of
Henrik Ibsen's play ''
A Doll's House''. His next film was 2014's thriller
The Birthday Gift, a short film which was screened at the
Aesthetica Short Film Festival that year. Menzies would go on to star in the short film/micro-play
Groove is in the Heart, a collaboration between the
Royal Court Theatre and
The Guardian, which was screened at the
BFI London Film Festival, and submarine action film
Black Sea, a modern-day pirate thriller, opposite
Jude Law. 2016 saw Menzies feature in three films. First was director
Benedict Andrews' forbidden relationship drama
Una, which was based upon the play
Blackbird from Scottish playwright
David Harrower, followed by filmmaker James Hughes' experimental film
The Velvet Abstract, which saw Menzies provide narration, and was screened at the
New Renaissance Film Festival. Last was
Underworld: Blood Wars, the fifth installment in the
Underworld franchise, with Menzies starring as the main antagonist, Marius, opposite
Kate Beckinsale's
Selene. In August 2017, it was announced that Menzies had been cast in director Emily Harris' adaptation of
Carmilla, a fantasy film based upon the
Gothic novella of the same name by
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu.
Theatre Menzies' theatrical debut was in
Hristo Boytchev's comedy
The Colonel Bird, which ran at The Gate London in 1999. In late 2001, Menzies appeared in
Almeida Theatre's production of
Anton Checkhov's play
Platonov, an adaptation of the early, unnamed play that was Checkhov's first large scale drama. Between 2003 and 2005, Menzies would co-star in the anti-war drama ''
Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' at the
Everyman Theatre, and would portray the young teacher Irwin in
Alan Bennett's
The History Boys, which
Nicholas Hytner directed at the
Royal National Theatre. Of his role in
The History Boys, one reviewer wrote: He would go on to star in
Michael Blakemore's West End production of
Three Sisters, for which he was nominated for the
Ian Charleson Award, and the title role in
Rupert Goold's production of
Hamlet, at the
Royal Theatre, Northampton. The next year, he would feature in two productions. First was the role of Peter Trifimov in
Chekhov's
The Cherry Orchard at
Sheffield's
Crucible Theatre, followed by a turn as Harry Bagley in
Almeida Theatre's production of
Caryl Churchill's politically sexual comedy
Cloud Nine. Late 2008 saw Menzies portray Edgar opposite
Pete Postlethwaite in
Liverpool Playhouse's production of
King Lear, which continued with a run at London's
Young Vic Theatre in early 2009. In 2011, Menzies featured as Dr. Joseph Cardin, opposite
Keira Knightley's Karen Wright, in
Lillian Hellman's 1934 drama ''
The Children's Hour'', which focuses on the harmful effects of wrongful accusations and rumors. He would go on that same year to star in director
Rupert Goold's
Decade, a play presented through a series of short vignettes penned to mark the tenth anniversary of the
September 11th attacks on the
World Trade Center in
New York City.
George Farquhar's 1706 play
The Recruiting Officer, which was based upon the methods used by the British Army to recruit troops during the
War of the Spanish Succession, saw Menzies star as Captain Plume during the first quarter of 2012. The next year, he would feature in director Carey Cracknell's
Rough Cuts: Searched, at the
Royal Court Theatre, and star in
National Theatre's experimental play
The Hush, which explored the connection between sound and memory.
Wallace Shawn's monologue play
The Fever, which explored the main character's internal struggle with the morality of a privileged existence, saw Menzies perform to a micro audience at London's decadent
May Fair Hotel in early 2015. Director
Robert Icke purposely staged the play, produced by
Almeida Theatre, at the May Fair Hotel in order to assist the small audience to better internalize its meaning. That same year, he would join an extensive cast for a sixteen-hour production of
Homer's
The Iliad, performed throughout the day at the British Museum and concluding at the
Almeida Theatre, as well as being broadcast live. Working again with director Robert Icke, 2016 would see Menzies star in a modernised interpretation of
Chekhov's
Uncle Vanya prior to performing dramatic readings of selected sonnets by
Shakespeare in
Middle Temple Hall's choral programme
The Dark Lady and the Tender Churl. Two years later, Menzies would return to the Almeida in their digital theatre production
Figures of Speech, which highlighted performances of well known historical speeches. He appeared in series three of the project, which has featured artists such as
Ian McKellen,
Fiona Shaw, and
Andrew Scott. Early 2019 saw Menzies appear in the
Gate Theatre's production of
Sarah Ruhl's
Dear, Elizabeth. The play, which dramatized letters between American poets
Elizabeth Bishop and
Robert Lowell, featured two different actors each night of the show's run. Later that year, Menzies starred in
Almeida Theatre's production of
The Hunt, which was set in
Denmark and adapted from 2012's thriller film
Jagten (The Hunt). The production ran from mid June to early August 2019. His performance garnered positive reviews, with
Henry Hitchings of
Evening Standard writing, "Tobias Menzies's performance as Lucas is finely controlled — a quietly devastating portrait of a man whose lonely fight to preserve his dignity takes him to the brink of madness." In 2024, Menzies was cast as Chris in the
National Theatre's adaptation of
Alexander Zeldin's
The Other Place. The production ran from September to November 2024, and saw Menzies acting alongside actors
Emma D'Arcy and
Alison Oliver. His performance as Chris, a modernized version of
Creon (king of Thebes) in the tale of
Antigone, was highly praised by critics. Sarah Crompton for
WhatsOnStage.com wrote how he was "towering as Chris, his constantly twitching hands displaying his anxiousness even when he is at his most urbane, his rocking on his feet conveying a man on the edge, desperately fighting for control and his sanity. (Menzies) is an actor of incredible stillness too; he doesn't react, he simply seems to feel", whilst Nick Curtis for the
Evening Standard wrote that his performance portrayed "a finely detailed picture of a man who wants to be the 'fun uncle' and the matey stepdad but is implacable when his authority is challenged". Most recently,
The Other Place was transferred to
New York City for a run at
The Shed, which ran from the 31st of January to the 1st of March, 2026.
The New York Times writer Helen Shaw praised Menzies' performance, writing how he "thrum[med] with destabilizing tension", though largely criticising Zeldin's writing. Frank Scheck, writing for the website
New York Stage Review, also commended Menzies, who "compellingly convey[ed] a volcanic emotionality hiding underneath a seemingly controlled, placid surface".
Radio Menzies' first professional radio performance was 2010's drama
A Nice Little Holiday, the story of British playwright
John Osborne's 1961 besieged holiday in the South of
France, which aired on
BBC Radio 4 in September of that year. The next year, he would read an abridgement of
Matthew Hollis' biography of poet and literary critic
Edward Thomas, best known for his poem
Adelstrop, on BBC Radio 4's series
Book of the Week. In his third collaboration with BBC Radio 4, Menzies was the voice of ''John Charrington's Wedding
(2012), the second episode of a five-part series titled Ghost Stories of E Nesbit''. 2013's three-part radio drama, commissioned by BBC Radio 4, saw Menzies portray British writer and
National Trust supporter
James Lees-Milne, opposite
Victoria Hamilton as novelist
Nancy Mitford. The series consisted of three interconnected plays, based upon his WWII era journals, cataloging the decline of the English country house and titled
Sometimes into the Arms of God, The Unending Battle, and
What England Owes. That same year, he would star in
BBC Radio 3's drama
Serious Money, adapted for radio by Emma Harding from
Caryl Churchill's
play of the same name, and BBC Radio 4's political drama
Every Duchess In England, based upon
Parliament's response to England's financial crisis of 1931. In 2014, Menzies featured in a five-part series for BBC Radio 4's
Book of the Week where he read
Laurie Lee's
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, an account of his travels in 1930s Spain, in sections released over a five-day period. He would go on the next year to star as
Andy Warhol in Sarah Wooley's BBC Radio 4 drama
Fifteen Minutes, opposite
Adrian Rawlins, and a second five-part
Book of the Week series where he, along with the author, would read British travel writer
Robert Macfarlane's celebration of language,
Landmarks. 2016 would see Menzies in another series which combined literary readings and music in an episode of BBC Radio 3's
Words and Music series entitled
Trapped. The episode explored both physical and mental entrapment with readings, including authors such as
George Orwell and
Charlotte Brontë, by both Menzies and
Kate Phillips. He would also feature in BBC Radio 4's
Comment Is Free, a political and social commentary focusing on a wife, portrayed by
Rachael Stirling, who is forced to watch both the public and media eviscerate her husband's story. Once again reading for BBC radio 4's series
Book of the Week, Menzies narrated author
Philip Hoare's exploration of our fascination with water and the sea in 2017's five-part
RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAR. == Acting credits ==