Learn about Luke Thompson's stage work ahead of 'The Lives of Others'

The Bridgerton star and Olivier nominee stars opposite Keira Knightley in Robert Icke's stage adaptation of The Lives of Others this autumn.

Summary

• Luke Thompson made his professional debut at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013
• He has worked with Robert Icke on Oresteia and Hamlet
• He was nominated for an Olivier Award for A Little Life
• Thompson stars in The Lives of Others opposite Keira Knightley this autumn

Born in Southampton in 1988, Luke Thompson was raised mostly in France. He studied English and Drama at the University of Bristol prior to training at RADA. He made his professional stage debut in 2013.

To date, Thompson is best known for his role as Benedict Bridgerton, the aristocratic Regency-era dynasty’s artistic second son, in the hit Netflix romantic costume drama Bridgerton. He had his opportunity to take the lead in the most recent season earlier this year as the Prince Charming to Yerin Ha’s Cinderella-esque Sophie.

This autumn, Thompson returns to the West End in Robert Icke’s The Lives of Others alongside Keira Knightley and Stephen Dillane. Read on to learn more about his impressive theatre credits to date.

Book The Lives of Others tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Blue Stockings

In 2013, Thompson made his professional theatre debut with two shows at Shakespeare’s Globe. He played young lover Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Dominic Dromgoole, then the venue’s artistic director, which also featured the Globe’s current artistic director Michelle Terry as Titania. The production was filmed for posterity and Thompson was nominated as Best Newcomer in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and for an Ian Charleson Award.

Thompson also appeared in Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale (Paddington The Musical), about the female students of Girton College, Cambridge who fought for the right to be awarded degrees in 1897. He played Will, the protagonist Tess’s (Ellie Piercy) potential love interest.

Julius Caesar

Thompson returned to the Globe the following year as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, again directed by Dominic Dromgoole. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer was mightily impressed with his performance: “Luke Thompson's clear, fresh delivery is a constant delight, particularly his sensitively modern phrasing of Shakespeare, allowing the most familiar of Mark Antony's fine speeches to strike us anew (and gaining a great, and appropriate, roar of laughter at his mendacious ‘I am no orator’).”

Tiger Country

Later in the year, Thompson appeared in Nina Raine’s A&E-set play Tiger Country at Hampstead Theatre. Thompson played James, a junior doctor. The cast also featured Indira Varma as an ambitious registrar.

Oresteia

In 2015, Thompson first worked with director Robert Icke on Aeschylus’ Oresteia, which was part of Icke’s Greeks Season at the Almeida Theatre. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer admired “The naturalism in both Luke Thompson and Angus Wright's portrayals of Orestes and Agamemnon” and called it “one of the finest pieces of theatre I've ever seen”.

Hamlet

Thompson and Icke worked together again in 2017, when Thompson played Laertes to Andrew Scott’s Hamlet in a production that was set in a modern surveillance state. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer singled Thompson out for praise: “There's an excitement in Luke Thompson's Laertes that refreshes the stage and commands a new energy as the tragedy bounds towards its conclusion. His relationship with Ophelia reads as one of the most believable on stage.”

King Lear

When Jonathan Munby’s staging of King Lear was first performed at Chichester Festival Theatre, Thompson’s future Bridgerton brother Jonathan Bailey played Edgar. Thompson took over the role for its West End transfer in 2019. The production showcased a “superlative” performance from Ian McKellen in the title role.

A Little Life

After achieving mainstream fame with Bridgerton in 2020, Thompson returned to the stage in 2023 in Ivo Van Hove’s four-hour-long stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s harrowing novel A Little Life. James Norton, Omari Douglas, Elliot Cowan, and Thompson played four friends in New York City with numerous traumas. According to LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer: “Luke Thompson plays the beating heart of the piece: Jude’s best friend and confidant Willem. Thompson must usher the character from apathetic party boy to deeply intellectual and empathetic partner, and he is present and rooted in the show’s message of love throughout.” He received an Olivier nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Play.

Love’s Labour’s Lost

In 2024, Thompson made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as the witty Berowne in Shakespeare’s early comedy Love’s Labour Lost. The production was directed by Emily Burns (soon to direct Hay Fever in the West End), who reimagined the kingdom of Navarre as a luxury wellness resort in Hawaii.

The Lives of Others

This autumn, Thompson reunites with Robert Icke for the world premiere of the stage adaptation of German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s film The Lives of Others. Set in East Berlin in 1984, Thompson plays playwright Georg Dreyman, who is spied on by Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler (Stephen Dillane). Keira Knightley plays his girlfriend and leading lady Christa-Maria Sieland. It’s sure to be one of the biggest challenges of Thompson’s career to date, with another truly complex character to embody.

Book The Lives of Others tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: The Lives of Others artwork. (Courtesy of production)