Simon Kunz

The Face Everyone Knows

Simon Kunz has the face of a senior British civil servant and the résumé of an actor who has never been out of work. Born in London in 1962, he studied at the University of Warwick, which gave him the tools to understand that in this industry you survive better as a go-to supporting player than as a flash-in-the-pan star.

In 1995, he appeared in GoldenEye playing a Russian control officer. It was a brief role, but it helped him break into the machinery of big-budget productions.

He worked with Pierce Brosnan before the Bond franchise was rebooted.

The truth is, Kunz never set out to be a box office star.

He chose the path of the character actor. In 1998, he landed the role that has likely earned him the most income from image rights. He played Martin in the The Parent Trap version directed by Nancy Meyers. That butler, with flawless chemistry with Lisa Ann Walter, became a worldwide box office hit. His salary for that production was a minimal fraction compared with the film's total budget.

From the Walls of Winchester to Public Medicine

British television gave him the room to explore more complex characters. Between 2015 and 2018 he played Odda the Elder in the series The Last Kingdom. His character was a Saxon nobleman caught between loyalty to his king and his own political interests.

It was a restrained performance.

But the industry kept calling him for period projects. In 2011, he worked under Joe Johnston in Captain America: The First Avenger, bringing to life a scientist from the SSR project. His ability to project authority without raising his voice became his trademark on film sets.

In 2018, he took part in the horror miniseries Requiem, and in 2020 he joined the cast of season four of The Crown. Casting directors value the precision of his diction even more than his ability to transform physically.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2022, he appeared in the series This Is Going to Hurt playing an old-school medical consultant. Filming his scenes took just four days at a London hospital. Simon Kunz keeps building up credits without needing big marketing campaigns.

By 2024, his profile had logged a total of eighty-three official credits in film and television productions.