Anatol Yusef is a British stage, film and television actor best known for his work in Last Orders, at The Royal Shakespeare Company and most recently for his portrayal of Meyer Lansky in the television series Boardwalk Empire.
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Anatol was born in Barking, East London, UK into a Turkish-Cypriot family.[1][2] As a teen, he found early work in television shows including Jeeves and Wooster, Grange Hill, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and also the movies Batman, and Aliens.
He then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. While in school he worked on a television show, Thief Takers and was a finalist in the BBC Carleton Hobbs Radio Award. He graduated in 2000.[3]
Upon gradation, Anatol was offered a role in Fred Schepisi's award winning film, Last Orders, playing the younger self of Bob Hoskins "Ray" and working with British actors Sir Michael Caine, Dame Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone, David Hemmings, and Tom Courtenay.[4]
He became a resident company member with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the RSC's production of King Lear, Nicholas de Jongh of the London Evening Standard claimed "Anatol Yusef's tremendeous Cornwall, the best [he] [had] ever seen".[5]
At the Birmingham Rep, as Mercutio in Bill Bryden's Romeo and Juliet, Anatol was heralded as, "sparkl[ing]",[6] and as being a "promisingly imaginative Mercutio".[7] He continued to work extensively in UK Theatre, Television and Film.
In 2008, Anatol appeared in the title role of a New York off-off Broadway production of Richard III, and was described by Backstage as, "a superlative actor", and "magnetic".[8] Anatol has remained in New York City ever since. He has worked both throughout New York City, and at The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C.. His most recent production being "A Movement Of The Soul", playing Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, for which he learned American Sign Language.
In 2010 he was cast as Meyer Lansky in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, first appearing in Episode 7 of Season 1: "Home". He is recurring throughout Season 2.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Jeeves and Wooster (Series 1 & 3) | Sydney Blumenfield |
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Hubert Van Hook |
| 1995 | Grange Hill | Mark |
| 1999 | Thief Takers | Aziz |
| 2000 | Second Sight: Kingdom of the Blind | Sandwich Shop Owner |
| 2001 | Last Orders | Young Ray |
| 2002 | The Bill | Rick Lesailles |
| 2003 | Ten Minutes (Short) | Peter |
| Unconditional Love | Security Guard | |
| Trial and Retribution | PC Barry Skinner | |
| The Afternoon Play: Turkish Delight | Ahmed | |
| The Gathering | The Gathering | |
| 2006 | The Bill | Kevin Mann |
| O Jerusalem | Major Tell | |
| 2009 | The Reward (Short) | Felix |
| 2010 | Boardwalk Empire (Season One) | Meyer Lansky |
| 2011 | Corner Shop (Short) | Danny |
| Boardwalk Empire (Season Two) | Meyer Lansky |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Mysteries | Herod/Cain |
| Under Milk Wood | Rev. Eli Jenkins/ Dai Bread | |
| After Miss Julie | John | |
| 2002 | Blackbird (play) | Sarhad |
| 2004 | Best of Motives | Ahmed |
| 2005 | King Lear | Duke of Cornwall |
| Romeo and Juliet | Sampson | |
| Macbeth | Banquo | |
| 2006 | Romeo and Juliet | Mercutio |
| 2007 | Startled Response | Umut |
| 2008 | Richard III | Richard III |
| 2009 | Moonlight (play) | Jake |
| 2010 | The Science of Guilt | Kevin |
| 2011 | A Movement of The Soul | Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet |
His theatre company "Fixitsolife" was founded in 2009, with director, actor Francesco Campari. In 2010, they produced their first production in New York City, "The Science of Guilt", in which Anatol starred and Francesco directed.[9] There are several future projects scheduled from a reading series to cross-Atlantic productions.