Tobias Menzies makes a controlled voice and small physical adjustments carry feelings his characters would rather conceal. We rate that precision highly, though a part that asks only for an air of authority can waste it.
Fi1m perspective
In F1 (2025), Tobias Menzies watches from the hospitality suite as Peter Banning, a board member with opinions. It is easy to see why he has been cast: he can look controlled without looking at ease. That small distinction makes his reserved men worth watching. He is most interesting when the effort to stay composed becomes something we can follow in its own right.
His breakthrough as Marcus Junius Brutus in Rome (2005) established him in the historical ensembles that would make him familiar. Outlander (2014) gave him a more revealing task, playing both the kind Frank Randall and the sadistic Jonathan ‘Black Jack’ Randall. Those parts give his careful manner sharply different purposes. His precision with voice and physical behaviour can make cruelty convincing without making it the character’s only feature.
In Susanne Bier’s The Night Manager (2016), he plays Geoffrey Dromgoole within another ensemble. The main attraction is Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie sizing each other up, and we would not pretend that Menzies is the reason to watch it. Bier makes the familiar spy machinery work persuasively, though the moral complications are slight. We recommend the programme with that reservation, but it is not where we would send someone chiefly interested in Menzies.
His Prince Philip in The Crown (2019–2020) gives the restraint more to do, allowing dissatisfaction to show beneath the controlled exterior. His care with voice and mannerisms keeps the performance from becoming caricature. Manhunt (2024), with Menzies leading as Edwin Stanton, marks a further move towards central parts. Such opportunities are welcome for an actor whose small physical changes reward sustained attention.
Joseph Kosinski’s F1 offers a thinner use of him. We were frustrated by how little the hospitality-suite role asks of Menzies, even while the racing held us. Kosinski puts a camera inside a real Formula One car to thrilling effect; the sports story between races is considerably more familiar. Start with The Crown for Menzies; save F1 for an evening when the cars are the attraction.
Biography
Tobias Menzies is an English actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating with a BA in Acting in 1998.
He played Frank Randall and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in the series Outlander (2014–2018), Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones (2013–2019), Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in The Crown (2019–2020), Geoffrey Dromgoole in The Night Manager (2016) and Peter Banning in the film F1 (2025). Other credits include Brutus in Rome (2005–2007) and roles in Casino Royale (2006) and Atonement (2007).
Menzies won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Crown and received Golden Globe Award nominations for Outlander and The Crown.
