If you have been watching the historical drama Victoria on Netflix, you have seen a powerful bond form between a young queen and her first prime minister. That mentor, Lord Melbourne, is played with captivating depth by the acclaimed British actor Rufus Sewell. His performance turned a historical political figure into one of the show’s most beloved characters. Beyond the corsets and crown, Sewell is a seasoned actor with a career spanning over three decades in film, television, and theater.
From brooding villains to kindhearted guides, his roles are remarkably varied. This is the story of the actor behind Lord M and the extensive career that prepared him for this iconic part.
From Stage to Screen: The Building of an Actor
Rufus Sewell was born on October 29, 1967, in London. His path to acting began with training at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, where he graduated in 1989. He quickly made a name for himself on the stage, winning a “Best Newcomer Award” for his London debut. His breakthrough came in 1993 when he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard’s celebrated play Arcadia, earning an Olivier Award nomination. This established him as a formidable theatrical talent, a reputation he cemented years later by winning an Olivier Award for Best Actor for Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Sewell’s film career began in the early 1990s. He showed his range by playing a heroin addict in Twenty-One (1991) and a gentle bus driver in A Man of No Importance (1994). However, he gained wider international recognition for more intense roles. In the 1998 sci-fi noir Dark City, he starred as John Murdoch, a man struggling with his own identity. The following year, he took on the classic villain Count Adhemar in the medieval adventure A Knight’s Tale, opposite Heath Ledger. These parts, often charismatic but antagonistic, led to a period where he was frequently cast as the “baddie,” a typecasting he later expressed a desire to move beyond.
On television, Sewell built a strong foundation in period dramas long before Victoria. He played Will Ladislaw in the 1994 BBC adaptation of Middlemarch and appeared in Cold Comfort Farm (1995). He portrayed Alexander Hamilton in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams and took the lead role in the 2011 BBC series Zen. One of his most significant pre-Victoria projects was the 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, where he played the humble builder Tom Builder, demonstrating his skill in portraying steadfast, moral characters. This diverse body of work made him a natural choice for the complex role of Lord Melbourne.
Becoming Lord M: A Role of Guidance and Heart
In the ITV and PBS series Victoria, Lord Melbourne is not just the Queen’s first Prime Minister; he is her first real friend and confidant. Appointed in 1837 to guide the 18-year-old monarch, he helps her navigate the treacherous waters of court politics, public scrutiny, and her own emotions. The show explores the deep and complicated affection between them, a relationship that became a source of public gossip in its time.
Sewell was initially drawn to the warmth and likability of the character as written but was skeptical, wondering if it was too perfectly crafted for audience appeal. His perspective changed after reading a biography of the real William Lamb, Lord Melbourne.
“I read David Cecil’s book on Lord Melbourne… and I just found myself falling for him,” Sewell said. “And then, I returned to the script and realized it was pretty much true.” He found a man who was “incredibly intelligent, who was also incredibly sensitive and very kind, with a lot of sadness in his past”.
This sadness included the loss of his young son and a tumultuous marriage to Lady Caroline Lamb, whose very public affair with Lord Byron caused a major scandal. Sewell connected these personal tragedies to Melbourne’s protective, almost paternal bond with the young queen, who had also experienced a sheltered and lonely childhood.
Sewell’s portrayal balances political shrewdness with profound kindness. He presents Melbourne as a witty, worldly man from a more romantic era, acting as a stabilizing force for the impulsive Victoria. Their chemistry was immediate, with one UK newspaper noting the show had “turned Lord Melbourne into a heartthrob” by casting Sewell. The actor joked about his mixed feelings on that label, but his performance undeniably made Lord M a central pillar of the show’s early success. His time on the series spanned its first two seasons, with his character gracefully stepping back as Victoria’s life became increasingly centered on her marriage to Prince Albert (Tom Hughes).
A Career Beyond the Palace: From Nazis to Netflix
After his tenure on Victoria, Rufus Sewell continued to choose diverse and challenging roles that showcased his versatility. Immediately following Lord Melbourne, he took on a part that could not have been more different. From 2015 to 2019, he starred as SS-Obergruppenführer John Smith in Amazon’s alternate-history drama The Man in the High Castle. He played a high-ranking Nazi officer in a world where the Axis powers won World War II, a role that required depicting deep moral ambiguity and internal conflict.
He returned to period settings but with a comedic twist, appearing in the acclaimed series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as a charming but dismissful magazine editor. On film, he delivered a powerful supporting performance in the 2020 drama The Father, acting alongside Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. More recently, he has taken on leading man status in the Netflix political thriller The Diplomat (2023-present), playing a charismatic and cunning British foreign secretary.
Sewell also stepped into another high-profile royal role, though a much more contemporary and controversial one. In 2024, he portrayed Prince Andrew, Duke of York, in the Netflix film Scoop, which dramatizes the events surrounding the royal’s infamous 2019 Newsnight interview. The performance has been noted for its uncanny resemblance and nuanced handling of a difficult real-life figure.
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The Lasting Legacy of Lord Melbourne
For many fans, Rufus Sewell’s performance remains a definitive highlight of Victoria. He brought depth, warmth, and intelligence to a historical figure, making the queen’s first and formative friendship feel genuinely moving. The series, which originally aired from 2016 to 2019, found a massive new audience when its three seasons began streaming on Netflix in December 2024, reigniting appreciation for Sewell’s work.
While hopes for a fourth season have been paused since 2021, the show’s enduring popularity is a testament to its strong foundations, which were built in no small part on the relationship between the young queen and her Lord M. Through this role, Rufus Sewell demonstrated his exceptional ability to humanize history, turning a political advisor from a history book into a character of great empathy, wisdom, and enduring appeal.
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