For years, Tobias Menzies has been working his way through just about every hit TV show in the U.K. Born in London and educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he’s had supporting roles on Pulling, The Thick of It, Doctor Who, Spooks, The Honorable Woman, The Night Manager, and Catastrophe, to name a few. Over time the parts expanded, both in size and scope, such as when Menzies played Catelyn Stark’s younger brother, Edmure Tully, on Game of Thrones, or when he portrayed Black Jack Randall, on the time-travel series Outlander, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. And when Menzies took on Prince Philip, on Seasons Three and Four of The Crown, he was again met with acclaim (and a second Golden Globe nomination). Next up, he stars in writer–director–producer Nicole Holofcener’s latest film, You Hurt My Feelings, as a therapist deflated by modern life, alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus. —Bridget Arsenault
Bedtime: Early, with a book. I don’t read enough (note to self).
Breakfast, weekday: Eggs.
Breakfast, weekend: Still eggs, but I might upgrade to huevos rancheros … Too much?
Cocktail: The Tommy’s margarita they mix at Patron Restaurant in Kentish Town, London.
Cocktail appetizer: Boquerones.
Couple: One that doesn’t finish each other’s sentences.
Disguise: Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows escapes prison disguised as a washerwoman, so I’ll take his lead.
Enemy:
One without a gun.
Escape: Bed.
Good-bye: An Irish one.
Match: Jannik Sinner, of Italy, versus Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, in the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2022. It was a glimpse into the future of tennis.
Movie: I recently re-watched The Conversation, by Francis Ford Coppola. There are many things that are perfect about that remarkable film, but first among them is Walter Murch’s sound design—utter brilliance.
Nonfiction book: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I read it last year while preparing for a TV series set during the American Civil War, and it brings Lincoln, his Cabinet, and that pivotal period in U.S. history thrillingly to life.
Novel: Not one, but a series—Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle. They changed how I think about the novel.
Ride: I would never betray intimacies!
Singer: Mark E. Smith, of the Fall—a lethal combination of punk and poet, and, arguably, didn’t really sing.
Television series: The Wire—a profound, deeply political, and enthralling investigation of the structures of American society. It’s our War and Peace.
Time of day: Dusk, the gloaming, end of day, etc.
View: A clear one.
Wake-up time: Leisurely, with coffee and a window to look through.
Tobias’s Essentials
