Hugh Dancy (born 1975) is a British actor.
He was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is the oldest of three children born to Jonathan Dancy, a writer and philosophy professor at Reading University, and Sarah Dancy, a publisher. Hugh has two siblings, Jack, born in 1977, and Kate, born in 1980. He attended primary school until the age of 13 and then attended Winchester College where he first fell under the spell of the spotlight and was an actor in at least a dozen plays. He had roles in The Tempest, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Measure for Measure. Also, he directed Toyes's 1st year in the inaugural Junior Drama Festival of eleven plays.
"From 13 through 18 in a traditional adolescent way, I couldn't understand what my father was doing. Now I respect it immensely. But I still don't think I'd be cut out for it. Like a lot of people, I just practically stumbled into theater and somebody gave me something to do. The next thing, that was what I was doing all the time and I loved it," says Hugh.
Hugh then attended Oxford University where he studied Literature instead of drama, "a deliberate choice" he says. During this time, he still kept his association with Simon Taylor, Winchester's Drama Director. His theater career continued with roles in Twelfth Night and Much Ado about Nothing. He worked as a bartender for about six months when he met an agent who signed him on the spot. The deal was that if he couldn't find work in six months they would part ways. Hugh was set to play Pip in Great Expectations when professional offers rolled in.
His first small screen appearance was in Trial & Retribution II. This followed small roles in Dangerfield, The New Adventures of Robin Hood and Kavanagh QC. Fluent in French, Hugh then played a French knight in the U.S. adventure series Relic Hunter. He was chosen to play the lead in the BBC's David Copperfield alongside Sally Field and Michael Richards. This lead to the roles of Danny in the popular series Cold Feet, Leon in BBCs drama Madame Bovary and as D'Artagnan in Young Blades for Canal +. After these, Hugh played John Truscott in the 1920s romance, adventure-drama The Sleeping Dictionary, filmed in Sarawak and co-starring Jessica Alba, Bob Hoskins and Brenda Blethyn. He followed this by appearing as Ranger Sgt. Kurt "Doc" Schmid in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott. Hugh followed this by playing Jack in the film Tempo with Melanie Griffith and Rachael Leigh Cook, and in the BBC drama Daniel Deronda where he played the lead. He will be seen next as Prince Charmont in Miramax's fantasy film Ella Enchanted, and as Galahad in the upcoming King Arthur.
The single, 5'11" tall and blue-gray eyed actor resides in London where he likes to drink Guinness with his friends and cook just pasta, nothing else.
