Alexander Hanson

Alexander Harald St John Hanson is a Norwegian-English stage actor born on 28 April 1961 in Oslo, Norway. His mother, Ellen, was half-French and half-Norwegian, while his father was English. Following his parents' divorce, his mother remarried George Akins, a businessman from Nottingham. Before pursuing a career in acting, Hanson initially trained with a focus on hotels and catering. He subsequently enrolled in drama school and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since 1989, he has been married to actress Samantha Bond, with whom he has two children, Molly and Tom.

Hanson has built an extensive career across West End productions, regional theatre, and Broadway. Among his earlier stage credits, he played Alex Dillingham in Aspects of Love and Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard at the Adelphi Theatre in 1995, performing opposite both Elaine Paige and Petula Clark. He was a member of the original London cast of We Will Rock You, originating the role of Khashoggi before leaving the production after seven months. In 2000, he appeared in the Royal National Theatre production of The Villain's Opera, a Nick Dear and Stephen Warbeck updating of The Beggar's Opera, in which he played Captain Macheath.

Hanson took on the role of Captain Georg Von Trapp in the West End revival of The Sound of Music in 2006, replacing Simon Shepherd, who had withdrawn from the production during previews. He has also appeared in Cabaret as Cliff, in Marguerite as Otto, and in Talking to Terrorists for Out of Joint and the Royal Court Theatre, among numerous other stage productions including Arcadia, Copenhagen, Candide, Troilus and Cressida, and The Merchant of Venice.

His Broadway credit came with the 2009–2010 transfer of A Little Night Music, in which he played Fredrik Egerman, a role he had first performed in the West End production. Hanson appeared on Broadway in 2009 as part of that production's run. He subsequently appeared in the West End production of An Ideal Husband in November 2010, performing opposite his wife Samantha Bond.

In 2012, Hanson played Pontius Pilate in the UK arena tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar, reprising the role during the 2013 leg of the same tour. Also in 2013, he was cast in the title role of Stephen Ward the Musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber's production centered on the story of the Profumo scandal. His additional stage credits include Follies, in which he played Ben Stone, as well as Valentine's Day, The Things We Do For Love, Enter the Guardsman, Brel, Shallow End, Cracked, and The Memory of Water.

Beyond the stage, Hanson has accumulated a range of television credits including Lewis, Father Brown, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Casualty, The Bill, Heartbeat, Rosemary and Thyme, Murder City, The Last Detective, Peak Practice, Doctor Finlay, and Kidulthood, among others. His film work includes The Merchant of Venice, The Escort, Unfinished Business, Fellow Traveller, and The Black Candle.