# Guy Henry (actor)
**Guy Henry** (born 1960) is a British stage and screen actor whose best-known screen roles are the surgeon Henrik Hanssen in the BBC medical drama *Holby City*, Cassius in the HBO/BBC series *Rome*, the Head of Comedy in [Ricky Gervais](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-gervais)'s *Extras*, Pius Thicknesse in the final two *Harry Potter* films, and [Grand Moff Tarkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-moff-tarkin) in *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*, a performance delivered through motion capture over a CGI recreation of [Peter Cushing](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-cushing)'s likeness.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) • [2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960, Maidstone, Kent, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) |
| Training | RADA, 1979–1981[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) |
| Signature television role | Henrik Hanssen in *Holby City*, joined October 2010[4](https://www.holby.tv/guy-henry-interview/) |
| Film franchise roles | Pius Thicknesse in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1* (2010) and *Part 2* (2011); Grand Moff Tarkin in *Rogue One* (2016)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/) |
| Stage base | Extensive work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Malvolio in *Twelfth Night* and the title role in *King John*[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/) |
| Recent television | Doctor Monro in *Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story* (2023); Vergennes in *Marie Antoinette*[2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/) |
| Height | 6 ft 3½ in (1.92 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) |
## Early life and training
Henry was born in 1960 in [Maidstone](https://www.edgepedia.org/maidstone), Kent, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1979 to 1981.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) His father, Michael Henry, was also an actor.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) His early film appearances were in *Another Country* (1984) alongside [Rupert Everett](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupert-everett) and *Lady Jane* (1986) with [Helena Bonham Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/helena-bonham-carter).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/)
## Stage career
Most of Henry's stage work has been with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), where his roles have included Malvolio in *Twelfth Night*, the title role in *King John*, and [Captain Hook](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-hook) in *Wendy and Peter Pan* (2013).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/) His agent's credits list further RSC parts including Octavius Caesar in *Antony and Cleopatra*, Mosca in *Volpone*, Dr Caius in *The Merry Wives of Windsor*, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in an earlier *Twelfth Night*, alongside work at the National Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse, and the Chichester Festival Theatre.[5](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/guy-henry/) In 2002 he played [Ivan Turgenev](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivan-turgenev) in Trevor Nunn's National Theatre production of Tom Stoppard's *The Coast of Utopia* trilogy.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/otherworks/) In 2019 he appeared in *Peter Gynt* at the National Theatre, directed by Jonathan Kent.[5](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/guy-henry/)
## Television
Henry joined *Holby City* in October 2010 as the consultant surgeon Henrik Hanssen, a role that became his most widely recognized television work.[4](https://www.holby.tv/guy-henry-interview/) In a 2011 interview he said that viewers rarely recognized him from the *Harry Potter* films because his character's long wig and goatee beard made him look completely different.[4](https://www.holby.tv/guy-henry-interview/) Earlier television parts included the Head of Comedy in *Extras* with Ricky Gervais and Cassius in *Rome*, which he described as the two roles people most often recognized him from before *Holby City*.[4](https://www.holby.tv/guy-henry-interview/)
His later television credits include Doctor Monro, physician to the young King George III, in *Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story* (2023), and Vergennes in the series *Marie Antoinette*, appearing in the second series broadcast in 2025.[2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/58678/guy-henry) Other appearances listed by credit databases include *Roadkill* (2020, as Trevor Quinn), *[The Frankenstein Chronicles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-frankenstein-chronicles)* (as the Dean of Westminster), *Grantchester*, *Wallander*, *John Adams*, and *Lost in Austen*.[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/58678/guy-henry) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/guy-henry/)
## Film and the Tarkin recreation
On film Henry played Pius Thicknesse, the final Minister for Magic, in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1* (2010) and *Part 2* (2011).[2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/)
His most technically unusual screen role came in *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story* (2016). Director Gareth Edwards cast Henry to play Grand Moff Tarkin, a character originated by Peter Cushing in 1977, because of Henry's similarity to Cushing in stature and manner of speaking. Henry's facial performance was recorded on set with a performance-capture rig and retargeted onto a digital character, with CGI used to recreate Cushing's likeness; in effect Henry played the role of Cushing playing the role of Tarkin.[9](https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstreams/24fec248-30a7-49e4-a25d-91f9f29417b1/download) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/) His agent describes the process as recreating Cushing's role with the aid of CGI "digital make-up".[2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/)
## Radio and presenting
Alongside acting, Henry has worked regularly in radio. For some years he was the voice of "It's Showtime!" on Sarah Kennedy's Dawn Patrol on [BBC Radio 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-2), he has been a guest presenter of *Down Memory Lane* on Express FM, and he hosts his own Sunday morning music and chat show on QA Radio, in addition to joining the line-up of Boom Radio.[2](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/)
## Personal life
Henry lives in London with his partner and son.[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-guy-henry-amp-hugh-bonneville-2267870.html) He has a son, Gus, with the actress Sarah Flind.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) During a two-year break from *Holby City* he learned to drive buses, passing the PCV (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) test, and enjoys driving coaches when not acting.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/) In a 2011 profile he described his long friendship with [Hugh Bonneville](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-bonneville), which began when both had their first roles at the National Theatre in 1990 and deepened while sharing lodgings during a Royal Shakespeare Company season in [Stratford-upon-Avon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratford-upon-avon); the two are godfathers to each other's children.[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-guy-henry-amp-hugh-bonneville-2267870.html)
## References
1. [Guy Henry – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/bio/)
2. [Guy Henry – Independent Talent (corporate profile)](https://www.independenttalent.com/corporate/guy-henry/)
3. [Guy Henry – TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/guy-henry/)
4. [Guy Henry Interview – holby.tv](https://www.holby.tv/guy-henry-interview/)
5. [Guy Henry – Independent Talent (credits)](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/guy-henry/)
6. [Guy Henry – Other works, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377844/otherworks/)
7. [Guy Henry – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/58678/guy-henry)
8. [Guy Henry – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/guy-henry/)
9. [Performance capture thesis discussing the casting of Guy Henry as Tarkin, Auckland University of Technology repository](https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstreams/24fec248-30a7-49e4-a25d-91f9f29417b1/download)
10. [How We Met: Guy Henry & Hugh Bonneville, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-guy-henry-amp-hugh-bonneville-2267870.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Gw to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license