# John Hopkins (actor)
**John Hopkins** is an English actor from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for playing Detective Sergeant Dan Scott in *Midsomer Murders* (2004–2005), Sir Francis Basset in *Poldark*, and [Jeffrey Epstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-epstein) in *[A Very Royal Scandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-very-royal-scandal)* (2024). He trained at RADA, spent five seasons with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), and works extensively as a stage actor and voice performer.[1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm) • [2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/39849/john-hopkins)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Breakthrough role | Detective Sergeant Dan Scott in *Midsomer Murders*, joining in the second episode of series 7 (early 2004) and remaining through the end of series 8[1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm) |
| Training | English degree from the University of Leeds (1993–1996); RADA graduate of 2000[4](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0394204/) • [1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm) |
| Stage work | Five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company; Benedick in *Much Ado About Nothing*, *The Boys in the Band* (Vaudeville Theatre), *The 39 Steps* (Criterion Theatre), *The Deep Blue Sea* (Chichester Festival Theatre)[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) |
| Television | *Poldark* (Sir Francis Basset), *Dancing on the Edge* (Prince George), *The Child in Time*, *Endeavour*, *Spooks*, *Merlin*, *Robin Hood*, and Mark Gatiss's *The Mezzotint*[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-69823/filmographie/) |
| Recent screen work | Jeffrey Epstein in *A Very Royal Scandal* (2024), Dr. "Smokey" Stover in *Masters of the Air* (2024), Richard in *Paris Has Fallen* (2024)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/39849/john-hopkins) |
| Voice career | Documentaries, Netflix animations, video games, and more than 30 books for Audible; voices Erik Ahlberg in *Hilda* and Mr. Pricklepants in *Toy Story 5* (2026)[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) • [6](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/69823/filmo/) |
| Recognition | Listed by *The Times* in 2020 as one of "10 of the best British actors on stage now"[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) |
## Early life and training
Hopkins grew up in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, where his parents still lived in the 2010s, and attended Manshead Upper School, taking part regularly in school productions.[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258) He has described himself as a shy child with asthma and poor eyesight, kept out of school sports, and said his first decisive encounter with theater came at Priory Middle School, when a touring production of [Harold Pinter](https://www.edgepedia.org/harold-pinter)'s *The Caretaker* showed him "the power and violence that words could have."[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258)
He read English at the [University of Leeds](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-leeds) from 1993 to 1996.[4](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0394204/) He has said his shyness peaked at university, and that he began auditioning for plays there as a form of what he called aversion therapy. After graduating he persuaded his parents to support three further years of training, worked through a gap year of low-paid jobs to prove his seriousness, and then studied at RADA, graduating in 2000.[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258) • [1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm)
## Stage career
After RADA, Hopkins was recruited by the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he appeared in productions including *Antony and Cleopatra*, *The Tempest*, *Much Ado About Nothing*, and *Julius Caesar*.[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258) His stage credits across a range of venues include Scrooge in *A Christmas Carol* ([Bristol Old Vic](https://www.edgepedia.org/bristol-old-vic)), *The One* (Soho Theatre), Benedick in *Much Ado About Nothing* (Rose Theatre Kingston), *The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole* (Menier [Chocolate Factory](https://www.edgepedia.org/chocolate-factory) and West End), *The Boys in the Band* (Vaudeville Theatre), *The Deep Blue Sea* (Chichester Festival Theatre), *Ben Hur* (Tricycle Theatre), *Holy Warriors* ([Shakespeare's Globe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shakespeares-globe)), *The 39 Steps* (Criterion Theatre), and *The Country Wife* (Haymarket Theatre).[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins)
In 2011 he played an alcoholic former flying ace in Terence Rattigan's *The Deep Blue Sea*, a role he took up specifically, he said, to move beyond television sidekick parts.[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258) In 2020, *The Times* placed him among its "10 of the best British actors on stage now."[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins)
## Television and film
*Midsomer Murders* was Hopkins's first substantial television job. He joined the cast in the second episode of series 7, broadcast early in 2004, playing Dan Scott, a Londoner who becomes DCI Tom Barnaby's new detective sergeant, and stayed until the end of series 8.[1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm) Because he shared a first name with the star [John Nettles](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-nettles), the crew nicknamed him "Hoppers."[1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm) He later said that Nettles advised him to leave after two or three years if he had ambitions beyond the show, advice he followed; he described himself as "the George Lazenby of side-kicks."[7](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258)
Subsequent television credits include two series of *Poldark* as Sir Francis Basset, Stephen Poliakoff's *Dancing on the Edge* as Prince George, *The Child in Time*, *Endeavour*, *Stan Lee's Lucky Man*, *Catastrophe*, *[Merlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/merlin-2008-tv-series)*, *Robin Hood*, *Spooks*, and [Mark Gatiss](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-gatiss)'s adaptation of *The Mezzotint*.[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) His film appearances include *The Face of an Angel* and [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton)'s *Alice in Wonderland*.[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins)
In 2024 he appeared in three high-profile productions: as Jeffrey Epstein in *A Very Royal Scandal*, as Dr. "Smokey" Stover in *Masters of the Air*, and as Richard in *Paris Has Fallen*.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/39849/john-hopkins) He was also cast as General Jack D. Ripper in the stage-to-screen *National Theatre Live: Dr. Strangelove* and voices Mr. Pricklepants in *Toy Story 5* (2026).[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/john_hopkins/) • [6](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/69823/filmo/)
## Voice work
Hopkins has built a parallel career as a narrator and voice actor, recording documentaries, Netflix animations, video games, and more than 30 books for Audible.[2](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins) On television animation he voices Erik Ahlberg in the Netflix series *Hilda* and its film *Hilda and the Mountain King* (2021).[6](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/69823/filmo/) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/39849/john-hopkins) He also narrates the podcast *Real Survival Stories*, part of a documentary and true-story catalog that includes his audiobook work.[9](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621227222)
## A shared name
The name John Hopkins attaches to several distinct public figures, and reference sources sometimes conflate them. [John Richard Hopkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-hopkins-screenwriter) (1931–1998) was an English film, stage, and television writer, a pioneer of British television drama who wrote for *Z-Cars* and created the play quartet *Talking to a Stranger*; he is a different person from the actor born in Luton.[10](https://www.broadwayplaypublishing.com/authors/john-hopkins/) • [11](https://www.museum.tv/tv-encyclopedia-8/hopkins-john) The actor is also distinct from Sir Anthony Hopkins, the Welsh actor born in [Port Talbot](https://www.edgepedia.org/port-talbot) in 1937, whose career included two Academy Awards.[12](https://www.johnavery.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Lives-in-Acting-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf) On the *Midsomer Murders* set, the shared first name with John Nettles was handled with the nickname "Hoppers."[1](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm)
## References
1. [John Hopkins, Midsomer Murders fan site](https://midsomermurders.org/johnhopkins.htm)
2. [John Hopkins, Lyric Theatre Belfast biography](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/bios/john-hopkins)
3. [John Hopkins, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/39849/john-hopkins)
4. [John Hopkins, IMDb (German-language biography page)](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0394204/)
5. [John Hopkins, filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-69823/filmographie/)
6. [Filmografie von John Hopkins, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/69823/filmo/)
7. [John cops an acclaimed career on stage and screen, Luton Today (10 August 2011)](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/john-cops-an-acclaimed-career-on-stage-and-screen-2397258)
8. [John Hopkins (I), British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/john_hopkins/)
9. [John Hopkins, Movies, Music, and Podcasts, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621227222)
10. [John Hopkins, Broadway Play Publishing Inc](https://www.broadwayplaypublishing.com/authors/john-hopkins/)
11. [Hopkins, John, Museum of Broadcast Communications](https://www.museum.tv/tv-encyclopedia-8/hopkins-john)
12. [Lives in Acting, by John S. Avery, chapter on Anthony Hopkins](https://www.johnavery.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Lives-in-Acting-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf)
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*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; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license