Steve Toussaint

Stephen Toussaint (born 22 March 1965) is a British actor and writer. He first gained prominence through his role in the ITV crime drama The Knock (1994–2000). Currently, he plays Lord Corlys Velaryon in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.

His films include Shooting Dogs (2005) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). On television, he appeared in the second series of Line of Duty (2014), the ninth series of Lewis (2015), the Australian series Pine Gap (2018), and Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020).

Early life
Toussaint was born in Birmingham to Barbadian parents and grew up on an estate in the New Cross area of South London, where his father worked for the London Underground and his mother worked as a nurse. His first taste of acting came in a school nativity play as a Roman centurion in a suit of Armour made from cardboard. He studied politics at the University of Sussex. During his time there, he was scouted for a role in a play and joined the drama society. After graduating, he briefly worked in merchant banking and hospital administration before deciding to try acting again. He took evening drama classes.

Toussaint changed his surname to Toussaint because his birth name conflicted with a pre-existing member of his actors' union. He chose the name from Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian revolutionary leader (as at the time he had been reading about him in The Black Jacobins by C. L. R. James).

Career
Toussaint's first professional role in acting, was as the Genie in the Lamp in Aladdin at the Churchill Theatre in 1990 in a cast that included John Inman, Paul Shane, Susan Maughan, Eli Woods and David Janson. His other extensive theatre career included performances in A Doll's House at the Young Vic, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Twelfth Night at the Nottingham Playhouse, and more.

Toussaint's big break on television was starring as Barrie Christie in all 37 episodes of the ITV crime drama The Knock from 1994 to 2000. He appeared in Waking the Dead in 2002, My Dad's the Prime Minister in 2004, and Mutant Chronicles in 2008.

In 2010, Toussaint starred in the Mike Newell-directed film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. Toussaint appeared as CS Ray Mallick in the second season of the BBC2 police drama series Line of Duty in 2014. In 2015 he starred in Lewis, In 2018 he starred in 6 episodes of Pine Gap.

In 2022, Toussaint began starring as Corlys Velaryon, the head of House Velaryon, in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones spin-off. He then appeared in the BBC One series Rain Dogs as the Duke.