Steve Toussaint

Steve Toussaint (born 22 March 1965) is a British actor and writer whose career spans theatre, television and film. He was born in Birmingham to Barbadian parents and raised on a council estate in New Cross, South London, where his father worked for the London Underground and his mother served as a nurse. His first taste of performance came in a school nativity as a Roman centurion, a role that sparked a lifelong fascination with storytelling. After completing a BA in politics at the University of Sussex, he was spotted by the university drama society and began taking evening acting classes, briefly diverting into merchant banking and hospital administration before committing fully to the stage. Toussaint adopted the surname “Toussaint” in tribute to Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture after discovering a naming conflict within his actors’ union. His professional debut arrived in 1990 as the Genie in Aladdin at the Churchill Theatre, and he soon built an extensive repertoire with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions such as Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and A Doll’s House at the Young Vic. These early theatrical experiences forged a reputation for strong, authoritative characters and laid the groundwork for his breakthrough on screen. The actor’s television breakthrough came with the ITV crime drama The Knock, where he portrayed Barrie Christie across all 37 episodes from 1994 to 2000, cementing his status as a reliable leading man. He later delivered memorable performances as CS Ray Mallick in the second series of Line of Duty (2014) and appeared in the ninth series of Lewis (2015) and the Australian spy thriller Pine Gap (2018). His film credits include Shooting Dogs (2005) and a supporting role in Mike Newell’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). Since 2022, Toussaint has reached a global audience as Lord Corlys Velaryon in HBO’s House of the Dragon, bringing gravitas to the head of House Velaryon in the acclaimed Game of Thrones prequel. He continues to work in both screen and stage projects, recently appearing as the Duke in the BBC One drama Rain Dogs and maintaining an active presence in contemporary theatre.