Jeremy Swift

Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK

Biography

Jeremy Paul Swift (born 27 June 1960) is an English actor. He studied drama at Guildford School of Acting from 1978 to 1981. He worked almost exclusively in theatre throughout the 1980s, working with companies such as Deborah Warner's Kick Theatre and comedy performance-art group The People Show. During this period, he also appeared in numerous television commercials. In the 1990s, he acted at the National Theatre alongside David Tennant and Richard Wilson in Phyllida Lloyd's What the Butler Saw production. Swift has acted in films such as Robert Altman's murder mystery Gosford Park (2001), Michael Apted's historical drama Amazing Grace (2006), and the family adventure film Mary Poppins Returns (2018). He also appeared in Vanity Fair (1998), Foyle's War (2013-2015), Downton Abbey (2013-2015), The Durrells (2016), and National Treasure (2016). In 2021, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in Ted Lasso for his portrayal of Leslie Higgins. In 2025, he appears as Mr Bosworth in the 5th series of All Creatures Great and Small.

Movies

Live! Girls! Present Dogtown is a comedy series shown on BBC Three. It tells the story of life for the residents of Horton-le-Hole, a fictional coastal town where things are not all they seem. A controlling optician meets a mild librarian to enact secret fantasies as Oscar-winning movie stars and Olympic champions; a socially inept teacher dreams of becoming a deputy head; a pyromaniac dwarf psychic has set up a business in a bus stop; and, while romantic fiction books are systematically and mysteriously vandalised, one of the greatest love affairs the world has ever known begins to stir in the library. Written by Sunderland twin sisters Emma and Beth Kilcoyne, and starring Emma Kilcoyne and Sam Battersea, who perform in a number of guises, the series is based on their live act, Live! Girls!, which played in Edinburgh to rave reviews. Emma Kilcoyne plays Eenie Thompson, the 73-year-old arsonist dwarf; Bill Taddler, the misguided and overbearing geography teacher; and Denise Taylor, the put-upon librarian with a secret. Sam Battersea plays Sheila Taddler, Bill's long-suffering wife, and Carol Gomez, the unusual optician with the domineering fantasy life. Dogtown's regular supporting cast includes Geraldine McNulty as Sue McCardle, the ruthlessly ambitious "Scale Two" librarian; and James Gaddas as Geoff Torville, her debonair, film noir-ish boss; as well as Rachel Pickup, Madelaine Newton and Dave Johns. The series also features cameo appearances from Kevin Whately and Imelda Staunton.

More info
Live!Girls! present Dogtown
2006