Lee Knight, From Actor to writer/director: My Journey to an Oscar Nomination (Etcetera Performers Lab)

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Lee Knight is a 2026 Academy Award–nominated writer, director, and actor working across stage and screen. His directorial debut, A Friend of Dorothy—starring Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry—earned an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film and is available on Disney+.
The film garnered international acclaim on the festival circuit, winning Best Director at the HollyShorts Film Festival and the Cannes Short Film Festival, as well as the Directorial Debut Award at the Heartland
International Film Festival, the Emerging Talent Award at the London Renaissance Film Festival, and multiple Audience Awards worldwide. He is currently developing the project into a feature film.
As an actor, Knight appeared as Rosencrantz opposite Ian McKellen in Hamlet (2024) on Amazon
Prime Video, a role he also performed on stage in a nine-month repertory season alongside The Cherry Orchard. His recent television work includes Vigil (Series 2) on BBC iPlayer, with upcoming appearances in The Stolen Girl (Disney+/ITV) and Talamasca(2026). His additional screen credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sherlock, The Last Letter from Your
Lover, The Trial of Christine Keeler, and The North Water. He is set to play Tuwim in the feature film The Iron Ribbon(2027).
On stage, his work includes the West End production of Much Ado About Nothing alongside Catherine Tate and David Tennant, as well as Martin McDonagh’s A Very Very Very Dark Matter opposite Jim Broadbent. He also led the critically acclaimed revival of Kevin Elyot’s Coming Clean, which transferred to the West End for three sold-out runs.
As a writer, his sitcom pilot The Gym reached the semi-finals of the BBC Writers' Room, placing in the top 1% of submissions.
Alongside his creative work, Knight is a dedicated coach and mentor. He has served on audition panels for leading drama schools and has directed and taught at institutions including London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Drama Centre London, Identity School of Acting, and Arts Educational Schools London (ArtsEd)

@theleeknight.