Michael Shaeffer

Michael Shaeffer is an English actor who works in television and theater. Born in Brockley, London, he studied at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. He is especially known for playing Longcross in the BBC political thriller Bodyguard in 2018. That same year he appeared as Sergeant Yelland in The ABC Murders. Earlier he played Annas in the 2000 film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar and Roy in a 2013 episode of Black Mirror. His other television work includes The Salisbury Poisonings in 2020, where he was Stephen Kemp, plus smaller parts in Game of Thrones and Chernobyl. On film he appeared in Kingdom of Heaven and as General Corssin in Rogue One in 2016. On stage he has portrayed the title roles in Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play and in Game of Thrones: The Mad King, where he played Aerys II, the Mad King Targaryen, and in 2023 he was cast in Grenfell, a verbatim theater project.