Lenny Rush
British actor and presenter (born 2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lenny Anthony Rush (born 17 March 2009) is a BAFTA-winning British actor. He is best known for his work on the Daisy May Cooper comedy drama series Am I Being Unreasonable?, for which he won a British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance. He has also appeared in the CBBC dramas Dodger and The Dumping Ground. He won a breakthrough award at the 2023 National Comedy Awards, and won the Breakthrough Award and Best Comedy Performance (Male) at the 2023 Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
Lenny Rush | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | March 17, 2009 |
| Occupations | Actor and presenter |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Works | Filmography |
Personal life
Career
Rush first appeared on camera on the CBeebies documentary Our Family. He began acting locally at the Pauline Quirke Academy in Essex. He played roles on CBeebies series Apple Tree House and CBBC's The Dumping Ground and had played Tiny Tim in versions of A Christmas Carol both on stage at The Old Vic in London in 2017 and 2018, and on-screen in a Steven Knight televised retelling of the Charles Dickens classic in 2019.[5][6]
Rush was given a series regular role in the comedy drama Dodger alongside Christopher Eccleston. Initially a small role called The Sweeper, the part was expanded for Rush and given the character name Morgan.[7] Rush also had the role of Ollie in Daisy May Cooper’s BBC One comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?, in which he improvised lines as well as performing from a script.[8] He received praise for his performance in the show, with Lucy Mangan writing in The Guardian, "What a gift they have in Rush, who has the comic chops and emotional range of an actor twice his age, and the kind of chemistry with Cooper that is an absolute joy to watch."[9]
Rush appeared in the BBC's Children In Need in 2022[10] and has been a co-host since 2023.[11] He won the Breakthrough Award, and was nominated for the Comedy Performance (Male) Award, for Am I Being Unreasonable? at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2023.[12]
In June 2023, it was announced that Rush would portray Morris Gibbons, UNIT's scientific advisor, in the fourteenth series of Doctor Who.[13] He was initially cast as the voice of Eric in "Space Babies" before being offered the larger role.[14][15]
In November 2023, Rush was the winner of Taskmaster New Year's Treat 2024.[16][17]
In December 2025, Rush had the lead role of Chris in Channel 4 seasonal television film Finding Father Christmas alongside James Buckley and including cameo appearances by Stephen Fry and Hannah Fry.[18][19] That month, he filmed the Eric Morecambe adaptation The Reluctant Vampire written by Neil and Rob Gibbons.[20]
Rush played Frank Harte alongside Brenda Blethyn and Emmett J. Scanlan in a Channel 4 reboot of the Barbara Taylor Bradford bestselling novel, A Woman of Substance,[21] which aired in March 2026.[22] Rush will appear in series 6 of the spy thriller series Slow Horses, along with Gary Oldman, Christopher Chung and others, scheduled to be released from 16 September on Apple TV.[23] In September 2026, it was announced that Rush would be playing the role of Dobby in the second series of HBO’s Harry Potter.[24]
Accolades
Rush was voted Best Breakthrough at the I Talk Telly Awards in December 2022.[25] It was announced in January 2023 that he would receive a breakthrough award at the National Comedy Awards.[26] On 29 March 2023, he won two awards at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards: the Breakthrough Award, and Best Comedy Performance (Male).[27][28]
In May 2023, at the age of 14, he won the BAFTA for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for his work in Am I Being Unreasonable?.[29][30] He was nominated for the same award again in 2026 for the same role.[31]
In March 2026, he was nominated for best actor in a comedy at the British Academy Television Awards.[32]
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released. |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Enola Holmes 2 | Newspaper Boy | |
| 2023 | Haunting of the Queen Mary | Lukas Calder | |
| 2024 | The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland | Robin | Voice role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 | Apple Tree House | Eli | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | A Christmas Carol | "Tiny" Tim Cratchit | Main role |
| 2020 | Old Vic: In Camera - A Christmas Carol | Digital theatre | |
| 2021–2022 | The Dumping Ground | Murphy | 7 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Dodger | Morgan the Crossing Sweeper | 10 episodes |
| 2022–2025 | Am I Being Unreasonable? | Ollie | Main role |
| 2023 | Best Interests | George | 1 episode |
| The Kemps: All Gold | Anton | Television special | |
| 2024 | W1A | Lenny Rush | 1 episode |
| Renegade Nell | Inn Keepers Lad | 1 episode | |
| Doctor Who | Morris Gibbons | 2 episodes | |
| 2025 | Finding Father Christmas | Chris | Television film |
| 2026 | A Woman of Substance | Frank Harte | 7 episodes |
| Make That Movie | Ewin | 1 episode | |
| Slow Horses | Reece Nesmith | 3 episodes | |
| TBA | The Reluctant Vampire † | Val | Post-production |
| TBA | Harry Potter † | Dobby | Filming |
