Alumni on screen
Our alumni community is full of talented individuals and many of them have gone on since graduating to grace our television and cinema screens through their acting careers. We’re taking a moment to highlight several of our alumni actors.
Baroness Floella Benjamin OM, DBE DL
Hon DLitt, 2006.
Floella has enjoyed a busy career as an actress, singer, presenter, writer, politician and campaigner. She has also experienced strong links to Exeter as its former Chancellor from 2006–16.
In her time on screen she is most well known as one of the presenters of the television series ‘Play School’. Between 2007 and 2011, she guest-starred in the ‘Doctor Who’ spin-off ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ as Professor Rivers of the Pharos Institute. Floella received her OBE in the 2001 New Year Honours list for services to broadcasting and at that time, she was chairperson of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). She also won a Special Lifetime Achievement award from BAFTA in 2004 and, in 2024, was awarded a BAFTA fellowship (its highest honour) for her outstanding contribution to television.
Cush Jumbo OBE
Hon DLitt, 2024.
Cush Jumbo is a British actress and writer best known for playing Lucca Quinn in ‘The Good Wife’ and in the subsequent ‘The Good Fight’. She starred as the lead – Megan Pierce – in the television mini-series ‘Stay Close’ in 2021 and appeared in shows such as ‘Torchwood’, ‘Vera’ and ‘The Beast Must Die’.
She was Olivier nominated for the role of Marc Anthony in an all-female production of ‘Julius Caesar’ and in 2023/24 appeared as ‘Lady Macbeth’ opposite David Tennant in Macbeth. She was awarded an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to drama. In 2024, she was given an honorary degree by the University to mark her astonishing acting career.
Julian Richings
English and Drama, 1977.
With an incredible career, Julian’s face has been a familiar one on our screens.
After graduating from Exeter, he performed extensively in theatres across the UK, and in 1984 settled in North America where he became an established presence in Toronto’s theatre and film scene. A familiar figure in horror and genre films he starred in ‘Anything For Jackson’, for which he received a BITS (Blood In The Snow) Award. He has also appeared in Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’ and the blockbusters ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, ‘Man of Steel’, and ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’. Among his hundreds of television appearances, Julian is perhaps best known for recurring roles in Stephen King’s ‘Kingdom Hospital’ (Otto), ‘Patriot’ (Peter Ichabod) and perhaps most significantly as Death in ‘Supernatural’.
Kate Fleetwood
Drama, 2014.
Alumna Kate has shone on the stage, television and film with nominations for a Tony Award and an Olivier Award (Best Actress in a Musical) for her theatre performances in ‘Lady Macbeth’ and ‘London Road’ respectively.
Her film roles include Mary Cattermole in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ and Alice Riley in ‘The Negotiator’.
Within television she can be found in ‘The Wheel of Time’ as Liandrin Guirale, ‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ as Queen Luna, as Clara in 2024’s comedy ‘Big Mood’, as well as roles in ‘Victoria’, ‘War and Peace’, and ‘The People Next Door’.
Marc Wootton
Drama, 1996.
Drama alum Marc is an actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as the creator of the beloved Mr Poppy character from the ‘Nativity!’ film franchise.
He also lent his voice acting talents to the character of Peter the elf in ‘Arthur Christmas’, and featured in ‘The Bad Education Movie’. Marc has additionally starred in television series including ‘My New Best Friend’, as Moose in ‘The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin’, ‘La La Land’, Duncan in ‘Gavin & Stacey’, and ‘High & Dry’.
Stephen Dillane
History and Politics, 1978.
After his Exeter days, alumnus Stephen has gone on to star in diverse roles in film and television. Stephen found critical success on the stage, and by the late 1980s, he had ventured into screen acting. His film career took off in the 1990s, with significant roles such as Horatio in ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Welcome to Sarajevo’.
His portrayal of Virgina Woolf’s husband, Leonard, in ‘The Hours’ earned him critical recognition, while his role as Stannis Baratheon on ‘Game of Thrones’ solidified his status in mainstream entertainment. Throughout his career, he has also starred in various television series, including ‘The Crown’, ‘The Tunnel’ – for which he won an International Emmy Award – and British-made ‘Alex Rider’. In 2024, Stephen shone in the Netflix comedy ‘Kaos’, in which he played the Greek god Prometheus.
Vanessa Kirby
English, 2009.
Alumna Vanessa is a stage, television and film actress who has had a range of roles in her acting career. She is well known for her role as Princess Margaret in Peter Morgan’s Netflix series ‘The Crown’, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series in 2018.
Vanessa was nominated for an Oscar in 2021 for her role in ‘Pieces of a Woman’ which told the tale of a women struggling with the emotional impact of a heart-breaking home birth. She also starred as Estella in the BBC adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’, Joanna in Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy ‘About Time’, featured in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series and ‘Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw.’ One of her recent big screen moments included starring as Sue Storm / The Invisible Woman in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’.
Baroness Floella Benjamin OM, DBE DL
Tom’s degree was in recognition of his creation of The Lions Barber Collective, an international network of barbers who have come together to help raise awareness about mental health.
He has also created an innovative education programme which trains hair and beauty professionals, and now anybody, to recognise, ask, listen and help those around them. It aims to bridge the gap between communities and mental health resources. He is an author, educator, ambassador, and TEDx speaker.
When receiving his degree, Tom encouraged new graduates to devote themselves to a mission and purpose. He said: “Purpose has enabled me to save lives, travel the world, make change and even write four books. Purpose is truly one of the secrets of life. Finding it has given me the drive to continue. This mission has been tough, but things like today reassure me that I’m on the right path.”
Dr Alex George
Former A&E doctor, former UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador and Exeter alum (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, 2015), Dr Alex George, received his award in recognition of his campaign for extra psychological support for young people.
Alex began bringing the nation accessible and reassuring advice directly from the medical frontline throughout the pandemic. He is now also a presenter, best-selling author and the co-founder of Mettle, the mental fitness app for men. He also has a hugely successful podcast, ‘Stompcast’, which promotes the importance of walking in nature for mental and physical wellbeing.
In a moving speech on the day, he spoke about how the death by suicide of his brother Llŷr spurs on his campaigning work, as he wants others to “see there is always a better day”.
Cush Jumbo OBE
Cush Jumbo is a three-time Olivier nominated actress and well known for starring in US series ‘The Good Wife’ and the Netflix series ‘Stay Close’. She was appointed an OBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to drama. We were delighted to award her an honorary degree in 2024 to mark her astonishing career in film, television and theatre, during which she’s taken control by writing her own roles alongside supporting the next generation of performers.
After reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 as part of her speech she told the new graduates: “I massively congratulate you on what you’ve achieved so far and what you will no doubt achieve in the future. But don’t think about that too much just yet. Because in this wonderful moment there is nowhere more important than right here. This space right now is the centre of the universe and you are exactly where you are meant to be.”
