Why Codringher From The Witcher Season 2 Looks So Familiar
"The Witcher" Season 2 drops on Netflix on December 17, 2021, and alongside some returning characters, the hit fantasy series will introduce new ones, including some already familiar to fans of the popular book and video game franchise on which the series is based.
Starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, "The Witcher" follows Cavill's solitary monster hunter as he navigates magical prophecies, politics, and personal relationships in a land where monsters are real and menacing. Season 1 primarily focused on Geralt, the young princess Ciri (Freya Allan), and an enticing sorceress named Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), who all seemed destined to meet by the end of the first season's complicated and tangled timeline. Previews for Season 2 indicate more monsters will provide a threat, while Yennefer appears to be in captivity. Meanwhile, the Nilfgaardian army is looking for Ciri, whom Geralt is now protecting and training.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, veteran actor Simon Callow will portray Codringher in Season 2, and fans of the franchise likely recognize the character as the half-owner of a law firm and detective agency that helps Geralt identify his enemies. While it's unclear how the character will play into the new season's storyline, viewers might question where they've seen Callow before.
Simon Callow is best known to audiences in the UK
British actor Simon Callow has appeared in more than 140 TV shows and movies throughout his 46-year career, so the chances viewers might recognize him are high. According to IMDb, Callow is best known for appearances in the movies "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Shakespeare in Love." In 1994's "Four Weddings and Funeral," Callow played Gareth, a gregarious, outgoing member of the group of friends, who — over time — attend four weddings and one funeral, which happens to be Gareth's. The romantic comedy earned Callow a BAFTA nomination, and helped propel British actor Hugh Grant to international stardom and also featured Andie MacDowell as Grant's love interest.
In 1998, Callow also had a starring role in the period drama "Shakespeare in Love," playing Tilney, Master of the Revels (above) opposite Joseph Fiennes as Will Shakespeare. Along with the rest of the ensemble cast, Callow won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance. Audiences will best remember his role as the censor who keeps trying to shut the theater down because a woman is onstage. That movie, however, isn't the only project about a famous scribe with which Callow has been involved.
He's appeared on Doctor Who as this famous author
If you think actor Simon Callow reminds you of literary genius Charles Dickens, you're quite justified. The actor has played the famous scribe in multiple projects, including two memorable episodes of "Doctor Who," per IMDb. In 2005, he partnered with the time-traveling alien, then played by Christopher Eccleston, in the episode "The Unquiet Dead" (shown above). Then, Callow reprised the role in 2011 opposite Matt Smith's Doctor for the episode "The Wedding of River Song." However, that wasn't the only time Callow appeared in the Doctor Who universe. He also voiced the villainous Tree Blathereen in two episodes for the show's spinoff series "The Sarah Jane Adventures."
His appearances as Charles Dickens in "Doctor Who" were a bit of a casting stunt. Callow gained recognition playing the author in the 1996 TV movie "An Audience With Charles Dickens." Years later, he appeared in follow-up productions titled "The Mystery of Charles Dickens" and "Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairy Tale." He also voiced the author in 2001's "Christmas Carol: The Movie."
Callow even penned a biography of Dickens, titled "Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World," in which he wrote that "playing Dickens, and performing his work, has been like standing in front of a blazing fire. If I can convey any sense of that, I will have succeeded in my aim."
The British actor is no stranger to fans of genre TV
Fans of the fantasy romance series "Outlander" will also know Simon Callow as the villainous Duke of Sandringham. The manipulative character tried to destroy Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire's (Caitriona Balfe) happiness by, among many things, arranging for Claire to be assaulted and killed. While he remains one of the show's most hated characters by many, the devious duke got his comeuppance in the end. He was beheaded in the second season.
Callow's ability to weave humor into his performance also somehow made the loathsome character a favorite for some. A YouTube comment about Callow states, "This man is funny beyond words in the series 'Outlander.' Such a wonderful, underrated performance overshadowed by the Claire and Jamie love story. Every scene Simon was in took me by surprise and had me in tears."
Marvel fans might recognize Callow for a more recent project. In December 2021, he appeared in the first episode of Disney+'s "Hawkeye" as Armand, whose — SPOILER ALERT! — death and the circumstances surrounding it lures Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) into a new adventure alongside Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld).