Jeremy Swift

Jeremy Paul Swift is an English actor who has worked extensively across television, film, and theatre. He achieved widespread international recognition for his performance as Leslie Higgins in the acclaimed comedy series Ted Lasso. Over the course of a career spanning several decades, he has also earned recognition for his supporting performances in popular period dramas and feature films, such as Downton Abbey, Foyle's War, and Mary Poppins Returns.

Swift was born on 27 June 1960 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, to parents who both worked as music teachers. He received professional drama training at the Guildford School of Acting between 1978 and 1981. Throughout the 1980s, Swift concentrated almost entirely on stage work, collaborating with theatrical troupes such as Deborah Warner's Kick Theatre company and the performance-art comedy group The People Show, while also appearing in television commercials. In the 1990s, his stage career featured a production of What the Butler Saw at the National Theatre, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and co-starring David Tennant and Richard Wilson.

During the late 1990s and 2000s, Swift transitioned into prominent screen roles. After appearing in the 1998 production of Vanity Fair, he portrayed the footman Arthur in Robert Altman's 2001 film Gosford Park. He subsequently played Mr. Bumble in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist and appeared in the 2006 historical drama Amazing Grace. On television, he portrayed Barry in the BBC Three series The Smoking Room, and on stage, he appeared in Abigail's Party at the Hampstead Theatre, which became the venue's longest-running West End transfer.

Swift continued to secure diverse screen projects into the next decade. In 2009, he played real-life art forger Shaun Greenhalgh in the BBC Two drama The Antiques' Rogue Show alongside Liz Smith and Peter Vaughan. He also played The Deacon in a cinematic adaptation of Anton Chekhov's story The Duel, appeared in the 2010 drama Canoe Man, and co-starred in the 2014 British comedy feature Downhill, directed by James Rouse from a script by Torben Betts.

Swift earned major television roles during the 2010s and 2020s. He played election agent Glenvil Harris in Foyle's War, served three seasons as the butler Septimus Spratt in Downton Abbey, and portrayed Dennis in the drama series The Durrells. After featuring in National Treasure and playing Gooding in Mary Poppins Returns, he joined the cast of Ted Lasso in 2020. His portrayal of Leslie Higgins led to a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2021.

In 2024, Swift joined the fifth series of All Creatures Great and Small as Mr. Bosworth, and he was chosen to voice Vernon Dursley in Audible's full-cast Harry Potter audio production for 2025 and 2026. Outside of acting, Swift is a composer who wrote the soundtrack for Werewolves: The Dark Survivors and a skilled jazz musician who showcased his double bass playing on Ted Lasso. He is married to actress Mary Roscoe, who played his on-screen wife in Ted Lasso after the pair initially met while working on a play; they have two adopted children.