Adrian Bouchet, sometimes credited as Mark Stevens,
(, 1974)[1] is an English actor and presenter, most widely known for playing the role of Steapa in the BBC and Netflix TV series, The Last Kingdom (2017–2020).[2]
Early life
Bouchet was born in Rhodesia and left during the Rhodesian Bush War to settle in the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of Birmingham University. He attended Birmingham School of Acting.[3] He began acting in television productions in the late 1990s. In 1998 he appeared in an episode of the television series Dangerfield. In the next few years he was able to establish himself as an actor as an episode actor in series and as a supporting actor in film productions.
Career
In 2010, Bouchet was cast as Marc Antony in the "Cleopatra" episode of Mystery Files and also as Riothamus in the "King Arthur" episode of the same series. In 2011, he received the Best Actor International award at the 2011 International Film Festival for his performance in the film A Brunette Kiss opposite Bridie Latona.[3] In 2012, he had the role of Brett in the action film Interview with a Hitman. In 2014, he played an unnamed knight in the film Morning Star who wants to give the bones of his friend who died in battle to his family.[4][5] In 2014, he was Robert the Bruce in the feature film Battle of Kings: Bannockburn. In the same year he played a US Army sergeant opposite Matt Damon and George Clooney in The Monuments Men directed by Clooney. In 2015, he portrayed the role of Lucan in the film Arthur and Merlin. Two years later, he was cast in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword again in a film that was Arthurian Legend themed. In 2016, he portrayed the role of Judah Ben Hur in The Asylum-film In the Name of Ben Hur.[6] From 2017 to 2020, Bouchet played Steapa, King Alfred's Captain of the Guard, in 21 episodes of The Last Kingdom.[7] In 2019, he portrayed the role of Billy Ford in the film Monster Island.[8] In 2021, he also played the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, known as Frederick Barbarossa, in seven episodes of the medieval Spanish TV series Glow and Darkness with Jayne Seymour and Joan Collins.