Andy Nyman

Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966^[4]) is an English actor, director, writer, singer and magician. He is best known for his work with illusionist Derren Brown and for co-creating and starring in the horror play Ghost Stories and its film adaptation with Jeremy Dyson. He has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for his performances in the West End revivals of Fiddler on the Roof, Hello, Dolly! and The Producers.^[5]

Early life and career

Nyman's first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in Dead Babies,^[6] an adaptation of the Martin Amis novel of the same name. Soon after he appeared alongside Jon Voight, David Schwimmer and Leelee Sobieski in Jon Avnet's 2001 Emmy award-winning film Uprising^[7] as a Polish-Jewish freedom fighter.

His next film role was in the 2003 film Coney Island Baby as a gay French gun dealer. In 2006 he appeared in horror-comedy Severance, Herman Brood biopic Wild Romance and British romcom Are You Ready for Love?. That same year Nyman won the award for best actor at the 2006 Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish & British Film for his role as Colin Frampton in Shut Up and Shoot Me.^[8] In 2007, Nyman appeared as one of the leads in the Frank Oz film Death at a Funeral, starring opposite Matthew Macfadyen, Ewen Bremner and Keely Hawes. In 2008, he starred as Patrick, a sleazy reality show producer, in Charlie Brooker's E4 horror satire Dead Set,^[9] and appeared in BBC Four's supernatural drama series Crooked House.^[8]

Nyman portrayed the recurring character Jonty de Wolf in Channel 4's semi-improvised show Campus. In 2013, he appeared in Kick-Ass 2, as "The Tumor". He did voice over work as the character Bag for the series Sarah & Duck and Chuggington, and portrayed a young Winston Churchill in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders. In 2014 Nyman played the role of Charles Guiteau in the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and appeared in the film Automata with Antonio Banderas and Dylan McDermott.

In 2014, Nyman was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.^[10]

Work with Derren Brown

As an accomplished magician and mentalist, Nyman has frequently collaborated with psychological illusionist Derren Brown. He is the co-creator and co-writer of the television shows Derren Brown – Mind Control and Trick of the Mind. He and Brown wrote Russian Roulette, Séance and Messiah, as well as three series of Trick of the Mind. He also co-wrote and co-directed four of Brown's stage shows,^[11] all of which have toured and played the West End. For Something Wicked This Way Comes they were awarded the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.

Their fourth show Enigma was also nominated for Olivier Award 2010, and he was nominated for the Lew Grade Award at the 2007 BAFTA Awards for his work on Derren Brown: The Heist (alongside collaborators Derren Brown, Simon Mills and Ben Caron).^[8] Nyman shares some of his magic "know-how" in the DVD, Insane.^[12] Their latest collaboration is entitled Sacrifice, which opened in March 2015 in the UK, and was premiered on Netflix in 2018.^[13]

Work with Jeremy Dyson

Ghost Stories

Nyman is co-creator of the long-running horror stage-play Ghost Stories. The show opened at the Liverpool Playhouse on 4 February 2010; from there it moved to the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, before transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End, opening on 25 June 2010.

Since then it has played in Moscow and Toronto, and was nominated for two Olivier Awards in 2011, Best Sound and Best Entertainment. Nyman and Jeremy Dyson co-wrote the show and co-directed it along with Sean Holmes. The stage play Ghost Stories finished after 1,000 shows in the Duke of York's, on 15 March 2015.^[14]

A film adaptation premiered in 2017, starring Nyman, Paul Whitehouse and Martin Freeman.^[15]

The Warlock Effect

Nyman and Dyson are co-authors of the 2023 novel The Warlock Effect, a thriller about a magician who becomes involved with espionage in the 1950s.^[16] It was published by Hodder & Stoughton, and Nyman also narrated an audio version.^[17]

The Psychic

Nyman and Dyson have co-created a new stage play called The Psychic which is had its world premiere at the York Theatre Royal from 29 April to 23 May 2026.^[18]

Personal life

Nyman is Jewish and attended Jewish summer camp.^[19][20]

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Theatre

Other

• 2006 – Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish and British Film – Best Actor – Shut Up and Shoot Me^[36]
• 2008 – Member of the Inner Magic Circle^[37]

References

1. ^ "20 Questions with Andy Nyman". WhatsOnStage.com. 8 October 2007. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014.
2. ^ McCormack, Lauren (6 September 2001). "Desert island kit: Andy Nyman". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
3. ^ "It is with the heaviest of hearts...". 2 June 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
4. ^ "Andy Nyman". London Theatre Direct. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
5. ^ "Ghost Stories Trailer Promises Three Terrifying Stories". Screen Rant. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
6. ^ Mark Deming (2016). "Dead Babies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
7. ^ "Uprising". IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
8. ^ "Andy Nyman". IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
9. ^ "Dead Set". IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
10. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
11. ^ "Magic". Andy Nyman. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
12. ^ "Insane, Andy Nyman". Theory11.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
13. ^ "Stage & Screen". Derren Brown. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
14. ^ Jones, Gareth (13 February 2015). "UK Smash Hit Ghost Stories to Close After 1,000th Performance". Dread Central. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
15. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (5 October 2017). "Ghost Stories review – Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse shine in dreamlike spookfest". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
16. ^ Dyson, Jeremy & Nyman, Andy (2024). The Warlock Effect. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-5293-6481-1.
17. ^ The Warlock Effect. 2022-10-19. ISBN 978-1-5293-6480-4.
18. ^ "Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman to premiere new play The Psychic". 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
19. ^ "Andy Nyman – SomethingJewish.co.uk" Accessed 26 January 2019.
20. ^ "'We owe it all to Jewish summer camp.'" White, Francine.The Jewish Chronicle. Published 30 August 2018. Accessed 26 January 2019.
21. ^ "Andy Nyman & Natalie Casey join Abigail's Party at Menier". WhatsOnStage.com. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
22. ^ Shenton, Mark (8 September 2014). "London Assassins at Menier Chocolate Factory to Include Catherine Tate, Andy Nyman and Mike McShane". Playbill. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
23. ^ "Hangmen (West End)". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
24. ^ "Andy Nyman and Jenna Russell Join Imelda Staunton in the New Production of the Iconic Musical, Hello Dolly!". bestoftheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
25. ^ Andy Nyman and Marc Antolin Will Lead Mel Brooks' The Producers at Menier Chocolate Factory
26. ^ "Winners & Nominees 2006". Olivier Awards. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
27. ^ "Olivier Awards Winners 2010 -Official London Theatre". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
28. ^ "Olivier Winners 2011". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
29. ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants & More Win 2018 Drama Desk Awards". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
30. ^ "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist in full". Evening Standard. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
31. ^ Paskett, Zoe (2019-11-25). "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
32. ^ "Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard – Theatre's Biggest Night". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
33. ^ Coutts, Kristyn (2025-04-07). "Olivier Awards 2025: Full Winners List". Spotlight. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
34. ^ Raven, Paul (2026-03-23). "London Standard Theatre Awards 2025: Full list of winners including Hayley Atwell & Rachel Zegler | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
35. ^ Stage, Guardian (2026-03-05). "Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
36. ^ "Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish & British Film (2006)". IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
37. ^ "The Magic Circle President promotes a Knight, a Dragon and Student Doctor of Magic". The Magic Circle. 2014. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Andy Nyman at IMDb
• Collacott, Dan (8 September 2010). "Ghost in the Machine: Andy Nyman Interview". Liberation Frequency. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2010.