John Schwab

John Schwab is an American actor, TV producer and musician who resides in London. He produced The Hide with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010. He is best known for his film and television roles, such as lawyer Travis Tygart in the 2015 drama film The Program (2015), baseball player Lefty Grove in the 2018 biographical drama film The Catcher Was a Spy (2018) and television producer Jotham Starr in the television miniseries Dark Money (2019).

He has worked on British television series such as Doctor Who, Clone, My Dad's the Prime Minister, Hotel Babylon and The Mallorca Files. His voice work in animation and video games include Dane in Crysis: Warhead, Zeck in Boo, Zino & the Snurks, Vinnie in Thomas & Friends: The Great Race, Timo in Gladiators of Rome, Jin in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country, Dandelion in The Witcher video games, Tony Stark / Iron Man in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and the Guardian, Black Sinja and the Blue Sinja in Trials of the Blood Dragon.

Career

Schwab made his first appearance in 1997 as the US voice of a voice trumpet in the British iconic children's series Teletubbies. In 2005, he played Owen Bywater, a commander of the base who guards the Metaltron Cage with his subordinate, De Maggio (Jana Carpenter), in the episode of Doctor Who, "Dalek". His other television roles include Rescue Heroes, My Dad's the Prime Minister, Noel's House Party, Hotel Babylon, Trust, Ultimate Force, Undercover, America's War on Drugs, and Monarch of the Glen.

Schwab served as the narrator of the Discovery Channel documentary television series Weaponology from 2007 through 2008. Schwab provides the voice of Tristan Jackson in the Canadian animated series Elemental Dragons with fellow voice actors Samuel Vincent, Clancy Brown, Andrew Francis, Chiara Zanni, Keith David and Daniel Bacon.

In 2013, Schwab auditioned to provide the US narration for Thomas & Friends after Michael Brandon left the series, but Mark Moraghan was chosen to narrate the show instead in both the US and UK dubs, replacing both Brandon and Michael Angelis. Three years later, he joined the voice cast in the series taking on the role of Stanley in the US dub, replacing Rob Rackstraw and from Season 20 onwards. The same year, he voiced Vinnie, a tough confederation locomotive in the series' 2016 special Thomas & Friends: The Great Race. Following the success of The Great Race, Schwab voiced some characters in the 2017 special Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor.

He played an umpire in the comedy film Mr. 3000 (2004), featuring the comedic actor Bernie Mac. His film credits include Back to Gaya, The Fifth Estate, Zero Dark Thirty, The Anomaly, The Current War, The Program, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Annihilation.^[1] He provides voices in video games, such as Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Battlefield 1, Killzone 2 and many others. In 2011, Schwab provided the voice of Dandelion, starting with the video game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.^[2] Schwab appears as baseball player Lefty Grove in the biographical film The Catcher Was a Spy (2018), featuring Paul Rudd, Jeff Daniels, Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti.^[1] He provided the English voice of Timo in the animated film Gladiators of Rome.

In 2019, he appeared as Jotham Starr, a filmmaker who molested Isaac (Max Fincham) in the BBC One television miniseries Dark Mon£y.^[3] In 2024, Schwab appeared as Sheriff Bilstein in the psychological-thriller feature film Blood Star, directed by Lawrence Jacomelli and produced by Beast Films, which premiered at the 2024 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival and was released in the United States on November 25, 2025, through Quiver Distribution.^[4]

Music

Schwab played the harmonica in the TV show The Hit Factory: The Pete Waterman Story (2001).

Producing

Schwab, alongside Christopher Granier-Deferre, produced the film The Hide, which was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for producing in 2010.

Personal life

He met his wife, Tamsin, in Seoul after graduation and studied at Durham University (English Literature, 1993–96).^[5] He and Tamsin married in 1994 and settled in the United Kingdom. He has two sons.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Radio

Stage

References

1. ^ "John Schwab Theater Profile". Curtain Call Online. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
2. ^ "Actor Portraying Dandelion in Netflix's Witcher Series Talks About the Biggest Differences Between the Show and Game". www.gonintendo.com. GoNintendo. December 21, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
3. ^ "Dark Money cast: who stars in the new BBC One series, and what time it's on tonight". www.inews.co.uk. July 16, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
4. ^ Frazer, Neill (November 6, 2025). "Trailer: Blood Star, A Gritty Desert Noir Thriller Set to Release on November 25, 2025 - OutLoud! Culture". Outloud! Culture. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
5. ^ "News". Dunelm. November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
6. ^ "John Schwab (visual voices guide)" (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
7. ^ "Dark Survival Thriller BLOOD STAR Heading To Grimmfest". www.horrorsociety.com. Horror Society. September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
8. ^ Writer: Robert Shearman; Director: Joe Ahearne; Producer: Phil Collinson (30 April 2005). "Dalek". Doctor Who. BBC
9. ^ Schwab, John (November 17, 2016). "Yes, that's me. Thanks for watching.". Twitter. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
10. ^ Newby, Jake (November 17, 2020). "Pensacola actor John Schwab talks Netflix's 'The Queen's Gambit' after appearing in show". www.pnj.com. Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
11. ^ Frederick, Brittany (June 30, 2023). "Who Plays Thomas Miller in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan?". www.cbr.com. CBR. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
12. ^ Heyssel, Patricia (December 12, 2022). "Masters Of The Air's Biggest Casting Is So Much More Exciting Now". www.screenrant.com. ScreenRant. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
13. ^ Betancourt, John Edward (April 3, 2026). "‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ Recap – ‘Vivid’". www.nerdsthatgeek.com. Nerds That Geek. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
14. ^ Wilson, Kyle (December 5, 2022). "Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga character voice actors and cast". www.theloadout.com. The Loadout. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
15. ^ Testa, Grant (April 21, 2023). "Dead Island 2 Voice Actors: Full Cast Listed". www.primagames.com. Prima Games. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
16. ^ "Atomic Heart Voice Actors: Here's the entire cast and information on whether Jensen Ackles is in the game". www.indiatodaygaming.com. India Today Gaming. February 21, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
17. ^ Lyons, Steve (September 17, 2019). "255. Doctor Who: Harry Houdini's War". www.bigfinish.com. Big Finish Radio. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
18. ^ "Bill Bailey leads new comedy special on BBC Radio 4". www.radiotoday.co.uk. Radio Today. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
19. ^ Dessau, Bruce (June 9, 2021). "Bill Bailey, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Elizabeth Carling Star in Radio 4 Comedy Hennikay". www.beyondthejoke.co.uk. Beyond the Joke. Retrieved June 22, 2021.

External links

• John Schwab at the British Film Institute
• John Schwab at IMDb