Steven Waddington

Steven Waddington was an English film and TV actor who was best known for his supporting role as Maj. Duncan Heyward in director Michael Mann's Oscar-winning historical epic "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992). Born and raised in Leeds, located in Northern England, Waddington's interest in acting began when he was a young boy. He quickly gravitated to the theater and before long was appearing in grade school productions. In addition to his stage performances, Waddington also began nabbing roles as an extra, and even a few speaking parts, on the regional British TV station, Yorkshire Television. The experience of being in front of a camera proved to be exhilarating for the teenage Waddington, and it was then that he began dreaming of one day being on the big screen. Of course, he would have to wait a few years in order for his visions of Hollywood stardom to become a reality. After high school, Waddington was accepted into the prestigious East 15 Acting School in Essex, where he earned professional training from some of the country's best acting teachers. Upon graduating from East 15 in 1989, Waddington's fledgling career got another boost when he was asked to join the Royal Shakespeare Company-one of the most respected theater companies in the world. While a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Waddington toured parts of the country, while honing his craft nightly before an adoring live audience. Then in 1991, when he was 24, Waddington got his first big break when he was cast as the eponymous king in Derek Jarman's historical drama "Edward II" (1991). The film received rave reviews from critics, with Waddington being praised for his sterling debut performance. With his professional film acting career less than a year old, Waddington would receive the break of a lifetime when director Michael Mann asked him to play the supporting role of Maj. Duncan Heyward in the historical epic "The Last of the Mohicans." Waddington's role in the film allowed him to act alongside Daniel Day Lewis, arguably one of the greatest actors of his generation, while also giving the 25-year-old Waddington the opportunity to work with one of Hollywood's most revered directors in Mann. "The Last of the Mohicans" went on to be nominated for 7 BAFTA Awards, taking home two, and also earned an Oscar nod for Best Sound. With only two screen acting roles under his belt, Waddington had already made a name for himself as a hot young movie actor on the rise. However, as he would prove in the ensuing years, his acting career was just getting started. In the two decades that followed Waddington earned praise for his appearances in various films and TV shows, most notably "Royal Deceit" (1994), "Ivanhoe" (BBC, 1997), "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), "The Parole Officer" (2001), and "The Tudors" (Showtime, 2007-2010). By the 2010s, with nearly 20 years of professional screen acting behind him, Waddington continued nabbing parts in various high-profile films and TV series. These included: the historical mini-series "Titanic" (ABC/ITV, 2012), the Oscar-winning film "The Imitation Game" (2014), and the British historical series "Jamestown" (Sky One, 2017-19). In 2019 Waddington appeared in the horror film "The Reckoning" (2019). That film, which was directed by Neal Marshall, also starred Sean Pertwee and Charlotte Kirk.