SIMON HAINES

Actor ~ Filmmaker ~ Coach

Simon is an award-winning actor and filmmaker best known as Malendol in 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Rod Reed in The Puzzle Lady (PBS), as well as TV & film for Paramount, BBC, ITV, Netflix, and leading theatre roles in the West End and at the Dutch National Theatre.

Born in North Somerset to a single-parent benefits-class family, he studied English at Cambridge University, where he wrote/performed comedy with the Cambridge Footlights, and then trained as an actor for 3 years at Guildhall.

As a filmmaker, he has directed / written / produced several short films, winning awards and screening at festivals worldwide, including London’s Raindance Festival. He is proudly queer (bisexual) and neurodiverse (dyspraxic) and that intersectionality informs his filmmaking.​​

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Simon has been teaching since 2011. He teaches and directs at top drama schools and is a tutor at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). He coaches actors and directors privately, including for Hollywood movies and British television. ​​

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His mentor is ‘coach to the stars’ Adrienne Weiss, whose clients include Emmy-winners and Oscar-winners. Simon began working with Adrienne in London in 2015 and she has been training him to take over her teaching in London. Simon is the only person in Europe certified to teach Adrienne’s world-renowned method for getting great performances from actors. He is collaborating with Adrienne on her upcoming book. Before that, he consulted for Professor Ken Rea, notably for his book The Outstanding Actor (Bloomsbury), a set text book in many drama schools.