Adrian Lester (born August 14, 1968) is an English actor.
Lester was born in Birmingham, England to Jamaican parents. He began performing in youth choirs at the age of ten. He began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Lester is married to actress Lolita Chakrabarti. Together they have two daughters, Lila and Jasmine.
Lester is known in the United Kingdom as the character of a big-time con artist Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone in the first three series BBC TV series Hustle between 2004 and 2006. The character was written out of the fourth series and replaced by Ashley Walters, although he may yet return in the fifth series. In the United States he plays a campaign manager Henry Burton in Mike Nichols' 1998 film Primary Colors, based on the novel by Anonymous (Joe Klein). His character is believed to represent George Stephanopoulos. This part earned him a Chicago Film Critics Association award nomination for "Most Promising Actor".
Lester appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost, an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play, set in the 1930s. The film itself was poorly received, but Lester received a British Independent Film Awards nomination for his performance.
He has appeared on stage in the musical Company, in the title role of Hamlet and as Rosalind in Cheek by Jowl's 1991 production of As You Like It. Also, in The Day After Tomorrow, Lester has a minor role as Simon, one of the three researchers who drink a toast of "Twelve-year-old Scotch" shortly before freezing to death. Lester also appeared as Ellis in the hit sitcom Girlfriends from 2002 to 2003. He played a movie star who dated Tracee Ellis Ross' character, Joan.
In late 2005, Lester had a major guest starring role in Channel 4's hard hitting police drama, The Ghost Squad. Lester also filmed scenes for 2007's Spider-Man 3, as a research scientist who is sought after by the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) to find a cure for his ailing daughter. He was seen in one teaser trailer for the movie; however, his scenes were cut from the final theatrical version.
