Anonymous
An ambitious Elizabethan noble fights political intrigue and royal suspicion to claim credit for the era’s greatest plays, risking his reputation and life to reveal himself as the true Shakespeare.
“Was Shakespeare a Fraud?”
Synopsis
Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story presents the theory that it was Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 88+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Peter R AdamShot by Anna FoersterScored by Harald KloserDesigned by Sebastian T Krawinkel
Box Office
2011 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.5× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$15.4M
Opening week (7-day): $1.5M
Peak 265 theaters
Also known as
- Anonymusde
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Cast & Crew
88 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Rhys Ifans
as Earl of Oxford
Jamie Campbell Bower
as Young Earl of Oxford
Vanessa Redgrave
as Queen Elizabeth I
David Thewlis
as William Cecil
Sebastian Armesto
as Ben Jonson
Joely Richardson
as Princess Elizabeth Tudor
Rafe Spall
as William Shakespeare
Edward Hogg
as Robert Cecil
Xavier Samuel
as Earl of Southampton
Sam Reid
as Earl of Essex
Paolo De Vita
as Francesco
Trystan Gravelle
as Christopher Marlowe
Supporting cast
65Robert Emms
as Thomas Dekker
Tony Way
as Thomas Nashe
Julian Bleach
as Captain Richard Pole
Derek Jacobi
as Prologue
Alex Hassell
as Spencer
James Garnon
as John Heminge
Mark Rylance
as Condell
Jasper Britton
as Pope
Ned Dennehy
as Interrogator
John Keogh
as Philip Henslowe
Lloyd Hutchinson
as Richard Burbage
Vicky Krieps
as Bessie Vavasour
Helen Baxendale
as Anne De Vere
Paula Schramm
as Bridget De Vere
Amy Kwolek
as Young Anne De Vere
Luke Thomas Taylor
as Boy Earl of Oxford
Isaiah Michalski
as Boy Robert Cecil
Timo Huber
as Boy Earl of Southampton
Richard Durden
as Archbishop
Shaun Lawton
as Footman
Detlef Bothe
as John De Vere
James Clyde
as King James I
Christian Sengewald
as Cecil's Spy Servant
Jean Loup Fourure
as Monsieur Beaulieu
Viktoria Gabrysch
as Buxom Lady
Axel Sichrovsky
as Essex General
Katrin Pollitt
as Lady-in-Waiting
Patricia Grove
as Lady-in-Waiting
Laura Lo Zito
as Selling Maid
Gode Benedix
as Groundling
Nic Romm
as Usher
Henry Lloyd Hughes
as Bear Baiter
Patrick Diemling
as Oxford's Servant
Patrick Heyn
as Oxford's Doctor
Nino Sandow
as Stage Manager (New York)
Craig Salisbury
as Dwarf / Puck
Rainer Guldener
as Quince
Trystan Putter
as Bottom
Andre Kaczmarczyk
as Titania
Jonas Hammerle
as Child Oberon
Mike Maas
as Pole's Commander
Christian Leonard
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Christian Banzhaf
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Victoria Calero
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Martin Engler
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Alfred Hartung
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Oliver Kube
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Christian Ludwig
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Oliver Rickenbacher
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Claudius Von Stolzmann
as Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Tjadke Biallowons
as Dancer
Dafne Maria Fielder
as Dancer
Alexander Flache
as Dancer
Antonia Gerke
as Dancer
Sophie Hichert
as Dancer
Vera Kreyer
as Dancer
Stefanie Lanius
as Dancer
Urban Luig
as Dancer
Jasmin Mehling
as Dancer
Elisabeth Milarch
as Dancer
Robert Munzinger
as Dancer
Benjamin Plath
as Dancer
Erik Studte
as Dancer
Johann Hakob Wurster
as Dancer
Steffi Sattler
as First Lady to King James I (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
3Other crew
8Parents Guide
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