Steve Toussaint was born on March 22, 1965, in Birmingham, England, to a Barbadian mother and a father who worked for the London public transit system, while his mother was a nurse. Growing up in South London, Toussaint developed an interest in theater, acting in school productions throughout his childhood.
During his time at Sussex University, where he was studying for a bachelor's degree in politics, Toussaint was scouted for a role in a play, which led him to join the drama society. Despite working in hospital administration and merchant banking, he continued to take drama classes at night.
Toussaint made his acting debut in 1990 as Genie in Aladdin at the Churchill Theatre in London, and went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing roles in Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice. He also appeared in Ruined at the Almeida Theatre in London.
In 1994, Toussaint made his television debut in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and his career quickly took off. The following year, he was cast as a series regular in The Knock, a widely known British television crime drama.
Toussaint's film debut was in the 1995 British-German film I.D., and he later starred in Mutant Chronicles, Point Break, and Judge Dredd. In 2010, he starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Alfred Molina in the blockbuster film Prince of Persia.
He has also appeared in numerous other television shows, including Waking the Dead, Silent Witness, Line of Duty, England Expects, Spooks, Casualty, The Bill, and CSI: Miami.
In addition to his acting work, Toussaint is an accomplished writer, with numerous scripts either completed or in development. One of his notable projects is A Viable Candidate, a short film that he wrote and starred in, about a man who is on the verge of becoming leader of a major political party in the UK.
Toussaint has also appeared in several notable television series, including Steve McQueen's BAFTA award-winning BBC series Small Axe, HBO Max's miniseries It's A Sin, and the recurring role of Kane in Before We Die. In 2021, he was cast as Lord Corlys 'The Sea Snake' Velaryon in Game of Thrones prequel on HBO House of the Dragon, alongside a distinguished cast including Paddy Considine, Eve Best, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Emily Carey, and Matt Smith.
