Robert Carlyle
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Robert Carlyle Template:Post-nominals<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes: Trainspotting (1996), The Full Monty (1997), Ravenous and The World Is Not Enough (both 1999), There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (2000), The Beach (2000), The 51st State (2001), Eragon (2006), 28 Weeks Later (2007) and The Legend of Barney Thomson (2015). He has starred in television series such as Hamish Macbeth (1995–1998), Stargate Universe (2009–2011), Once Upon a Time (2011–2018) and COBRA (2020–2023).
He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Full Monty and a Gemini Award for Stargate Universe, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work in the miniseries Human Trafficking (2005).
Early life and education
Carlyle was born on 14 April 1961 in Maryhill, Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth, who worked for a bus company, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> He was raised by his father after his mother left when he was four years old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Carlyle left North Kelvinside Secondary School at the age of 16 without any qualifications and worked for his father as a painter and decorator.<ref>Template:Who's Who</ref> He later attended night classes at Cardonald College, in Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> He first became involved in drama at the Glasgow Arts Centre at the age of 21 (having been inspired by reading Arthur Miller's The Crucible) and he later graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
In 1991, Carlyle and four friends founded a theatre company, Raindog (which was involved in television and film work).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same year he guest starred in The Bill and also starred in his first film, Riff-Raff, directed by Ken Loach.<ref name=":0" />
In 1994, he played the lover of Father Greg in the film Priest. Carlyle's first high-profile role came as serial killer Albie Kinsella in an October 1994 episode of Cracker opposite Robbie Coltrane and Christopher Eccleston.<ref name=":0" /> Carlyle claimed that his main inspiration for the role was Robert De Niro's Academy Award-nominated performance as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. This highly acclaimed role showcased Carlyle's "pure intensity".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly after his appearance in Cracker, he landed the role of Highland policeman Hamish Macbeth in the BBC comedy-drama Hamish Macbeth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The series ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1997.
In 1996 and 1997, he appeared in the two highest-profile roles of his career to date: as the sociopathic Francis Begbie in Trainspotting and Gaz, the leader of a group of amateur male strippers, in The Full Monty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The latter earned Carlyle a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also starred with Ray Winstone in the 1997 film Face. Carlyle played the senior Malachy McCourt (father of author Frank McCourt) in the 1999 film adaptation of McCourt's first memoir, Angela's Ashes; the arch villain Renard in the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough; and a cannibalistic soldier in the 1999 Ravenous.
Carlyle appeared in the 2002 Oasis music video for "Little By Little". He played Adolf Hitler in the 2003 miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil. In 2006 he played the villain Durza in Eragon. In 2007 Carlyle played one of the main characters in the film 28 Weeks Later. He also played the lead role as a marine engineer attempting to save London from total devastation in the disaster film Flood. That year he also portrayed Father Joseph Macavoy in the film The Tournament.
In 2008 Carlyle narrated a BBC audiobook version of The Cutting Room. In 2008, he was cast as Dr. Nicholas Rush in the television series Stargate Universe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His was touted by the studio as the "leading role" in Universe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2008, Carlyle appeared in 24: Redemption, a television movie based on the TV series 24, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland.
In 2009, Carlyle appeared in "The Man Who Walked Around The World," a long-form commercial for Johnnie Walker whisky. Carlyle was shown walking down a path and talking for six minutes in a single long take. The ad took two days to film. The director, Jamie Rafn, afterwards referred to Carlyle as an "utter genius".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He voices the character of Gabriel Belmont, and his counterpart, Dracula, in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, as well as its sequels Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2.
From 2011 to 2018, Carlyle portrayed Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold in the fantasy-drama television series Once Upon a Time. The character is a wizard, deal-maker, and master manipulator. In an interview, Carlyle explained that his son inspired him to create Rumplestiltskin's voice.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
In 2019, he portrayed Ogilvy in a three-part television adaptation of The War of the Worlds for the BBC,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and made an uncredited appearance as John Lennon in the film Yesterday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 2020 to 2023, he portrayed Robert Sutherland, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party in the Sky series Cobra. In 2023, he reprised his role as Gaz for the sequel series to The Full Monty, and appeared in the 2025 Netflix drama Toxic Town.
Carlyle's upcoming roles include Jack Ruby, the killer of Lee Harvey Oswald in the film November 1963, DCS Dave Cook in The Hack, an ITVX drama about the News International phone hacking scandal, and Sherlock Holmes in the second season of the CBS series Watson.
Acting style
Known for his commitment to authenticity in roles, Carlyle has often altered his lifestyle and physical appearance to gain a better understanding of a character; much akin to method acting. Before playing a homeless character in Antonia Bird's Safe, for example, he went to live in the Waterloo area of London where the film was set. For his role as a bus driver in Ken Loach's Carla's Song, he passed the test for a PSV licence (a licence to drive a bus with passengers) in a Glasgow Leyland Atlantean bus.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Carlyle also had dentistry as part of his preparations for reprising his role as Begbie in T2 Trainspotting, choosing to have a dental implant and an adjacent tooth that became damaged during the implant's removal, extracted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Writing of Carlyle's performance in The Full Monty, Andrew Johnston stated: "Carlyle was brilliant as the savage psycho Begbie in Trainspotting; here, he proves he can be almost as good when kept on a short leash. We don't know much about Gaz, but he's the most interesting character in the movie, largely because of Carlyle's down-to-earth warmth."<ref>Time Out New York, 14–21 August 1997.</ref>
Personal life
Carlyle has been married to make-up artist Anastasia Shirley since 1997.<ref name="Wedding">Template:Cite news</ref> They have three children: a daughter born in 2002, and two sons born in 2004 and 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Carlyle is a patron of 'School for Life' in Romania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was appointed an OBE in 1999. Carlyle is lifelong supporter of Scottish football club Rangers F.C.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Silent Scream | Big Woodsy | |
| Riff-Raff | Steve | ||
| 1993 | Being Human | Prehistoric Shaman | |
| 1994 | Priest | Graham | |
| Marooned | Peter | ||
| 1995 | Go Now | Nick Cameron | |
| 1996 | Trainspotting | Francis "Franco" Begbie | |
| Carla's Song | George Lennox | ||
| 1997 | The Full Monty | Gary "Gaz" Schofield | |
| Face | Ray | ||
| 1999 | Plunkett & Macleane | Will Plunkett | |
| Ravenous | Colonel Ives / F.W. Colqhoun | ||
| The World Is Not Enough | Renard | ||
| Angela's Ashes | Malachy McCourt | ||
| 2000 | The Beach | Daffy | |
| There's Only One Jimmy Grimble | Eric Wirral | ||
| 2001 | To End All Wars | Major Ian Campbell | |
| The 51st State | Felix DeSouza | ||
| 2002 | Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | Jimmy | |
| Black and White | David O'Sullivan | ||
| 2004 | Dead Fish | Danny Devine | |
| 2005 | The Mighty Celt | O | |
| Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School | Frank Keane | ||
| 2006 | Eragon | Durza | |
| 2007 | 28 Weeks Later | Donald "Don" Harris | |
| Flood | Robert Morrison | ||
| 2008 | Stone of Destiny | John MacCormick | |
| Summer | Shaun | ||
| I Know You Know | Charlie | ||
| 2009 | The Tournament | Father Joseph MacAvoy | |
| The Unloved | Lucy's Father | ||
| 2012 | California Solo | Lachlan MacAldonich | |
| 2015 | The Legend of Barney Thomson | Barney Thomson | Also director |
| 2016 | All That Remains | Violin player | |
| 2017 | T2 Trainspotting | Francis "Franco" Begbie | |
| 2019 | Yesterday | John Lennon | Uncredited |
| 2022 | North of Normal | Papa Dick | |
| 2023 | The Performance | Fugler | |
| Template:TBA | November 1963 | Jack Ruby |
Television
| Template:Dagger | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Taggart | Gordon Inglis | Episode: "Hostile Witness" |
| 1991 | The Bill | Tom Ward | Episode: "The Better Part of Valour" |
| 1993 | Screenplay | Nosty | Episode: "Safe" |
| 1994 | 99-1 | Detective Constable Trevor Prescott | Episode: "Doing the Business" |
| Cracker | Albie Kinsella | 3 episodes | |
| 1995–1998 | Hamish Macbeth | Hamish Macbeth | 20 episodes |
| 1998 | Looking After Jo Jo | John Joe "Jo Jo" McCann | |
| 2001 | Chewin' the Fat | Himself | Hogmanay Special |
| 2003 | Hitler: The Rise of Evil | Adolf Hitler | |
| 2004 | Gunpowder, Treason & Plot | King James I | Television film |
| 2005 | Human Trafficking | Sergei Karpovich | |
| Class of '76 | Detective Inspector Tom Monroe | Television film | |
| 2006 | Born Equal | Robert | |
| 2008 | The Last Enemy | David Russell | 5 episodes |
| 24: Redemption | Carl Benton | Television film | |
| 2009 | The Unloved | Father | |
| The Man Who Walked Around the World | Himself | Advert for Johnnie Walker<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Zig Zag Love | Jacko | Television film | |
| 2009–2011 | Stargate Universe | Doctor Nicholas Rush | 40 episodes |
| 2011–2018 | Once Upon a Time | Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold / Weaver | 138 episodes |
| 2019 | The War of the Worlds | Ogilvy | 3 episodes |
| 2020–2023 | Cobra | Robert Sutherland | Lead role<ref name="COBRA">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2023 | The Full Monty | Gary "Gaz" Schofield | Lead role |
| 2025 | Toxic Town | Sam Hagen | 4 episodes<ref name="ToxicTownRef">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2025 | Watson | Sherlock Holmes | Recurring role<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2025 | The Hack | Dave Cook | Main role<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Eragon | Shade Durza | |
| 2010 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Gabriel Belmont | |
| 2013 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate | Gabriel Belmont / Dracula | |
| 2014 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | Gabriel Belmont / Dracula / Inner Dracula | |
| Watch Dogs | Stephen Fedder |
Audio books
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Cutting Room | Narrator |
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- 1961 births
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Male actors from Glasgow
- Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
- Scottish male film actors
- Scottish male television actors
- Scottish male video game actors
- Scottish male voice actors
- Best Actor BAFTA Award winners
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Best Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners
- 20th-century Scottish male actors
- 21st-century Scottish male actors
- People from Maryhill