Robert Carlyle | |
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![]() Robert Carlyle in the 2009 Comic-Con |
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Born | 14 April 1961 Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1990–present |
Spouse | Anastasia Shirley (1997-present) |
Robert Carlyle, OBE (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish film and television actor. He is most known for his work in Trainspotting, The World is Not Enough, and The Full Monty. He is currently starring as Doctor Nicholas Rush in Stargate Universe.
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Carlyle was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth, a bus company employee, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator.[1][2] He was brought up by his father after his mother left when Carlyle was four years old.[3][4] He left school at 16 without qualifications and went to work for his father as a painter and decorator, however he continued his education by attending night classes at Cardonald College in Glasgow.[5]
Carlyle 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 subsequently graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 1991, he and four friends founded an acting company and guest starred in The Bill.
In 1994, he played the gay lover of Father Greg in the film Priest.
Carlyle's first high-profile role came as murderer Albie Kinsella in an October 1994 episode of Cracker opposite Robbie Coltrane (in which he killed four people, including the character DCI David Bilborough, played by Christopher Eccleston).
He soon landed the title role of Highland policeman Hamish Macbeth in the BBC comedy-drama Hamish Macbeth. The series ran for three seasons, from 1995 to 1997.
In 1996 and 1997, he appeared in the two most high-profile roles of his career to date: that of the sociopathic Francis Begbie in Trainspotting and Gaz, the leader of a group of amateur male strippers, in The Full Monty, the latter earning Carlyle a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. 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, 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. Then 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 the role of Father Joseph Macavoy in the film The Tournament.
In 2008 Carlyle narrated a BBC audiobook version of The Cutting Room.
In 2008, Carlyle was cast as Dr. Nicholas Rush in the television series Stargate Universe.[6][7] His involvement has been described thus, "As [the team fights] to survive, Dr. Rush (Carlyle) works to unlock the mysteries of the ship and return the group home, but evidence of his ulterior motives soon arises." Carlyle was touted by the studio as the "leading role" in Universe.[8] In December 2008, Carlyle appeared in 24: Redemption, a television movie of the popular series 24, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland.
In 2009, Carlyle appeared in a long-form commercial for Johnnie Walker whiskey, titled "The Man Who Walked Around The World", that showed Carlyle 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".[9]
He voices the character of Gabriel Belmont, the hero of the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, slated to be released in 2010.
Known for his commitment to roles, Carlyle has often altered his lifestyle and physical appearance to better understand a character: before playing a homeless character in Antonia Bird’s 'Safe', 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; and for the role of Hitler, he listened to all the works of Richard Wagner, Hitler's favourite composer.[10]
Carlyle is the Patron of School For Life Romania, Charity No.1062953.[11]
He is married to the makeup artist Anastasia Shirley with whom he has three children. The family lives in Scotland.
Film | |||
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Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
1990 | Silent Scream | Big Woodsy | |
Riff-Raff | Steve | ||
1992 | Tender Blue Eyes | Richard Fascetti | |
1993 | Being Human | Prehistoric Shamen | |
1994 | Priest | Graham | |
Marooned | Peter | ||
1995 | Go Now | Nick Cameron | Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor |
1996 | Trainspotting | Francis "Franco" Begbie | Nominated - BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama |
Carla's Song | George Lennox | Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actor of the Year |
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1997 | The Full Monty | Gary "Gaz" Schofield | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actor of the Year Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
Face | Ray | Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actor of the Year |
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1999 | Plunkett & Macleane | Plunkett | |
Ravenous | Col. Ives/F.W. Colqhoun | ||
The World Is Not Enough | Renard | ||
Angela's Ashes | Malachy McCourt | Nominated - Empire Award for Best British Actor Nominated - IFTA Award for Best Actor |
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2000 | The Beach | Daffy | |
There's Only One Jimmy Grimble | Eric Wirral | ||
2001 | To End All Wars | Major Ian Campbell | |
The 51st State Or Formula 51 | 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 | Don | |
Flood | Robert Morrison | ||
2008 | Stone of Destiny | John MacCormick | |
Summer | Shaun | Nominated - BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor | |
I Know You Know | Charlie | ||
2009 | The Tournament | Joseph Macavoy |
Television | |||
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Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
1990 | Taggart | Gordon Inglis | 1 episode |
1991 | The Bill | Tom Ward | 1 episode |
1994 | 99-1 | Detective Constable Trevor Prescott | 1 episode |
Cracker | Albie Kinsella | 3 episodes BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor - TV |
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1995-1998 | Hamish Macbeth | Hamish Macbeth | 20 episodes RTS Television Award for Best Actor - Male Nominated - BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor - TV Nominated - BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor |
1998 | Looking After Jo Jo | John Joe 'Jo Jo' McCann | Nominated - BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor |
2003 | Hitler: The Rise of Evil | Adolf Hitler | Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
2004 | Gunpowder, Treason & Plot | King James I | |
2005 | Human Trafficking | Sergei Karpovich | Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie |
Class of '76 | DI Tom Monroe | ||
2006 | Born Equal | Robert | |
2008 | The Last Enemy | David Russell | 5 episodes |
24: Redemption | Carl Benton | ||
2009 | The Unloved | Father | Scottish BAFTA for Best TV Actor |
Stargate Universe | Dr. Nicholas Rush |
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