Rory Kinnear | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kinnear in 2012 | |
| Born | Rory Michael Kinnear (1978-02-17)17 February 1978 (age 47) Hammersmith,London, England |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Partner | Pandora Colin |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Roy Kinnear Carmel Cryan |
| Relatives | David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech (father-in-law) |
Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won twoOlivier Awards, both at theNational Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter inThe Man of Mode, and for playing theWilliam Shakespeare villainIago inOthello in 2014.
He playedBill Tanner in fourJames Bond films:Quantum of Solace (2008),Skyfall (2012),Spectre (2015), andNo Time to Die (2021); and in variousvideo games of the franchise. Kinnear also playedDave Fishwick inBank of Dave (2023) andBank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger (2025). His other film roles includeBroken (2012), for which he won aBritish Independent Film Award,The Imitation Game (2014),Men (2022), andThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024).
Television roles include Michael Callow in the debut episode of theanthologyBlack Mirror, "The National Anthem" (2011), Michael Baker in the sitcomCount Arthur Strong (2013–2017),Lord Lucan in the two-part thrillerLucan (2013),the Creature in the horror dramaPenny Dreadful (2014–2016), Stephen in the dystopian mini-seriesYears and Years (2019), andTom Bombadil in theAmazon Prime Video seriesThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024).
Kinnear was born on 17 February 1978,[1][2][3] inHammersmith,London, the son of actorRoy Kinnear and actressCarmel Cryan.[4] He grew up with two older sisters. He is the grandson of Scottish international rugby union and rugby league playerRoy Kinnear and the godson of actorMichael Williams.[5] He was educated atTower House School (leaving in 1991),[6]St Paul's School, London (leaving in 1996),[7] andBalliol College, Oxford, where he studied English.[8] He then studied acting at theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[9]
Kinnear performed inPhyllida Lloyd's production ofMary Stuart, and inTrevor Nunn'sHamlet, in which he played Laertes.[8] He also achieved recognition as the outrageous Sir Fopling Flutter inThe Man of Mode at theNational Theatre,[8] winning the 2008Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role andIan Charleson Award.[8] His other notable theatre work includes the lead inThomas Middleton'sThe Revenger's Tragedy,[8] Pyotr inMaxim Gorky'sPhilistines,[8] and Mitia in a stage adaptation of theNikita Mikhalkov filmBurnt by the Sun,[8] all for the National Theatre.[8]
In 2010, he played Angelo inMeasure for Measure at theAlmeida Theatre.[10] Later in 2010, he played the title role inHamlet at the National Theatre.[10][11] The two portrayals won him the best actor award in theEvening Standard Drama Awards for 2010.[10][12]
Kinnear appeared inThe Last of the Haussmans byStephen Beresford at the National Theatre during the summer of 2012. It was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through theNational Theatre Live programme.[13]
He starred asIago oppositeAdrian Lester in the title role ofOthello in 2013 at the National Theatre throughout the summer of 2013.[14] Both actors won the Best Actor award in theEvening Standard Theatre Awards for their roles;[14] it is normally given to only one actor, but the judges were unable to choose between them. Kinnear also won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor 2014 for his performance inOthello.[15]
From September 2013, theBush Theatre in London staged Kinnear's debut playThe Herd, directed byHoward Davies.[16] It ran at theSteppenwolf Theatre in Chicago beginning 2 April 2015.[17] In October 2017, he appeared in thetitle role ofYoung Marx, the premiere production at theBridge Theatre.[18] He returned to the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre to star in the title role inMacbeth withAnne-Marie Duff from February 2018.[8]
ForThe Threepenny Opera (a "play with songs") at theOlivier Theatre from May to October 2016, Kinnear found his "dormant" singing voice for the role ofMacheath.[19][20] In February 2017, he made his directing debut withThe Winter's Tale, a new opera written byRyan Wigglesworth and based on Shakespeare's play, forEnglish National Opera.[21]
Kinnear portraysBill Tanner in theDaniel Craig–eraJames Bond film series after taking over fromMichael Kitchen. He is the fourth person to play the character. He has appeared inQuantum of Solace (2008),Skyfall (2012),Spectre (2015) andNo Time to Die (2021). As well as the films, Kinnear also lends his voice and likeness to the Bond video games;GoldenEye 007 (2010),James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010) and007 Legends (2012). In 2014, he played the fictional character, Detective Nock, inThe Imitation Game based loosely on the biographyAlan Turing:The Enigma byAndrew Hodges. In January 2017, he portrayed Ellmann in theNetflix filmiBoy. He played Henry Hunt inMike Leigh's 2018 filmPeterloo. In 2022, he played Geoffrey, as well as most of the other male roles, inAlex Garland'sA24 horror filmMen.[22]
In 2023, Kinnear starred as Burnley wannabe bankerDave Fishwick in the filmBank of Dave, released onNetflix in January 2023,[23] reprising his role in the sequelBank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger in January 2025.[24]
Kinnear appeared in the 2007 television filmMansfield Park, withBillie Piper andMichelle Ryan.[25] He followed this in 2008, with his portrayal ofDenis Thatcher in a BBC dramatisation ofMargaret Thatcher's political career,The Long Walk to Finchley,[25] which also starredAndrea Riseborough andSamuel West.[25] in 2010, he starred alongsideLucy Punch andToby Stephens in theBBC Two seriesVexed.[25] The same year, he was the co-lead withMark Gatiss in the BBC4 TV drama,The First Men in the Moon.[10]
In 2011, he provided narration during theBBC Proms production of 'Henry V – suite' arranged byMuir Mathieson during their Film Music Prom.[26] He appeared in the lead role of Prime Minister Michael Callow in "The National Anthem", the first episode of theanthology seriesBlack Mirror.[27] In July 2012, Kinnear appeared asBolingbroke inRichard II, aBBC Two adaptation of theplay of the same name, withBen Whishaw asKing Richard andPatrick Stewart asJohn of Gaunt.[28]
In 2013, Kinnear starred as Michael in theBBC sitcomCount Arthur Strong,[25] continuing in that role for 4 years. The same year, he appeared in the Channel 4 dramaSouthcliffe,[25] and in December 2013, he portrayed British peer and suspected murdererLord Lucan in the two-part ITV seriesLucan.[25] He also appeared asFrankenstein's monster in theShowtime television seriesPenny Dreadful, for which, he won theSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2014.[29]
In 2017, he appeared in the British miniseriesGuerrilla as a Chief Inspector in the Special Branches.[30] and as Robert Lessing from the early days of English medicine in theBBC Two comedy seriesQuacks.[25] In 2018, he appeared in the first episode of the fourth series of theBBC Oneanthology seriesInside No. 9,Zanzibar, a modern take on a Shakespearean comedy performed entirely iniambic pentameter.[31][25]
In 2019, Kinnear playedCraig Oliver in theChannel 4 television filmBrexit: The Uncivil War,[32] and the desperate financial advisor Stephen Lyons in the futuristic seriesYears and Years.[25]
In 2021, Kinnear playedNeo-NaziColin Jordan in the television dramaRidley Road[33] and was Edward Williams in theBBC'sThe Mezzotint.[25] In 2022, he starred inOur Flag Means Death.[34]
Since 2023, he plays the fictional character of British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge in the Netflix seriesThe Diplomat alongside Keri Russell. In 2024, Kinnear played the fictional character ofTom Bombadil in theAmazon Prime Video seriesThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
In 2010, he playedFlugkapitän Jürgen Rahl in the BBC Radio dramaSlipstream as a disaffected German pilot who joins a mission to steal an alien spacecraft harboured by the Nazis.[35]
Kinnear is engaged to actress Pandora Colin (née Ormsby-Gore), daughter of the5th Baron Harlech,[36] also the aunt to the current 7th Baron, Conservative sitting peerJasset Ormsby-Gore.[failed verification] They have a son born in 2010, and a daughter born in 2014.[10][37][38]
In May 2020, Kinnear's sister Karina, who wasquadriplegic, died fromcoronavirus.[39]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Judas | Andrew | |
| 2008 | Quantum of Solace | Bill Tanner | |
| 2009 | Wish 143 | Wisham | Short film |
| 2010 | The First Men in the Moon | Julius Bedford | |
| Wild Target | Gerry Bailey | ||
| 2012 | Skyfall | Bill Tanner | |
| Broken | Bob Oswald | ||
| 2014 | Cuban Fury | Gary | |
| The Imitation Game | Detective Nock | ||
| 2015 | Man Up | Sean | |
| Spectre | Bill Tanner | ||
| 2016 | Trespass Against Us | P.C Lovage | |
| The Roof | Yet Another Fan | Short film | |
| Daddy My | Father | Short film | |
| 2017 | iBoy | Ellman | |
| 2018 | Peterloo | Henry Hunt | |
| 2021 | No Time to Die | Bill Tanner | |
| 2022 | Men | Geoffrey / Various roles | |
| 2023 | Bank of Dave | Dave Fishwick | |
| 2024 | The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare | Winston Churchill | [40] |
| 2025 | Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger | Dave Fishwick | [24] |
| TBA | Learning to Breathe Under Water† | Pre-production[41] | |
| Animal† | Harold Laing | Post-production |
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Judge John Deed | Tony Cootes | Episode: "Duty of Care" |
| 2002 | Menace | Kevin | 2 episodes |
| Ultimate Force | Policeman | Episode: "The Killing House" | |
| 2003 | The Second Coming | Father Dillane | Episode: "#1.1" |
| 2005 | Silent Witness | Paul | Episode: "The Meaning of Death" |
| Secret Smile | Nick | Television movie | |
| 2007 | Mansfield Park | James Rushworth | Television movie |
| Five Days | Kyle Betts | 5 episodes | |
| Comedy Showcase | Rob Black | Episode: "Plus One" | |
| 2008 | Messiah: The Rapture | Stewart Dean | 2 episodes |
| The Curse of Steptoe | Alan Simpson | Television movie | |
| The Long Walk to Finchley | Denis Thatcher | Television movie | |
| 2009 | Waking the Dead | James Mitcham | 2 episodes |
| Beautiful People | Ross | Episode: "How I Got My Plumes" | |
| Ashes to Ashes | Jeremy | Episode: "#2.3" | |
| Cranford | Septimus Hanbury | Episode: "Return to Cranford: Part One – August 1844" | |
| The Thick of It | Ed Atkins | Episode: "#3.1" | |
| 2010 | Vexed | Dan Bishop | 3 episodes |
| Lennon Naked | Brian Epstein | Television movie | |
| 2011 | Women in Love | Rupert Birkin | 2 episodes |
| Black Mirror | Prime Minister Michael Callow | Episode: "The National Anthem" | |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Reverend Septimus Crisparkle | 2 episodes |
| The Hollow Crown | Bolingbroke | Episode: "Richard II" | |
| 2013 | Southcliffe | David Whitehead | 4 episodes |
| Lucan | Lord Lucan | 2 episodes | |
| 2013–2017 | Count Arthur Strong | Michael | 20 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | Penny Dreadful | The Creature | 22 episodes |
| 2015 | The Casual Vacancy | Barry Fairbrother | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Pence | 6 episodes |
| Quacks | Robert Lessing | 6 episodes | |
| 2018 | Inside No. 9 | Prince Rico / Gus | Episode: "Zanzibar" |
| Watership Down | Cowslip (voice) | Miniseries | |
| 2019 | Brexit: The Uncivil War | Craig Oliver | Television film |
| Years and Years | Stephen Lyons | Main role | |
| Catherine the Great | Nikita Ivanovich Panin | Miniseries | |
| 2020 | Penny Dreadful: City of Angels | Peter Craft | Main role |
| 2021 | Ridley Road | Colin Jordan | |
| 2022 | Our Flag Means Death | Captain Nigel Badminton/Admiral Chauncey Badminton | Main role |
| 2023–present | The Diplomat | Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge | Main role |
| 2024 | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Tom Bombadil | 3 episodes[42][43] |
| Say Nothing | Frank Kitson | Miniseries | |
| 2025 | Toxic Town | Des Collins | 3 episodes[44] |
| Amadeus† | Emperor Joseph | Upcoming miniseries[45] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Acting roles | ||||
| Preceded by | Bill Tanner actor from the James Bond films 2008 –present | Incumbent | ||
| Preceded by | Arnold Bedford actor fromThe First Men in the Moon 2010 | Most recent | ||
| Preceded by Liam Brennan | Henry IV actor 2012 | Succeeded by | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
