Darren Boyd | |
|---|---|
| Born | Darren John Boyd Hastings, Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Darren John Boyd is an English actor. He starred in theSky One seriesSpy, for which he won the 2012BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Comedy Performance. His work in television and film spans comedy and drama.
Darren John Boyd was born inHastings,Sussex.[1]
He was drawn to acting at the age of 16, starting in local theatre productions.[2]
Boyd co-starred in the BBC comedyKiss Me Kate (1998),[2] which ran for three years. This led to starring roles in British comedies such asHippies (1999), working withSimon Pegg, andSmack the Pony (1999).[2] In 2001, he worked withVictoria Pile on a new seriesLos Dos Bros, an off-beat sitcom exploring physical comedy and the relationship between Boyd andCavan Clerkin as the titular (half-)brothers. Boyd was co-creator and co-writer. The show won a silver rose at Montreux in 2002. During this time Boyd starred alongsideJulia Louis-Dreyfus in theNBC series,Watching Ellie.[1]
Boyd returned to the UK in 2005 and took on characters such as Dr. Jake Leaf in the second series ofGreen Wing (2006), and as Jonathan inSteve Coogan'sSaxondale. In 2009, he appeared in the two-part adaptation ofMay Contain Nuts, based onJohn O'Farrell's best-selling novel,Personal Affairs forBBC Three andRoyal Wedding (2010),[1] which follows the1981 Royal Wedding through the perspective of events held in a small Welsh mining village, written by BAFTA winnerAbi Morgan and starringJodie Whittaker.[1]
Boyd starred as Bib in the BBC seriesWhites and co-starred in theBBC Four dramaDirk Gently playingDirk Gently's business partner Richard MacDuff. The BBC announced in June 2011 that Boyd would play the role ofJohn Cleese inHoly Flying Circus,[3] a 90-minute dramatisation of the controversy that arose whenMonty Python'sLife of Brian was released in 1979.[3]
From 2011 to 2013, Boyd starred in theSky One seriesSpy,[4] which won himBAFTA Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance.[5][6] He also starred in twoITV dramas,Case Sensitive, a series adapted fromSophie Hannah's novelPoint of Rescue alongsideOlivia Williams, and three-part dramaThe Guilty.[1]
In 2014, Boyd was reunited with hisWatching Ellie costar Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a guest appearance on her HBO seriesVeep in the episode "Special Relationship".[1]
Boyd was part of the ensemble cast ofSky Atlantic drama seriesFortitude,[1] which premiered simultaneously in the UK and US in early 2015 playing Markus Huseklepp. Following Fortitude, Boyd briefly returned to comedy in the lead role of Matthew Bunting in the ITV situation comedyThe Delivery Man.[1]
In 2016, he returned to television with two dramatic roles. He appeared oppositeIdris Elba in the fourth series ofLuther,[1] andJames Nesbitt in Stan Lee'sLucky Man.[3]
In early 2018, Boyd played Frank Haleton in the BritishBBC drama seriesKilling Eve.[1] In late 2019, Boyd provided the voice of Mr. Brown inThe Adventures of Paddington which began airing on theNick Jr. Channel in early 2020.[1]
He played Supt. Dave Minty in the 2020 BBC dramaThe Salisbury Poisonings.[7]
Notable cameos include an evangelical vicar inRev. and an ex-athlete named Dave Wellbeck in BBC's OlympicsmockumentaryTwenty Twelve.[1]
In 2021, Boyd appeared in theBBC seriesThe Outlaws.[8]
Feature films in which Boyd has appeared includeHigh Heels and Low Lifes (2002),Imagine Me & You (2005),Magicians (2007),[1]Chris Morris'Four Lions (2010),The World's End (2013),[1]Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013),Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor (2017) andThe Personal History of David Copperfield (2019).[8]
Boyd starred as a reluctant arms dealer in theBBC Radio 4 sitcomSafety Catch.[9] He also co-starred inElvenQuest, another Radio 4 sitcom, as Vidar the Elf Lord. In 2018, he appeared as a major suspect in the Radio 4 drama,A Small Town Murder.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | High Heels and Low Lifes | Ray | |
| 2005 | Imagine Me & You | Cooper | |
| 2007 | Magicians | Otto Johnson | |
| 2010 | Four Lions | Sniper | |
| 2011 | Spoon | Daniel Spoon | |
| Holy Flying Circus | John Cleese | ||
| 2012 | Asylum Seekers | Mike | Short film |
| 2013 | The World's End | Shane Hawkins | |
| Underdogs | Amadeo (voice) | UK version | |
| Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa | Detective Sergeant Martin Finch | American title:Alan Partridge | |
| 2014 | The Longest Drive | Man | Short film |
| 2016 | Bridget Jones's Baby | Jeremy | |
| 2017 | Journey Beyond Sodor | Theo (voice) | UK and U.S. versions |
| 2019 | The Personal History of David Copperfield | Edward Murdstone |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–2000 | Kiss Me Kate | Craig Chapman | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Hippies | Hugo Yemp | 6 episodes |
| 1999–2003 | Smack the Pony | Various characters | 26 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | Watching Ellie | Ben | 16 episodes |
| 2003 | Little Robots | Additional Voices (voice) | Unknown episodes |
| 2006 | Green Wing | Jake Leaf | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | Little Dorrit | Tite Barnacle Junior | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Whites | Bib | 6 episodes |
| 2010–2012 | Dirk Gently | Richard MacDuff | 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge | Daniel Langford | 3 episodes |
| Twenty Twelve | Dave Wellbeck | Episode: "Raising The Bar" | |
| 2011–2012 | Spy | Tim Elliot | Lead role |
| 2014 | Warren United | Warren Kingsley (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Veep | Peter Mitchell | Season 3, episode 7 |
| 2015 | The Delivery Man | Matthew Bunting | 6 episodes |
| Luther | DCI Theo Bloom | Series 4, episode 1 | |
| 2015–2018 | Fortitude | Markus Husekleppe | 18 episodes |
| 2016 | National Treasure | Hamish | Episode: "#1.4" |
| 2016–2018 | Stan Lee’s Lucky Man | Detective Sergeant Steve Orwell | Series 1–3 |
| 2018 | Killing Eve | Frank Haleton | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Flack | Jeremy | Episode: "Brooke" |
| 2020 | The Salisbury Poisonings | Supt. Dave Minty | TV series |
| 2020 | Soulmates | Peter | Episode 1 |
| 2020–2025 | The Adventures of Paddington | Mr. Brown (voice) | |
| 2020–present | Trying | Scott | |
| 2021–2024 | The Outlaws | John | 3 series |
| 2024 | We Might Regret This | Abe | 1 series[10] |
| 2025 | Down Cemetery Road | C |
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