Joe Armstrong
Armstrong in 2016
Born	(1978-10-07)7 October 1978 (age 47) London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Parent	Alun Armstrong (father)

Joseph Armstrong (born 7 October 1978) is an English actor. His television roles includeAllan A Dale in three series ofRobin Hood,Hotspur inHenry IV, Part I, Ashley Cowgill inHappy Valley and Bairstow inThe Village. On stage, he played the lead role inD. C. Moore'sThe Empire and appeared in the 2011 revival ofFlare Path. He co-starred withMaxine Peake inMiss Julie at theRoyal Exchange and withLouise Brealey in a touring production ofConstellations.

Armstrong was born and raised inLondon, the son of Sue (née Bairstow) and actorAlun Armstrong. He has an older brother, Tom, and a younger brother, Dan, who was in the bandClock Opera.^[1] He attendedElliott School inPutney from 1993 to 1997.^[2] He then studied at theUniversity of Bristol, where he acted inThe Brecht Project—a collection of scenes from the works ofBertolt Brecht—in 1998 andWomen Beware Women in 1999.^[3] He is a fan ofAFC Wimbledon.^[4]

Joe Armstrong's first television role was a bit part in a 2003 episode ofThe Bill, followed by a brief appearance in the ITV mini-seriesBetween the Sheets starring his fatherAlun Armstrong. In the 2004 BBC filmPasser By, he had a supporting role as one of two men accused of assaulting a woman on a train. He guest starred in the 2004Waking the Dead episode "Fugue States" as a young man who reappears with amnesia after being abducted as a child. Also in 2004, he played the son of a murdered farmer in theFoyle's War episode "They Fought in the Fields."

Other television credits include guest spots inMidsomer Murders (2004),Blackpool (2004),Rose and Maloney (2005), another episode ofThe Bill (2005),The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2006),Party Animals (2007),The Last Detective (2007) andThe Whistleblowers (2007).

In 2006, Armstrong was cast in the BBC seriesRobin Hood asAllan—based on the legendary figureAlan-a-Dale—who joinsRobin's band of outlaws inSherwood Forest. Allan later becomes allied with the sympathetic villainGuy of Gisborne but has a change of heart and rejoins his friends. Armstrong appeared in all three series from 2006 to 2009. The series was filmed on location in and aroundBudapest.^[5]

Armstrong portrayedNorman Heatley in the 2009 BBC Four filmBreaking the Mould about the team who turned penicillin into a viable medicine. In 2010, he co-starred withBillie Piper in the two-part dramaA Passionate Woman as the husband of a woman who has an affair. His father Alun Armstrong played the older version of his character.^[1]

He guest starred in an episode ofHustle in 2011, and he was a regular cast member in the third series ofLand Girls.^[6] He appeared inPublic Enemies starringDaniel Mays andAnna Friel in 2012.^[7]

Armstrong playedHotspur inRichard Eyre's 2012 production ofHenry IV, Part I—one of four films in the BBC Two Shakespeare cycleThe Hollow Crown. He employed aGeordie accent for the role.Jeremy Irons playedHenry IV, withTom Hiddleston asPrince Hal and Alun Armstrong as Hotspur's father, theEarl of Northumberland.^[8]

In the 2013 dramaThe Village, depicting life in aDerbyshire village in the early 20th century, he played Stephen Bairstow, a detective scarred by his experiences at the Front inWorld War I.^[9] The character was originally a minor one, but writerPeter Moffat expanded the role because he was impressed with Armstrong.^[10] He reprised his role in the second series in 2014.^[11]

Armstrong played drug dealer-turned-kidnapper Ashley Cowgill inSally Wainwright's 2014 crime dramaHappy Valley, starringSarah Lancashire.^[12] In December 2016 he also appeared as William Allison in Wainwright'sTo Walk Invisible, a television biopic about the lives of theBronte family.^[13]

In 2016, he appeared in "Hated in the Nation", an episode of theanthology seriesBlack Mirror.

In 2018, he appeared as series regular Gildas inBritannia,Jez Butterworth's historical drama about theRoman conquest of Britain.^[14] The following year he played Samuel Washington in the BBC/HBO co-productionGentleman Jack, written by Sally Wainwright.^[15]

In 2024, Armstrong appeared in the Harlan Coben Netflix adaptation of 'Fool Me Once' as Alexander Dosman, ex-boyfriend of Claire Walker and father to their son Louis.

Performing with theNational Youth Theatre, Armstrong's roles included Gerry Evans inDancing at Lughnasa in 1998^[16] and Lieutenant Stedna inThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? in 2000.^[17] He also played Wackford Squeers inNicholas Nickleby.^[1]

In 2003, Armstrong had the dual roles of Adam and Jeff inProtection by Fin Kennedy at theSoho Theatre.^[18] He appeared inHow Love Is Spelt byChloe Moss at theBush Theatre in 2004^[19] and inA Night at the Dogs byMatt Charman at the Soho Theatre in 2005.^[20]

At theEdinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009, he played Liam in theDennis Kelly playOrphans. The play premiered at theTraverse Theatre in August and then moved to theBirmingham Repertory Theatre in September and theSoho Theatre in London in October.^[21] Armstrong was nominated for aStage Award for Best Actor.^[22]

In theDC Moore playThe Empire, Armstrong starred as Gary, a Lance Corporal in Afghanistan guarding an injured prisoner who claims to be British. Paul Taylor ofThe Independent wrote: "Gary ... veers between seething anger and low-key sarcasm, an oscillation superbly conveyed by excellent Joe Armstrong."^[23] In preparation for the role, Armstrong and other cast members met with soldiers who had served inAfghanistan.^[24] The play had a six-week run at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in theRoyal Court Theatre from March to May 2010^[25] followed by two weeks at the Drum Theatre in theTheatre Royal, Plymouth in May.^[26]

Armstrong played RAF tail gunner Dusty Miller inTerence Rattigan's World War II dramaFlare Path in 2011. The critically acclaimed revival directed byTrevor Nunn ran from March to June at theTheatre Royal Haymarket.^[27][28]

In 2012, he played Jean inMiss Julie oppositeMaxine Peake in the title role at theRoyal Exchange Theatre inManchester. Armstrong described the role as one of his most challenging because of the need to make his character's sudden changes in mood believable.^[29] Alfred Hickling ofThe Guardian remarked that "Joe Armstrong's Jean ... flips back and forth between brute arrogance and fawning servility with the casual manner of tossing a coin."^[30]

In a 2013 production ofHarold Pinter'sThe Dumb Waiter atThe Print Room, Armstrong played Gus alongsideClive Wood as Ben.^[31] Matt Trueman ofThe Telegraph called Wood and Armstrong "two perfect Pinterians,"^[32] and Fiona Mountford ofThe Evening Standard wrote, "Armstrong, always an actor of easy geniality, flourishes in particular with this short, sharp, light-footed humour."^[33]

Armstrong co-starred withLouise Brealey in the 2015 touring production ofConstellations.^[34]

In 2006, Armstrong was in two short films:A Ticket Too Far andService. The latter was part of theComing Up series onChannel 4.^[35]

He appears inNae Caranfil's filmCloser to the Moon, also starringVera Farmiga,Mark Strong andHarry Lloyd, which was filmed inBucharest in the autumn of 2011 and was released in Romania in 2014. The film is about the bank robbery allegedly committed by theIoanid Gang in 1959 Romania. Armstrong's character Răzvan is based on the journalist Haralambie Obedeanu who was one of the accused.^[36]

In 2017 Armstrong appeared inJoe Wright's war dramaDarkest Hour, his major studio debut.^[37]

Armstrong performed in the BBC radio playsGirl from Mars in 2008^[38] andHitched in 2010,^[39] and he read the storyGifts byGarry Kilworth as part of a Christmas radio programme.^[40] In 2011, he co-starred withRichard Briers andEdna Doré in the Radio 4 dramaA Shoebox of Snow.^[41] Armstrong reprised his role in DC Moore'sThe Empire for a BBC Radio 3 production.^[42] He was in the radio serialRuthless by Tim Loane on Radio 4 in 2012.^[43] In 2013, he played Sergei in a Radio 4 adaptation ofLady Macbeth of Mtsensk,^[44] and he appeared in the seriesThe Corrupted byG. F. Newman.^[45] He performed in the dramaGhosts of Heathrow in 2014^[46] and in adaptations ofThe Bone Clocks,^[47]The Book Of Strange New Things^[48] andThe Trial.^[49]

• Joe Armstrong atIMDb
• The Roles of Joe ArmstrongArchived 14 October 2011 at theWayback Machine

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• English male television actors
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• National Youth Theatre members
• Male actors from London

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