Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series '' Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the second season, and continued to play this role until the sixth season, promoted to a regular cast member from the fifth season onwards.

Life and career

McElhatton was born on 12 September 1963 in

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is an affluent, middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6W postcode area. Location and transport Terenure lies primarily in the administrative area of Dublin City ...

, a suburb in the south of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He began studying acting at

Terenure College Terenure College is a Carmelite-run secondary school located in the suburb of Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1860 and had an associated primary school until 2017. It is one of the "big six" Leinster Schools Rugby-playin ...

, a school known for its drama tradition, and afterward spent eight years in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he graduated from the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

in 1987. McElhatton returned to Ireland in the early nineties, where he began his acting career mainly in theatre and television. He appeared in a short film titled ''The Loser'' in 1990. In 1996, he was directed by John Carney in the film ''November Afternoon'', in which he plays the main character. In the late nineties and early 2000s, McElhatton appeared in numerous series and TV films in Ireland, working with various film directors, including

Paddy Breathnach Paddy Breathnach (born 1964) is an Irish film director and producer. He directed '' Man About Dog'', ''Blow Dry'' and '' Shrooms''. He was also involved in the production of ''The Mighty Celt'' and '' Ape''. Filmography * '' Ailsa'' (1994) * '' ...

and

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...

for roles in '' I Went Down '' (1997), ''Saltwater'' (2000), '' Blow Dry'' (2001), and ''

The Actors ''The Actors'' is a 2003 film written and directed by Conor McPherson and starring Dylan Moran and Michael Caine. In supporting roles are Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson and Lena Headey. ''The Actors'' is a contemporary comedy set in Dublin ...

'' (2003). Between 2000 and 2002, McElhatton gained fame from appearing in the situation comedies '' Paths to Freedom'' and ''Fergus's Wedding''. In addition to acting, he also took on the role of screenwriter, writing the screenplay for all of the episodes. The character of Rats in ''Paths to Freedom'', which he wrote and starred in, became popular with the public and allowed it to be adapted into an entire feature film in 2003 (''

Spin the Bottle Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...

''). As his career went on, McElhatton continued playing minor characters in films by directors such as

Lenny Abrahamson Leonard Ian Abrahamson (born 30 November 1966) is an Irish film and television director. He is known for directing such praised independent films as ''Adam & Paul'' (2004), ''Garage'' (2007), '' What Richard Did'' (2012), and ''Frank'' (2014), a ...

, John Boorman and

Kari Skogland Kari Skogland is a Canadian filmmaker. In 2016, she co-founded independent production company Mad Rabbit. Her most recent project is the '' Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' television series for Marvel Studios. Career Skogland started as an edito ...

. McElhatton also appeared in ''

Perrier's Bounty ''Perrier's Bounty'' is a 2009 Irish black comedy crime film set in modern-day Dublin. Described as an "urban western" by its director Ian Fitzgibbon, it stars Brendan Gleeson as the villainous title character, as well as Cillian Murphy and Ji ...

'' (2009) and '' Death of a Superhero'' (2011). He returned to his role as writer in 2010, writing six episodes of the sitcom '' Your Bad Self''. Over the next decade, McElhatton began appearing in much larger roles. In 2011, he had a role in the film ''

Albert Nobbs ''Albert Nobbs'' is a 2011 drama film directed by Rodrigo García and starring Glenn Close. The screenplay, by Close, John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, is based on the 1927 novella ''Albert Nobbs'' by George Moore. The film received mixed ...

''directed by Rodrigo García, and the following year the short '' Pentecost'', which received a nomination for Best Short Film at the 2012

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. That same year he took part in the film '' Shadow Dancer'' directed by James Marsh, while also on television in the cast of the miniseries '' Titanic: Blood and Steel''. In 2012, McElhatton joined the cast of the HBO television series '' Game of Thrones'', beginning in the second season, playing the character of Roose Bolton. From the fifth season on he was promoted to series regular. In 2015, he played one of the protagonists in the horror film '' The Hallow'', which was presented at the

2015 Sundance Film Festival The 2015 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 22 to February 1, 2015. '' What Happened, Miss Simone?'', a biographical documentary film about American singer Nina Simone, opened the festival. Comedy-drama film '' Grandma'', directed by ...

. He appeared in the screen adaptation of the true story of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

drama '' The Zookeeper's Wife'' in 2017. In 2021, McElhatton appeared as Tam al'Thor in the adaptation of ''

The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in ad ...

'' on Amazon Prime Video. His casting was announced on 06 November 2019 through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Writing credits

* '' Paths to Freedom'' * ''Fergus's Wedding'' * ''

'' * '' Your Bad Self''

Selected stage career

* ''The Night Alive'', as Doc,

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

, London, and the Atlantic Theater, New York City * '' The Seafarer'', as Nicky Giblin,

National Theatre, London The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

* ''Shining City'', Royal Court Theatre, London * ''The Wexford Trilogy'',

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

* ''An Ideal Husband'',

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

* ''The White Devil'', Project at The Mint * ''Car Show'',

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

* ''Twenty Grand'',

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

* ''Greatest Hits'', Project Arts Centre * ''The Way of the World'', Project Arts Centre * ''A Decision Pure and Simple'',

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

* ''An Enemy of the People'', for Young Vic * ''As You Like It'', Rose Theatre * ''Midnight Court'', Project Theatre * ''Wind in the Willows'',

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

* ''Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs'',

BAC BAC or Bac may refer to: Places * Bac, Rožaje, Bac, a village in Montenegro * Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city. * Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river * Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey * Barnes County Municipal A ...

* ''Water Music'',

Cockpit Theatre The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was named The Phoenix. History The original building was an actual cockpit; that is, a st ...

Awards and nominations

* 2003

IFTA Award The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

nomination, Best Actor-Film for "Spin the Bottle" * 2003 IFTA Award nomination, Best Script for "Spin the Bottle" – Ian Fitzgibbon/Michael McElhatton/Grand Pictures * 2007 IFTA Award nomination, Best Actor-Television for "Hide & Seek" * 2013 IFTA Award nomination, Best Supporting Actor-Film for "Death of a Superhero" *

20th Screen Actors Guild Awards The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2013, were presented on January 18, 2014 at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony was broadcast simu ...

nomination, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McElhatton, Michael 1963 births Living people 20th-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male actors Alumni of RADA Irish expatriates in England Irish male film actors Irish male Shakespearean actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Irish male video game actors Irish male voice actors Irish writers