Neil Maskell (born 1976) is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films such as '' The Football Factory'' and ''

Kill List ''Kill List'' is a 2011 British psychological horror crime film directed by Ben Wheatley, co-written and co-edited with Amy Jump, and starring Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Michael Smiley. When a British soldier returns home from Kyiv, h ...

''.

Early life

Maskell was born in London. As a youth, he played football for Long Lane JFC as a full back. He first trained in acting at the

Anna Scher Theatre The Anna Scher Theatre is an independent and co-educational performing arts school based in Islington, Greater London. It was founded in 1968 by Anna Scher. It is considered among the first schools of its kind geared towards working class studen ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, where he attended classes from the age of 11, and studied at the Miskin Theatre, Dartford at North West Kent College from 1992. He later worked as a director at the Miskin Theatre.

Career

Film

Maskell's film career began in 1997 with an appearance as Schmuddie in

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...

's directorial debut '' Nil by Mouth''. His leading role in the 2011 thriller ''

'' attracted positive reviews from critics and saw him nominated for the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards.

Television

Maskell's first television appearance was in 1991 in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

police drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. Between 1992 and 2002, he made a further five appearances on the show, portraying a different character each time. He has had one-off roles in a number of other popular British serial dramas such as ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', '' London's Burning'', ''

Soldier Soldier ''Soldier Soldier'' is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name - " Soldier, soldier won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?" - an instrumental version of which was used as its ...

''. His most regular television roles have been in the 2005 comedy series '' Mike Bassett: Manager'', in the comedy sketch show ''

The Wrong Door ''The Wrong Door'' is a comedy sketch show, that first aired on BBC Three on 28 August 2008. The programme is the first comedy show in which the majority of the sketches include CGI elements. As such, it was produced under the working title of ...

'', and in the 2013–2014 thriller drama action series ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

''. Since 2015, he has been a series regular in sci-fi thriller ''

Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

''. In 2019 Maskell played prime minister Winston Churchill in the series finale of '' Peaky Blinders.'' Between 2018 and 2020 he played the recurring character Winkle in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

sitcom ''

King Gary King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'', friend and employee of the titular character played by Tom Davis. Maskell has previously worked with Davis in ''

Murder in Successville ''Murder in Successville'' is a British sitcom with improvisational elements created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary. The series aired on BBC Three from 6 May 2015 to 24 May 2017. ''Murder in Successville'' stars Tom Davis as DI Desmond Sleet ...

'' (where he played

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recogni ...

in one episode),'' The Warm-Up Guy'' and ''

The Morgana Show ''The Morgana Show'' is a British television sketch comedy written by Morgana Robinson and James de Frond. Robinson starred in almost all of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of original character creations and celebrity impressions ...

''. In 2022, Maskell played Detective Inspector Brent Hyatt in the

drama, Litvinenko, detailing the final days and subsequent murder investigation into the death of Russian defector

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised ...

Personal life

Maskell is a supporter of Arsenal.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maskell, Neil English male film actors English male television actors Living people Male actors from London Alumni of North West Kent College 1976 births 21st-century English male actors 20th-century English male actors