Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best Actor for his portrayal of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's villain

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

in the National Theatre production of '' Othello''. He is known for playing Bill Tanner in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

films '' Quantum of Solace'', ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'', ''Spectre'' and ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...

'', and in various video games of the franchise. He is the youngest actor to play the role of Bill Tanner. He also won a Laurence Olivier Award for portraying Sir Fopling Flutter in a 2008 version of ''

The Man of Mode ''The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter'' is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676. The play is set in Restoration London and follows the womanizer Dorimant as he tries to win over the young heiress Harriet and to diseng ...

'' by

George Etherege Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, '' She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode o ...

, and a

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

for his performance in the 2012 film '' Broken''. He is also known for starring as all the male inhabitants of the village of Cotson in the horror film ''

Men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

'', as well as his TV roles including Michael on the BBC comedy ''

Count Arthur Strong Steve Delaney (born 1954) is an English comedian and character actor, best known for his comedy character Count Arthur Strong on BBC Radio 4 and then a television sitcom broadcast on BBC2 and BBC1. Early life and career Delaney was born in Le ...

'' (2013–2017),

Lord Lucan Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934 – disappeared 8 November 1974, declared death in absentia, declared dead 3 February 2016), commonly known as Lord Lucan, was a British Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer who di ...

in the two-part ITV series '' Lucan'',

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

in ''

Penny Dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...

'', and the lead role of Prime Minister Michael Callow in " The National Anthem", the first episode of the

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fiction ...

''.

Early life

Kinnear was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, the son of the actor

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

and actress Carmel Cryan. He grew up with two older sisters, Kristina and Kirsty. He is the grandson of the Scottish international rugby union and rugby league player

and the godson of actor Michael Williams. He was educated at

Tower House School Tower House School is an independent prep school for boys aged 4 to 13 . Established in 1932, it is in located in East Sheen, near Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Notable former pupils * Adam Boulton * ...

(leaving in 1991),

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , h ...

, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read English. He then studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career

Theatre

Kinnear's performances in

Phyllida Lloyd Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film director and producer, best known for ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal Na ...

's production of '' Mary Stuart'' and

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', in which he played Laertes, met with acclaim. He also achieved recognition as the outrageous Sir Fopling Flutter in ''

'' at the National Theatre, winning a Laurence Olivier Award and

Ian Charleson Award The Ian Charleson Awards are theatrical awards that reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30. The awards are named in memory of the renowned British actor Ian Charleson, and are run by the '' Sunday Times'' n ...

. Other notable theatre work includes the lead in

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

's ''

The Revenger's Tragedy ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reve ...

'', the role of Pyotr in

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

's ''

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...

'' and the role of Mitia in a stage adaptation of the

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

film ''Burnt by the Sun'', all for the National Theatre. In 2010, he played Angelo in '' Measure for Measure'' at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

. Later in 2010, he played the title role in ''

'' at the National Theatre. The two portrayals won him the best actor award in the Evening Standard drama awards for 2010. Kinnear appeared in ''The Last of the Haussmans'' by

Stephen Beresford Stephen Beresford (born c. 1972) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for writing the play ''The Last of the Haussmans'', produced by the National Theatre in 2012, and the 2014 historical comedy ''Pride'', which won the Queer Palm ...

at the National Theatre during the summer of 2012. The production was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

programme. He starred as

opposite

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the ...

in the title role of '' Othello'' in 2013 at the National Theatre throughout the summer of 2013. Both actors won the Best Actor award in the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards for their roles; the award is normally given to only one actor, but the judges were unable to choose between the two men. From September 2013, the Bush Theatre in London staged Kinnear's debut play ''The Herd'', directed by Howard Davies. The play ran at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago beginning 2 April 2015. In October 2017, he appeared in the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

of ''

Young Marx The correct place of Karl Marx's early writings within his system as a whole has been a matter of great controversy. Some believe there is a ''break'' in Marx's development that divides his thought into two periods: the "Young Marx" is said to be ...

'', the premiere production at the

Bridge Theatre The Bridge Theatre is a commercial theatre near Tower Bridge in London that opened in October 2017. It was developed by Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner as the home of the London Theatre Company, which they founded following their tenancy as execut ...

. He returned to the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre to star as the title role in '' Macbeth'' with Anne-Marie Duff from February 2018.

Opera

For ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'' (a "play with songs") at the

Olivier Theatre 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. In ...

from May to October 2016, Kinnear found his "dormant" singing voice for the role of

Macheath Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), its sequel ''Polly'' (1777), and roughly 150 years later in Bertolt Brecht's ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1928). Origins Macheath made his fir ...

. In February 2017, he made his directing debut with ''The Winter's Tale'', a new opera written by

Ryan Wigglesworth Ryan Wigglesworth (born 31 August 1979, Yorkshire) is a British composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Wigglesworth read music at Oxford University, where he held the position of Organ Scholar at New College, and continued his music studies ...

and based on Shakespeare's play, for

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

Film

Kinnear portrays Bill Tanner in the

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

era ''James Bond'' film series after taking over from Michael Kitchen. He is the fourth person to play the character. He has appeared in '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''

'' (2012), ''Spectre'' (2015) and ''

'' (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) and '' 007 Legends'' (2012). In 2014, he played the fictional character, Detective Nock, in ''

The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The film's title quotes the name of the game c ...

'' based loosely on the biography ''Alan Turing:The Enigma'' by

Andrew Hodges Andrew Philip Hodges (; born 1949) is a British mathematician, author and emeritus senior research fellow at Wadham College, Oxford. Education Hodges was born in London in 1949 and educated at Birkbeck, University of London where he was award ...

. In January 2017, he portrayed Ellmann in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

film '' iBoy''. He played Henry Hunt in

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

's 2018 film ''

Peterloo The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliamen ...

.'' In 2022, he played Geoffrey, as well as all of the other male roles, in

Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English writer and filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a novelist in the late 1990s with his novel '' The Beach'', which led some critics to call Garland a key voice of Generation X. He subsequ ...

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

horror film ''

''.

Television

Further to his theatre work, Kinnear received particularly positive reviews for his sympathetic portrayal of

Denis Thatcher Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher, who served as the first female British prime minister from 1979 to 1990; in turn, he became the first male prime m ...

in ''

The Long Walk to Finchley ''Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley'', subtitled in the initial credits ''How Maggie Might Have Done It'', is a 2008 BBC Four television drama based on the early political career of the young Margaret Thatcher (née Roberts), from her ...

'' (2008), a BBC dramatisation of the early years of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's political career, which also starred Andrea Riseborough and

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

. He also starred alongside

Lucy Punch Lucy Punch (born 30 December 1977) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' and ''Into the Woods''. She is also known for her role as ...

and

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...

in the BBC Two series ''

Vexed ''Vexed'' is a British comedy-drama, police procedural television series for BBC Two that aired in 2010 and 2012. Created and written by Howard Overman, the first series starred Lucy Punch as D.I. Kate Bishop and Toby Stephens as D.I. Jack ...

''. Broadcast on 19 October 2010, he was the co-lead in the BBC4 TV drama, ''

The First Men in the Moon ''The First Men in the Moon'' is a scientific romance by the English author H. G. Wells, originally serialised in '' The Strand Magazine'' from December 1900 to August 1901 and published in hardcover in 1901, who called it one of his "fantast ...

'' written by and co-starring

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', ''Sherlock (TV series), Sherlock'', and ''Dracu ...

. In 2011, he provided narration during the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

production of 'Henry V – suite' arranged by

Muir Mathieson James Muir Mathieson, OBE (24 January 19112 August 1975) was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on many British films. Career Mathieson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1911. A ...

during their Film Music Prom. He appeared in the lead role of Prime Minister Michael Callow in " The National Anthem", the first episode of the

''. In July 2012, Kinnear appeared as Bolingbroke in '' Richard II'', a BBC Two adaptation of the play of the same name, with

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

as King Richard and

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

as John of Gaunt. From 2013 to 2017, he starred as Michael in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Career

Theatre

Opera

Film

Television

Radio

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links