Owen Teale (born 20 May 1961) is a Welsh

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

known for his role as Ser Alliser Thorne in the HBO fantasy TV series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''.

Early life

Owen Teale was born on 20 May 1961, in

North Cornelly North Cornelly ( cy, Gogledd Corneli) is a village in Cornelly, Bridgend county borough, Wales. The village is close to South Cornelly, adjoins Pyle and Porthcawl, and junction 37 of the M4 motorway, which runs along its southern side. The village ...

, south Wales, son of Roy and Louise Teale. He attended Cynffig Comprehensive School in

Kenfig Hill Kenfig Hill ( cy, Mynydd Cynffig) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. It is bordered by Pyle to the south-west, Cefn Cribwr to the north-east, North Cornelly to the south and Moel Ton-Mawr mountain to the north. The nearest tr ...

; he was suspended from the school for disciplinary offences and credits one of the teachers with awakening his interest in acting. He trained at the

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate ...

Career

Teale made his television debut in ''The Mimosa Boys'' in 1984. in 1985, he appeared in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial ''

Vengeance on Varos ''Vengeance on Varos'' is the second serial of the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985. The serial is set o ...

'' as "Maldak". His film debut was in ''

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was b ...

'' in 1989. He later appeared in ''

Knights of God ''Knights of God'' is a British science fiction children's television serial, produced by TVS and first broadcast on ITV in 1987. It was written by Richard Cooper, a writer who had previously worked in both children's and adult television dr ...

'' (1989), ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' (1989), ''The Fifteen Streets'' (1989) and ''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'' (1990) before being cast as

Will Scarlet Scarlet (also Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock, Scatheloke, Scathelocke and Shacklock) is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son. The confusion of surnam ...

in the 1991 film ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

''. He went on to appear in such series as '' Dangerfield'', ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural comm ...

'', '' The Thin Blue Line'' and the long-running '' Belonging'', and later '' Spooks'' and '' Murphy's Law''. He later appeared as Lophakin in the 1999 adaptation of ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

'', opposite

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

as Ranevskaya and

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

as Gayev. He played the infamous

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

judge

Roland Freisler Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As ...

in ''

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

''. He also had parts In

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

and

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

. In 2005, he played a lead role in '' Marian, Again'', in which he was the abusive husband of Harrison's eponymous character. He also did voice over narration for "

Tales from the Green Valley ''Tales from the Green Valley'' is a British historical documentary TV series in 12 parts, first shown on BBC Two from 19 August to 4 November 2005. The series, the first in the historic farm series, made for the BBC by independent production c ...

", one of several farm series he has done for the BBC. In 2006, he appeared in the ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

'' episode "

Countrycide "Countrycide" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series ''Torchwood'', which was originally broadcast on the digital television channel BBC Three on 19 November 2006. Set in a small Welsh villag ...

". Also in 2006 he had a role in the HBO UK TV movie '' Tsunami: The Aftermath''. In 2007, he guest-starred in the ''Doctor Who''

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

'' The Mind's Eye''. In the same year, he starred in ''

The Last Legion ''The Last Legion'' is a 2007 historical action adventure film directed by Doug Lefler and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It stars Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya ...

''. In 2011, Teale appeared as Ser Alliser Thorne in ''

'', the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

TV adaptation of

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

's novel series ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...

'', replacing at short notice Derek Halligan. He reprised this role in

Season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

Season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, and

Season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

. In 2012, he played Dai in the comedy-drama series '' Stella'' and Robert Holland, the fictional UK Foreign Secretary, in the drama series ''

Kidnap and Ransom ''Kidnap and Ransom'' is a British television three-part miniseries, originally shown on ITV in January 2011 with a second series following in February 2012. The series follows the work of a British hostage negotiator Dominic King, played by ...

''. He also plays Chief Constable Osborne in the BBC police drama ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...

''. Between 2018 and 2022 he played Peter Knox in ''

A Discovery of Witches ''A Discovery of Witches'' is a 2011 historical-fantasy novel and the debut novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness. It follows Diana Bishop, a history of science professor at Yale University, as she embraces her magical blood after finding ...

'', a series based on the book of the same name by

Deborah Harkness Deborah Harkness (born 1965) is an American scholar and novelist, best known as an historian and as the author of the All Souls Trilogy, which consists of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novel ''A Discovery of Witches'' and its sequels '' ...

Personal life

Teale has been married twice: first to

Dilys Watling Dilys Rhys Watling ('' née'' Jones, 5 May 1942 – 10 August 2021) was an English actress, best known for appearing on British television ('' Coronation Street'', ''The Benny Hill Show'' and ''The Two Ronnies''). Early life and education Wat ...

and then to

Sylvestra Le Touzel Sylvestra Le Touzel (born 1958) is a British television, film and stage actor. She was born and raised in Kensington, London, to a prominent family from Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. She attended school in East Acton. Television Beginn ...

. He has three children.

Awards

Teale won the 1997

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors i ...

for his performance as Torvald opposite

Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961"Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"
. ''Derbrett's P ...

in Ibsen's ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...

''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* *
Owen Teale
(Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Teale, Owen 1961 births Living people Tony Award winners Welsh male film actors Welsh male television actors Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting Male actors from Swansea 20th-century Welsh male actors 21st-century Welsh male actors