Paul Blackthorne (born 5 March 1969) is an English actor. Although born in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, he spent his early childhood on UK military bases in Britain and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television commercials in England. His breakthrough commercial in the UK came in the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

commercial for

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and ...

, which was hugely successful. Numerous radio commercials followed. Blackthorne's first film role was in the

Academy award 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 ...

nominated

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film ''

Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Sh ...

'', released in the year 2001. Since then, he has mostly appeared in American films and television shows. He had recurring roles in the American series '' ER'' and '' 24'', both in 2004, and has been a regular cast member in the series ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wr ...

'' (2007), in which he played the title character of

Harry Dresden ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are w ...

, as well as '' Lipstick Jungle'' (2008–09) and ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' (2012–2018).

Film

Blackthorne's first film role was as Captain Andrew Russell in the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-nominated

film ''

''. He spent six months learning

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

for the role. He also starred in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

feature-length film '' Four Corners of Suburbia'', winner of both the

Crossroads Film Festival The Crossroads Film Festival is an independent film festival that takes place annually around the Jackson metropolitan area in the state of Mississippi. The second oldest film festival in Mississippi, Crossroads Film Festival focuses on independe ...

in Best Narrative Feature (2006) and in the category of Best Composer at the

Avignon Film Festival The Avignon Film Festival (created 1984), also known as the Avignon/New York Film Festival or Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon, took place every year in Avignon, France along with a twin film festival organised in New Yo ...

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, France (2006). Additional indie film credits include

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a ...

's '' This Is Not an Exit'', and a starring role in the British film ''The Truth Game''. Blackthorne appeared as Jonas Exiler in ''

Special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

'', with

Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), '' Higher Learning ...

. Blackthorne's directorial debut ''This American Journey'' was released in 2013. The road trip documentary film follows Blackthorne and Australian photographer Mister Basquali as they travel across America interviewing everyday Americans about how they feel about their country and their hopes for its future. The film was featured at the Hollywood, Carmel, Ojai and Big Bear Film Festivals. It was released through Cinema Libre Studios. Blackthorne would be joined the cast of ''Dark Ascension'', as "Willis".

Television

In 2002, Blackthorne portrayed British doctor Matt Slingerland on ''

Presidio Med ''Presidio Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by John Wells and Lydia Woodward, that aired on CBS from September 24, 2002 to January 24, 2003. The series centers on a San Francisco hospital. It was created by John Wells ...

'' and made notable appearances as Guy Morton in the British television series '' Holby City'', Liam MacGregor in ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama television series, series about a General Practice, GP surgery in Cardale—a small List of fictional towns in television, fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the Physician, doctors who wor ...

'', Doctor Jeremy Lawson in NBC's '' ER'' and biological terrorist Stephen Saunders on '' 24''. He also made appearances on ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'' in two roles (one uncredited as Henry Stoller, Junior), '' Deadwood'', and an episode of ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'' Season 5 Episode 10 "Mr. Monk and the Leper" as quirky dermatologist Aaron Polinski. He appeared as Shane Healy, a British musician and husband of Wendy Healy (played by

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

), in the NBC series '' Lipstick Jungle'' for two seasons. He played an IRA terrorist in the US series ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...

'' in 2009 in one episode. In 2010, he appeared in two episodes of ''

Leverage Leverage or leveraged may refer to: *Leverage (mechanics), mechanical advantage achieved by using a lever * ''Leverage'' (album), a 2012 album by Lyriel *Leverage (dance), a type of dance connection *Leverage (finance), using given resources to ...

'' as an arms dealer and in an episode of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

'' directed by

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

. Later that year he had a recurring role in ''

The Gates ''The Gates'' were a group of gates comprising a site-specific work of art by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude, known jointly as Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 vinyl "gates" along of p ...

'' as Christian Harper. Also on 7 December 2010, he appeared in the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

episode ("Secret Santa") of the

SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

series ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executive produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Described ...

''. He appeared in a two-part cliffhanger during the mid-season break of White Collar Season 2. In the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

's 2007 series, ''

'', Blackthorne portrayed the lead character, wizard / detective

Harry Dresden ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...

. He starred as Clark Quietly in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

original paranormal/adventure/horror television series '' The River'' about a group of people on a mission to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon. In 2012, Blackthorne joined the main cast of

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

superhero drama series ''

'' as Detective

Quentin Lance '' Arrow'' is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and is ...

. He left the series at the end of the sixth season in May 2018, but returned in a guest role in the eighth and final season in the episode "Fadeout".

Personal life

Paul Blackthorne is also an accomplished photographer. His exhibition, ''Delhi to Manhattan'', appeared at

Tibet House US Tibet House US (THUS) is a Tibetan cultural preservation and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 in New York City by a group of Westerners after the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, expressed his wish to establish a cultural insti ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from April to June 2009, to benefit the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an children of the city of

Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

. In 2001, shortly after filming of ''Lagaan'' finished in India, the town where filming took place was levelled by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, including the apartment building in which the cast of ''Lagaan'' was staying. To assist the earthquake victims, Blackthorne exhibited his photography in a special show in London. Blackthorne is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. He is the godfather of actor

Jacob Dudman Jacob Stanley Dudman (born 22 August 1997) is an English actor, writer and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in Netflix programs '' The Stranger'' (2020), ''Medici'' (2019), '' Fate: The Winx Saga'' (2021-2022) and the BBC iPlayer series '' ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackthorne, Paul 1969 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from Shropshire English male film actors English male television actors Male actors in Hindi cinema People from Wellington, Shropshire Photographers from Shropshire