Brendan Coyle

Brendan Coyle Biography

Brendan Coyle (born 2 December 1963) is a British actor. He is well-known to television audiences for playing Nicholas Higgins in the mini-series North & South, Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford, and John Bates, the valet, in Downton Abbey. The last role earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Early life

Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire, to an Irish father and Scottish mother. He reportedly holds dual British/Irish citizenship. He is a greatnephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby. His paternal grandfather is a native of Co. Donegal.

He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the United Kingdom in 1983.

Career

Brendan Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production. In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama, True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins in North & South for the BBC.

Since 2008, he has played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle, and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA. In 2012 Coyle played the character of Terry Starling in Sky comedy series Starlings.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery	Det. Sgt. Benwell	TV movie
1992	The Bill	Chris Bailey	TV series (1 episode: "Radio Waves")
1994	Ailsa	Miles Butler
1995	The Glass Virgin	Manuel Mendoza	TV mini-series
1995	Dangerfield	David Walsh	TV series (2 episodes)
1996	Silent Witness	Liam Slattery	TV series (2 episodes)
1996	Thief Takers	D.S Bob "Bingo" Tate	TV series (16 episodes)
1997	The Last Bus Home	Steve Burkett
1997	Tomorrow Never Dies	Leading Seaman - HMS Bedford
1998	Soft Sand, Blue Sea	Gerry
	The General	UVF Leader
	Happy Birthday To Me		short
1999	I Could Read the Sky	Francie
2000	McCready and Daughter	Donal McCready	TV movie
2000	Paths to Freedom	Jeremy Fitzgerald	TV series (6 episodes)
2001	Rebel Heart	Michael Collins	TV mini-series
	The Inspector Lynley Mysteries	Richard Tey	TV series (1 episode: "A Great Deliverance")
	The Bombmaker	George McEvoy	TV movie
	Conspiracy	SS Maj. Gen. Heinrich Müller	TV movie
	Mapmaker	Robert Bates
2002	Rockface	Douglas McLanaghan	TV series (7 episodes)
2003	Waking the Dead	Martin Corgan	TV series (2 episodes)
2003	Single	Paul	TV series
2004	Amnesia	D.C Ian Reid	TV movie
	Omagh	D.S John White	TV movie
	North & South	Nicholas Higgins	TV mini-series (4 episodes)
2005	Allegiance	Michael Collins
	The Jacket	Damon
	Shameless	Father Polish	TV series (1 episode: "Episode #2.4")
	Jericho	Christie	TV series (3 episodes)
	The Ghost Squad	Sgt. Ralph Allan	TV series (1 episode: "Heroes")
2006	The Commander: Blacklight	Carl Dirkwood	TV movie
	Soundproof	D.I Dave Cox	TV movie
	Offside	Duncan Miller
	Prime Suspect: The Final Act	D.C.S Mitchell	TV movie
	Perfect Parents	Ed	TV movie
2007	The Mark of Cain	Davey Gulliver
	Wedding Belles	Priest	TV movie
	The Good Samaritan	Lewis Farrell	TV movie
	Damage	Aidan Cahill	TV movie
	True Dare Kiss	Kaz Sweeney	TV series (6 episodes)
2008	Lark Rise to Candleford	Robert Timmins	TV series (31 episodes: 2008-2010)
2009	Inspector George Gently	Patrick Donovan	TV series(1 episode: "Gently in the Night")
	Perrier's Bounty	Jerome
	Blue Murder	Derek Jowell	TV series (2 episodes)
2010"present	Downton Abbey	John Bates	TV series (25 episodes: 2010"present) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated - BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012)
2011	The Raven	Reagan
2012"present	Starlings	Terry Starling	TV series

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brendan_Coyle" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

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