Richard Dillane (born 1964) is an English actor. He appears in Soldier Soldier (1995), Cold Feet (2000), Space Race (2005), Tristan & Isolde (2006), Spooks (2007), Casualty (2008-2009), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), Doctor Who (2011), Argo (2012), Dead in Tombstone (2013), Wolf Hall (2015), Peaky Blinders and Poldark (2016), Giri/Haji (2019), Young Wallander (2020), The Crown and Andor (2022).
Dillane is from Kent, [1] and grew up near London with his brother Stephen (also an actor). Their mother is English and their father was born in Australia to Irish parents. [2] He took a philosophy degree at Manchester University,[ citation needed ] and lived in Australia for ten years, [3] working in white-water rafting as a guide, [2] also as an actor and director. [4]
In 2020, he appears in a lead role of the Netflix series Young Wallander , [4] based on the character Kurt Wallander created by novelist Henning Mankell. He played British intelligence agent Peter Nicholls in Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning 2012 political thriller Argo , [3] and Merv Humphreys, husband of Margaret Humphreys (played by Emily Watson) in Jim Loach's fact-based movie Oranges and Sunshine . [4]
He was Wernher von Braun in the BBC television docudrama Space Race , [4] Nero in Howard Brenton's play Paul at the National Theatre of Great Britain and appeared several times as Stephen Maturin in the BBC radio adaptations of the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey–Maturin novels and Peter Guillam in three John le Carré adaptations. [4] Dillane's other film work includes The Dark Knight (as Acting Commissioner), [4] Mindscape [3] with Mark Strong, The Dinosaur Project , [3] The Edge of Love , The Jacket , [3] Tristan & Isolde (2006), [3] and as Cole Porter's last lover Bill Wrather (a composite character) in Irwin Winkler's biopic De-Lovely , which starred Kevin Kline. [4]
Recent television work includes Giri/Haji , [3] The Last Kingdom , Peaky Blinders , [2] Counterpart , [4] Outlander , [2] The Last Post , [3] and Star Wars: Andor . [4]
In 2015, he played Duke of Suffolk in the BBC TV series Wolf Hall , [2] and in 2016 he appeared in the lead role of DCI Michael Waite in a double episode of the BBC TV series Silent Witness . [2]
Prior to this, he played the captain of the shape-changing justice robot Teselecta in two episodes of Doctor Who [4] ("Let's Kill Hitler" and "The Wedding of River Song"), rogue spy John Richardson in Spooks (2007), [2] Australian conman Graham Poole in Hustle , [4] photographer and old flame Miles Brodie in Cold Feet , [4] posh drug addict Theodore Platt in the first episode of Lewis [3] and the relationship counsellor Ben in Men Behaving Badly , [4] as well as regular characters Sean Anderson in Casualty , [2] and Australian sergeant Brad Connor in the ITV series Soldier Soldier . [3]
On stage, Dillane has performed at the National Theatre of Great Britain in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. [4] In 2000, he was the 1st Duke of Suffolk in the Olivier Award-winning Michael Boyd productions of Henry VI parts 1, 2 and 3 in Stratford, London and Michigan. [5] He played Hamlet in Perth, Australia, directed by Ray Omodei. [4]
He is also a regular radio actor and voice-over artist. [3]
His essay 'Making Sense of "To be or not to be"', about Hamlet's soliloquy, was published in Shakespeare and Montaigne (eds. Patrick Gray, Lars Engle and William M. Hamlin, Edinburgh University Press, 2021).
He is married to Scottish actress Jayne McKenna, and they live in Brighton, East Sussex (in 2015). [1] They were married in 2005 and have three children, all boys: Austin, Murray and Ray. [1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Emmerdale: Revenge | D.S. Dan Campbell | Direct-to-Video |
| 1999 | Wing Commander | Lieutenant Hunter | |
| 2000 | Seeing Red | Steve | TV film |
| 2001 | Doc Martin | Tim | TV film |
| 2002 | George Eliot: A Scandalous Life | John Cross | TV film |
| 2004 | EMR | Victor | |
| De-Lovely | Bill Wrather | ||
| 2005 | The Jacket | Captain Medley | |
| Our Hidden Lives | S | TV film | |
| 2006 | Tristan & Isolde | Aragon | |
| One Hundredth of a Second | Connor | Short film | |
| 2008 | The Edge of Love | Lieutenant Colonel David Talbot Rice | |
| The Dark Knight | Acting Commissioner | ||
| 2009 | Free Agents | Theatre Actor | TV film |
| Moonshot | Tom Stafford | TV film | |
| Mad, Sad & Bad | Roger | ||
| 2010 | Oranges and Sunshine | Merv | |
| 2012 | The Dinosaur Project | Jonathan Marchant | |
| Argo | OSS Officer Nicholls | ||
| 2013 | Dead in Tombstone | Jack Sutter | Direct-to-Video |
| Mindscape | Robert | ||
| 2014 | United Passions | Larsen | |
| Altar | Greg | ||
| The Last Hand | John | Short film | |
| 2017 | Against the Law | Prosecutor Roberts | TV film |
| 2018 | Mother's Day | Dr. Tarring | TV film |
| 2019 | The Last Vermeer | Colonel Jenkins | |
| 2020 | The Show | Flash Avenger | |
| The Forgotten Battle | Sinclair | ||
| 2021 | Munich – The Edge of War | Colonel Menzies | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Soldier Soldier | Sergeant Brad Connor | Recurring role; 10 episodes |
| 1997 | Heartbeat | Terry | Episode: "Peace and Quiet" |
| Men Behaving Badly | Ben | Episode: "Ten" | |
| Solomon | Jeroboam | Mini-series | |
| 1998 | The Grand | Sean Villiers | Series 2, Episode 6 |
| Big Women | Brian | Mini-series | |
| Verdict | Robert Horton-Smith | Episode: "Split Second" | |
| 1999 | An Evil Streak | David Mereday | Mini-series |
| 2000 | Cold Feet | Miles Brodie | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Jean Moulin, une affaire française | Anthony Harper | Mini-series |
| Red Cap | Captain Finbar Glover | Episode: "Cover Story" | |
| Adventure Inc. | Michael Drake | Episode: "Spirit of the Mask" | |
| 2004 | Spartacus | Julius Caesar | Episode: "Julius Caesar" |
| 2005 | Space Race | Wernher von Braun | Series regular |
| 2006 | Hustle | Graham Poole | Episode: "Law and Corruption" |
| 2007 | Casualty | Anthony Sharman | Episode: "The Silence of Friends" |
| Waking the Dead | Ricardo Rivelli | Episode: "Mask of Sanity" | |
| Lewis | Theodore Platt | Episode: "Whom the Gods Would Destroy" | |
| Rome | Centurion Vallo | Episode: "De Patre Vostro" | |
| Spooks | John Richardson | Episode: "The Broadcast" | |
| 2008 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Major Summerhayes | Episode: "Mrs McGinty's Dead" |
| 2008-2009 | Casualty | Sean Anderson | Series regular |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | Carter | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| 2012 | DCI Banks | DCI Stuart Burgess | Episode: "Dry Bones That Dream" |
| 2013 | Midsomer Murders | Oliver Ordish | Episode: "Schooled in Murder" |
| Foyle's War | Charles Roper | Series 7 Episode 3: "Sunflower" | |
| Atlantis | Pallos | Episode: "A Boy of No Consequence" | |
| 2014 | Vera | Will Peyton | Episode: "The Deer Hunters" |
| New Tricks | Lawrence Devlin | Episode: "Tender Loving Care" | |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk | Series regular |
| Partners in Crime | Bulldog | Episode: "The Secret Adversary" | |
| 2016 | Endeavour | Leo Richardson | Episode: "Arcadia" |
| Silent Witness | DCI Michael Waite | Episode: "Flight" | |
| Peaky Blinders | General Curran | Episode: "Series 3, Episode 1" | |
| Poldark | Henry Bull | Episode: "Series 2, Episode 2" | |
| Berlin Station | Gerald Ellman | Episode: "Station to Station" | |
| Daye's Work | DI Harry Daye | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2017 | The White Princess | Sir Thomas Stanley | Series regular |
| The Last Post | Harvey Tilbrook | Series regular | |
| Outlander | Captain Raines | Recurring role; 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Counterpart | Ricky Langston | Episode: "Something Borrowed" |
| 2019 | West of Liberty | Ron Herriman | Series regular |
| Twice Upon a Time | David Arron | Recurring role; 2 episodes | |
| Strike Back | Whitehall | Recurring role; 2 episodes | |
| Giri/Haji | Brian | Series 1, Episode 3 | |
| 2020 | The Last Kingdom | Ludeca | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| Betaal | Colonel Lynedoch | Series regular | |
| Young Wallander | Hemberg | Series regular | |
| 2021 | Call the Midwife | Mr. Scarisbrick | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| Dalgliesh | Dr. Stephen Courtney-Briggs | Episode: "Shroud for a Nightingale" | |
| 2022 | Father Brown | Sir Charles Hakeworth | Episode: "The Red Death" |
| Andor | Davo Sculdun | Episode: "One Way Out" | |
| The Crown | George V | Episode: "Ipatiev House" | |
| 2023–present | The Diplomat | Tom Libby | 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Twelfth Night | Antonio | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Theatre | [6] |
| Troilus and Cressida | Diomedes | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Theatre | [7] | |
| 2000 | Henry VI | Suffolk | Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | [5] |
| 2001 | Double Indemnity | Walter Huff | Playhouse, Salisbury & New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich | [8] |
| Richard III | Rivers | Young Vic, London | [4] | |
| 2002 | Measure for Measure Malaya | Angelo | Riverside Studios, London | [9] |
| 2004 | Uncle Varick | Dr. Michael | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | [10] |
| 2005 | Paul | Nero | Royal National Theatre, London | [11] |
| 2006 | The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio | Theatre Royal, Bristol | [12] |
| 2012 | The Lady from the Sea | Arnholm | Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames | [13] |
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