Rupert Penry-Jones | |
|---|---|
 Penry-Jones in October 2006. | |
| Born | Rupert William Penry-Jones 22 September 1970 London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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Rupert William Penry-Jones (born 22 September 1970) is a British actor, known for his performances as Adam Carter in Spooks , Clive Reader in Silk , DI Joseph Chandler in Whitechapel , and Mr. Quinlan in the American horror series The Strain .
Penry-Jones was born in London on 22 September 1970, the son of Welsh actor Peter Penry-Jones and English actress Angela Thorne. [1] [2] His brother, Laurence Penry-Jones (born in London, 1977), is an actor turned ambulance driver who is married to actress Polly Walker. [1]
On BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? , broadcast in August 2010, it was revealed that Penry-Jones' maternal grandfather, William, had served with the Indian Army Medical Corps at the Battle of Monte Cassino and that his earlier ancestors had a long-standing connection with the Indian Army. [2] Penry-Jones also discovered that he had Indian ancestry from the early 19th century. [3]
Penry-Jones was educated at Dulwich College in Dulwich, London, until the age of 19 when he was enrolled at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. [4] [5] He was thrown out of Bristol Old Vic "for having a bad attitude". [6]
In 1995, Penry-Jones appeared with his mother on television in Cold Comfort Farm . [7]
Penry-Jones made his London stage debut at the Hackney Empire theatre in 1995 playing Fortinbras to Ralph Fiennes's Hamlet in an Almeida production of Hamlet . [8] He was cast as Richard in the premiere staging of Stephen Poliakoff's Sweet Panic at Hampstead Theatre in 1996. [9] The following year he appeared in both The Paper Husband at Hampstead Theatre, [9] and as the upper-class Pip Thompson in a revival of Arnold Wesker's Chips with Everything on the Lyttelton stage at the Royal National Theatre. [9]
In 1998, he created the role of the Boy in Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby at the Almeida Theatre. [9] In 1999, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon, [8] playing the title role in Don Carlos at The Other Place theatre, [9] and Alcibiades in Timon of Athens at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. [9] Both productions transferred to the Barbican Centre in London, [8] where his performance as Don Carlos won the 1999 Ian Charleson Award. [10]
in 2001, he was cast as Robert Caplan in J.B. Priestley's thriller "time-play" Dangerous Corner opposite Dervla Kirwan, who played Olwen Peel at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. [8] The production then transferred for a four-month run at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End. [8] From July to October 2003 at the National's Cottesloe Theatre he played the leading role of Louis XIV in Nick Dear's historical drama Power. Penry-Jones returned to the theatre at the end of 2009 playing the role of Carl in Michael Wynne's new play The Priory at the Royal Court Theatre, London, from 19 November 2009 to 16 January 2010. [8]
On television, Penry-Jones has played barrister Alex Hay in C4's ten-part serial North Square in 2000; [9] Donald Maclean in the BBC's four-part production of Cambridge Spies in 2003; [9] and Grimani in Russell T. Davies' production of Casanova in 2005. [9] In 2004, he joined the cast in series 3 of the BBC's BAFTA-winning series Spooks . [9] He played the lead role of section leader Adam Carter for four series before leaving the show in 2008. He won a ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for his role in Spooks in 2008. [11] He also went on to play the role of Captain Wentworth in ITV's adaptation of Persuasion . [9]
In 2008, he starred with Bradley Whitford and Neve Campbell in Burn Up playing an oil executive who becomes embroiled in the politics surrounding global warming and oil stocks. [9] He played Richard Hannay in the BBC adaptation of The 39 Steps . [9]
In February 2009, Penry-Jones took the lead in an ITV drama, Whitechapel , [9] a three-part thriller based on the copycat killings of Jack the Ripper. Whitechapel was the highest-performing new drama in 2009. [12] A second series of the show based around the Kray twins was broadcast in autumn 2010; the third series began in January 2012. The fourth and last series aired in September 2013.
From 2012-2014, Penry-Jones was also cast opposite Maxine Peake in a legal drama Silk created by Peter Moffat. The show revolves around two barristers, played by Penry-Jones and Peake who are competing to become QCs. Series 2 aired in 2012 and Series 3 premiered on 24 February 2014. He also joined the cast of the film A Little Chaos with Kate Winslet as Antoine. The film was directed by Alan Rickman. [13]
From 2014–2017, he joined the cast of Guillermo del Toro's The Strain , playing a main role as Mr.Quinlan, a vampire-human hybrid (on the side of humans), intent on killing his father... The Master. [14] Playing Mr.Quinlan involved wearing prosthetics and a lot of make-up, for 29 episodes over 3 seasons, something Penry-Jones admitted he would not consider again in television. [14]
In 2020, the release of the first trailer for The Batman revealed that he had an as-yet unannounced role in the film, [15] later reported to be that of Gotham City Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr. [16]
In 2022, Penry-Jones starred as Mike/Toby in ITV 1's drama Our House alongside Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton. [17] [18]
Penry-Jones married Irish actress Dervla Kirwan in August 2007, following a four year engagement. They had met in 2001 at a production of J. B. Priestley 's Dangerous Corner . [1] They have two children. [19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Black Beauty | Wild-Looking Young Man | |
| 1997 | Bent | Guard on road | |
| Food of Love | Head office staff | ||
| 1998 | The Tribe | Dietrich | |
| Hilary and Jackie | Piers | ||
| Still Crazy | Young Ray | ||
| 1999 | Virtual Sexuality | Jake | |
| 2001 | Charlotte Gray | Peter Gregory | |
| 2002 | The Four Feathers | Tom Willoughby | |
| A Family Man | Tarquin | ||
| 2005 | Match Point | Henry | |
| 2011 | Manor Hunt Ball | Laurence | |
| 2012 | Red Tails | Campbell | |
| 2014 | A Little Chaos | Antoine Nompar de Caumont | |
| 2017 | Pegasus Bridge | Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin | |
| 2018 | Vita and Virginia | Harold Nicolson | |
| 2020 | Getting to know you | Luke Manning | |
| Love Sarah | Matthew | ||
| Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears | Jonathon Lofthouse | ||
| 2022 | The Batman | Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr. | |
| TBA | Prisoner of Paradise | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Fatherland | Hermann Jost | |
| 1995 | Cold Comfort Farm | Dick Hawk-Monitor | |
| Absolutely Fabulous | Boy at party | 1 episode: "The End" | |
| 1996 | Kavanagh QC | Ralph Kinross | 1 episode: "The Burning Deck" |
| Cold Lazarus | Militiaman /Policeman | 2 episodes | |
| The Ring | Gerhard von Gotthard | ||
| Faith in the Future | Sam | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | The Moth | Stanley Thorman | |
| Jane Eyre | St. John Rivers | ||
| 1998 | The Student Prince | The Prince | |
| 2000 | North Square | Alex Hay | 10 episodes |
| 2003 | Cambridge Spies | Donald Maclean | 4 episodes |
| Agatha Christie's Poirot | Roddy Winter | 1 episode: "Sad Cypress" | |
| 2004–2008 | Spooks | Adam Carter | 41 episodes |
| 2005 | Casanova | Grimani | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Krakatoa: The Last Days | Willem Beijerinck | |
| 2007 | Persuasion | Captain Wentworth | |
| Joe's Palace | Richard Reece | ||
| 2008 | Burn Up | Tom | 2 episodes |
| The 39 Steps | Richard Hannay | ||
| 2009–2013 | Whitechapel | Joseph Chandler | 18 episodes |
| 2011–2014 | Silk | Clive Reader | 18 episodes |
| 2012 | Treasure Island | Squire Trelawney | 2 episodes |
| The Last Weekend | Ollie | ||
| 2014–2017 | The Strain | Mr. Quinlan | 29 episodes |
| 2015, 2017 | Black Sails | Thomas Hamilton | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Life in Squares | Duncan Grant (older) | |
| Crown for Christmas | King Maximillian | ||
| 2018 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Samuel Blake | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Wizards: Tales of Arcadia | Lancelot (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | The Drowning | Mark | Main role |
| 2024 | Those About to Die | Marsus | Upcoming series |
Spooks is a British television spy drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 to 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid. In the United States, the show is broadcast under the title MI-5. In Canada, the programme originally aired as MI-5, but later aired on BBC Canada as Spooks.
Dervla Kirwan is an Irish actress. She has received a number of accolades, including two IFTA Awards for her performances in the film Ondine (2009) and the RTÉ thriller series Smother (2021–2023) respectively.
Casanova is a 2005 British television comedy drama serial, written by television scriptwriter Russell T Davies and directed by Sheree Folkson. Produced by Red Production Company for BBC Wales in association with Granada Television, the 3-episode series was first screened on digital television station BBC Three from 13 March, with a repeat on mainstream analogue network BBC One commencing 4 April.
Stephen Phillip Tompkinson is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in Chancer (1990), Damien Day in Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in Ballykissangel (1996–98), Trevor Purvis in Grafters (1998–1999), Danny Trevanion in Wild at Heart (2006–2013) and Alan Banks in DCI Banks (2010–2016). He won the 1994 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor. He also starred in the films Brassed Off (1996) and Hotel Splendide (2000).
Philip Davis is an English actor, writer, director and narrator. His early work as a director earned awards for Life’s a Gas (1992) and ID (1995). As an actor, he starred in Quadrophenia (1979), The Bounty (1984), High Hopes (1988), The Firm (1989), In the Name of the Father (1993), North Square (2000), Vera Drake (2004), Bleak House (2005), Whitechapel (2009–2013), Sherlock (2010), Brighton Rock (2010), Merlin (2011), Silk (2012–2014), Poldark (2015), Mad Dogs (2015–2016), Trying (2020–2022), and Platform 7 (2023).
Reece Dinsdale is an English actor and director of stage, film and television. He is a Huddersfield Town fan. In 2017 he became a patron of the Square Chapel, an arts centre in Halifax. He is also an honorary patron of The Old Courts multi-arts centre in Wigan
Nicola Jane Walker is an English actress, known for her starring roles in various British television programmes from the 1990s onwards, including that of Ruth Evershed in the spy drama Spooks and DCI Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten (2015–2021). She has also worked in theatre, radio and film. She won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and was twice nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for the BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax.
Hermione Norris is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet. She appeared in every episode of the series from 1998 to 2003 and was nominated for a British Comedy Award.
Raza Jaffrey is a British actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Zafar Younis in the BBC One spy drama series Spooks (2004–2007) and Neal Hudson in the CBS medical drama Code Black (2015). He also had a recurring role as Aasar Khan in season 4 of the Showtime series Homeland (2014). More recently, he appeared in the NBC series The Enemy Within (2019) and the Starz series The Serpent Queen (2022–).
Adam Henry Carter is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. He is portrayed by British actor Rupert Penry-Jones. The character is a former MI6 officer who takes charge as the chief of Section D, and hence the head protagonist following the departure of Tom Quinn in series three.
Shaun Evans is an English actor. He is best known for playing a young Endeavour Morse in the ITV drama series Endeavour and Coxswain Elliot Glover in Vigil.
The 39 Steps is a 2008 British television adventure thriller feature-length adaptation of the 1915 John Buchan novel The Thirty-Nine Steps produced by the BBC. It was written by Lizzie Mickery, directed by James Hawes, and filmed on location in Scotland, starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig, Eddie Marsan, and Patrick Malahide. Following three screen versions of the novel and the 1952 and 1977 television adaptations of The Three Hostages, Penry-Jones became the sixth actor to portray Hannay on screen. This adaptation is set on the eve of the First World War and sees mining engineer Richard Hannay caught up in an espionage conspiracy following the death of a British spy in his flat.
Whitechapel is a British police procedural, produced by Carnival Films and distributed by BBC Worldwide, in which detectives in London's Whitechapel district deal with murders which replicated historical crimes. The first series was broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and depicted the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.
Cush Jumbo is a British actress and writer. She is best known for her leading role as attorney Lucca Quinn in the CBS drama series The Good Wife (2015–2016) and the Paramount Plus spin-off series The Good Fight (2017–2021) and most recently June Lenker in the Apple series Criminal Record (2024).
The third series of the British spy drama television series Spooks began broadcasting on 11 October 2004 on BBC One, and ended on 13 December 2004. It consists of ten episodes which continue to follow the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Service (MI5). It also sees the departure of three principal characters: Tom Quinn is decommissioned in the second episode, Zoe Reynolds is exiled to Chile in the sixth episode, and Danny Hunter is killed in the series finale. In addition to Macfadyen, Hawes and Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nicola Walker, Hugh Simon, Shauna Macdonald and Rory MacGregor are listed as the main cast.
The seventh series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 27 October 2008 on BBC One before ending on 8 December 2008 on the same channel, and consists of eight episodes, two fewer than previous series. It follows the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division in MI5. The primary storyline involves Sugarhorse, a top secret operation set up by MI5 during the final years of the Cold War, and a mole working for the FSB who intends to leak the operation to the Russians. Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris, Richard Armitage, Miranda Raison, Gemma Jones, Hugh Simon and Alex Lanipekun are credited as the main cast.
"New Allegiances" is the series seven premiere and 57th episode of the British espionage television series Spooks. It was originally broadcast on BBC One on 27 October 2008. The episode was written by Neil Cross, with additional writing by Ben Richards, and directed by Colm McCarthy. The episode is considered the first of a two-part story, which concludes with following episode "Split Loyalties".
Ed Cooper Clarke is a writer and actor from London, England.
Tahirah Amandla Sharif is a British actress noted mainly for her roles as student Carrie Norton in Waterloo Road in 2015, Rebecca Jessel in the Netflix horror anthology series The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020, and PC Lizzie Adama in The Tower in 2021 for which she received a Supporting Actress BAFTA nomination.
John Macmillan is a British actor. He began his career in theatre, earning an Ian Charleson Award nomination for his work in Hamlet and Macbeth. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance in the BBC Two adaptation of King Lear (2018).
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