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Mark Gatiss

British actor and writer (born 1966)

Mark Gatiss

British actor and writer (born 1966)

FieldValue
nameMark Gatiss
imageMark Gatiss by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
captionGatiss in 2017
birth_date
birth_placeSedgefield, County Durham, England
other_namesMark Gatiss
alma_materBretton Hall College of Education
occupation
years_active1993–present
spouse
module{{Listen
embedyes
filenameMark_Gatiss_BBC_Radio4_Desert_Island_Discs_23_Oct_2011_b0167vjr.flac
titleMark Gatiss's voice
typespeech
descriptionfrom the BBC programme Desert Island Discs, 23 October 2011.
titleMark Gatiss
seriesDesert Island Discs
series-linkDesert Island Discs
urlhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0167vjr
stationBBC Radio 4
date23 October 2011
access-date18 January 2014

| series-link= Desert Island Discs | access-date= 18 January 2014 Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received awards including two Laurence Olivier Awards, a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award.

Gatiss co-created, co-wrote and acted in BBC comedy series The League of Gentlemen (1999–2002). He portrayed Mycroft Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock (2010–2017) and Frank Renfield in BBC / Netflix miniseries Dracula (2020), both of which he co-created with Moffat, and wrote several episodes of Doctor Who. His other TV roles include Tycho Nestoris in Game of Thrones (2014–2017), Stephen Gardiner in Wolf Hall (2015), and Peter Mandelson in Coalition (2015). He has acted in films such as Victor Frankenstein (2015), Denial (2016), Christopher Robin (2018), The Favourite (2018), The Father (2020), Operation Mincemeat (2021), and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).

On stage, Gatiss played Menenius in William Shakespeare's Coriolanus (2013) for which he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He took on the role of King George III in a revival of the Alan Bennett play The Madness of George III (2018). He won his first Olivier Award as Shpigelsky in Patrick Marber's adaptation of A Month in the Country as Three Days in the Country in 2016, and a second for his portrayal of Sir John Gielgud in the Jack Thorne play The Motive and the Cue in 2023, for which he earned the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. His other theatre roles include Captain Brazen in The Recruiting Officer (2012), Steven Crosswell in The Vote (2015), and Marley in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (2021).

Early life and education

Gatiss was born in Sedgefield, County Durham, to Winifred Rose (née O'Kane, 1931–2003) and Maurice Gatiss (1931–2021). He grew up opposite the Victorian Winterton Psychiatric Hospital, and later in Trimdon, before his father, a colliery engineer, took a job as engineer at the School Aycliffe Mental Hospital in Heighington. His family background is working class. His passions included watching Doctor Who and Hammer Horror films on television, reading Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells, and collecting fossils. All those interests have influenced his creative work.

Gatiss attended Heighington Church of England Primary School, and Woodham Comprehensive School in Newton Aycliffe. At the latter, he was two years ahead of Paul Magrs, who also went on to write Doctor Who fiction. Gatiss then studied Theatre Arts at Bretton Hall College, an arts college affiliated to the University of Leeds.

Career

1999–2005: Career beginnings

Gatiss in 2006

Gatiss is a member of the sketch comedy team The League of Gentlemen (along with fellow performers Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and co-writer Jeremy Dyson). He first met his co-writers and performers at Bretton Hall, Yorkshire, a drama school which he attended after finishing school and having spent a gap year travelling around Europe. The League of Gentlemen began as a stage act in 1995, which won the Perrier Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1997. In the same year the show transferred to BBC Radio 4 as On the Town with the League of Gentlemen, and later arrived on television on BBC Two in 1999. The television programme has earned Gatiss and his colleagues a British Academy Television Award, a Royal Television Society Award and the prestigious Golden Rose of Montreux. In 2005, the film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse was released, to generally positive reviews.

Shearsmith and Pemberton reunited in 2009 to create a similarly dark BBC sitcom, Psychoville, which featured an episode guest-starring Gatiss. The three reunited again in 2012 to film a series of sketches for the fourth series of CBBC show Horrible Histories.

Outside The League, Gatiss's television work has included writing for the 2001 revival of Randall & Hopkirk and script editing the popular sketch show Little Britain in 2003, making guest appearances in both. In 2001 he guested in Spaced as a villainous government employee modelled on the character of Agent Smith from The Matrix film series. In the same year he appeared in several editions of the documentary series SF:UK. Other acting appearances include the comedy-drama In the Red (BBC Two, 1998), the macabre sitcom Nighty Night (BBC Three, 2003), Agatha Christie's Marple as Ronald Hawes in "The Murder at the Vicarage", a guest appearance in the Vic & Bob series Catterick in 2004 and the live 2005 remake of the classic science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment. A second series of Nighty Night and the new comedy-drama Funland, the latter co-written by his League cohort Jeremy Dyson, both featured Gatiss and aired on BBC Three in the autumn of 2005. He appeared as Johnnie Cradock, alongside Nighty Night star Julia Davis as Fanny Cradock, in Fear of Fanny on BBC Four in October 2006, and featured as Ratty in a new production of The Wind in the Willows shown on BBC One on 1 January 2007. He wrote and starred in the BBC Four docudrama The Worst Journey in the World, based on the memoir by polar explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

Gatiss appears frequently in BBC Radio productions, including the science fiction comedy Nebulous and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes story The Shameful Betrayal of Miss Emily Smith. In 2009, he was The Man in Black when BBC Radio 7 revived the character (originally played by Valentine Dyall and Edward de Souza) to introduce a series of five creepy audio dramas. He is also involved with theatre, having penned the play The Teen People in the early 1990s, and appeared in a successful run of the play 'Art' in 2003 at the Whitehall Theatre in London. In film, he has starred in Sex Lives of the Potato Men (2004) and had minor roles in Birthday Girl (2001), Bright Young Things (2003), Match Point (2005) and Starter for 10 (2006). The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, a film based on the television series, co-written by and starring Gatiss, was released in June 2005. He also plays the recurring character of Gold in the audio revival of Sapphire and Steel produced by Big Finish Productions. Gatiss also appeared in Edgar Wright's fake trailer for Grindhouse, Don't, a homage to 1970s' Hammer Horrors.

2007–2017: ''Doctor Who'' and ''Sherlock''

Gatiss has also made three credited appearances in Doctor Who. In 2007, he played Professor Lazarus in "The Lazarus Experiment". In 2011, he returned in the Series 6 episode "The Wedding of River Song" as a character known as Gantok, and in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon A Time" as "The Captain". Also in 2007, he appeared as Robert Louis Stevenson in Jekyll, a BBC One serial by his fellow Doctor Who scriptwriter Steven Moffat. In 2008, he appeared in Clone as Colonel Black. Gatiss also wrote, co-produced and acted in the BBC Four ghost story Crooked House (2008).

He appeared in the stage adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother at the Old Vic in London from 25 August-24 November 2007. He won much critical acclaim for his portrayal of the transgender character Agrado. In the 2008 English language re-release of the cult 2006 Norwegian animated film Free Jimmy, Gatiss voiced the character of "Jakki," a heavy-set, bizarrely dressed biker member of the "Lappish Mafia." In this his voice is used along with the other actors of League of Gentlemen such as Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. The dialogue was written by Simon Pegg and other actors included Pegg himself, Woody Harrelson and David Tennant, who worked with Gatiss on Doctor Who. He was scheduled to perform in Darker Shores by Michael Punter, a ghost story for all the family, at Hampstead Theatre 3 December 2009 – 16 January 2010 but had to withdraw after a serious family illness. Tom Goodman-Hill took over his role.

In 2010, he portrayed Malcolm McLaren in the BBC drama Worried About the Boy which focused on the life and career of Boy George. He adapted H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon into a television film of the same name for the BBC, also playing Professor Cavor. He also made a three-part BBC documentary series entitled A History of Horror, a personal exploration of the history of horror cinema. This was followed on 30 October 2012 with a look at European horror with the documentary Horror Europa. In March 2010, he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3. From December 2010 to March 2011, Gatiss was playing the role of Bernard in Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings at the Royal National Theatre in London alongside Catherine Tate. In December 2011, he appeared in an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage in an episode entitled The Science of Christmas, alongside Brian Cox, Robin Ince and Richard Dawkins. In January 2012, he took the role of Brazen in The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar Theatre, London. From 18 October – 24 November that year he was Charles I in the Hampstead Theatre production of 55 Days by Howard Brenton, a play dramatising the military coup that killed a King and forged a Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell.

With Steven Moffat, with whom Gatiss worked on Doctor Who and Jekyll, he also co-created and co-produced Sherlock (2010) starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. He also portrayed Mycroft Holmes in the series. Gatiss had influence on all episodes as producer and he wrote four episodes, one for each series: the finale, "The Great Game" for the first series, "The Hounds of Baskerville" for the second, "The Empty Hearse" for the third and "The Six Thatchers" for the fourth. He also co-wrote "Many Happy Returns", a mini-episode released in late December 2013 which acts as a prelude to the third series, with Steven Moffat; the episode "The Sign of Three" with Moffat and Steve Thompson; and "The Abominable Bride", a special episode released in early January 2016, with Moffat. Finally, he co-wrote the final episode of Sherlock, "The Final Problem", with Moffat, released in January 2017.

In December 2013, Gatiss joined the cast of the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus as Senator of Rome, Menenius. The play went from 6 December 2013 through 13 February 2014. For his performance, Gatiss received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. On 25 December 2013, a version of the ghost story "The Tractate Middoth" by M. R. James and adapted by Gatiss was broadcast on BBC Two as part of the long-running A Ghost Story for Christmas series. It starred Sacha Dhawan, John Castle, Louise Jameson, Una Stubbs, David Ryall, Eleanor Bron, Nick Burns and Roy Barraclough. It was followed on 25 December 2013 by a screening on BBC2 of a new documentary by Gatiss titled M. R. James: Ghost Writer. The programme saw Gatiss explore the work of James and look at how his work still inspires contemporary horror today.

He appeared in season four of Game of Thrones in 2014 playing Tycho Nestoris and reprised this role in season five and season seven. In the BBC's 2015 series Wolf Hall, Gatiss played King Henry VIII's secretary Stephen Gardiner. He also appeared in Channel 4's Coalition in 2015. In 2016, he played Harold in the groundbreaking American play The Boys in the Band at Park Theatre (London) opposite his husband Ian Hallard. They made history when the play transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in 2017 as the first married gay couple to appear together on a West End stage.

Gatiss appeared as the Prince Regent (later George IV) in the eight-part historical fiction television drama series Taboo (2017) first broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2017 and in the United States on FX on 10 January 2017. In May 2017, Gatiss began a recurring role on The Secret History of Hollywood, a series of podcast biopics on Golden Age-era Hollywood. Its 11-part series, Shadows tells the story of Val Lewton's life and career, with Gatiss providing the introductions for each episode.

2018–present: Theatre roles and expansion

In November 2018, Gatiss portrayed the lead, King George III in a revival of the Alan Bennet play The Madness of George III at Nottingham Playhouse. The production was broadcast live to cinemas as part of National Theatre Live. Kate Maltby of The Guardian wrote of his performance, "Productions of The Madness of George III live or die by their star, and Gatiss delivers a tour de force. This is a viscerally repulsive depiction of the gap between public and private life." That same year he played a supporting role as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in the Yorgos Lanthimos directed black comedy The Favourite (2018) starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz. Also in 2018 he acted in the children's film Christopher Robin starring Ewan McGregor and The Mercy with Colin Firth. In 2020 he acted opposite Anthony Hopkins in the film The Father based on the Florian Zeller play Le Père. In October 2021, Gatiss wrote and played Jacob Marley in a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story by Charles Dickens playing at both Nottingham Playhouse and Alexandra Palace in 2021.

He appeared as a modern-day incarnation/descendant of Count Dracula's servile companion Renfield in the series of his own co-creation, Dracula in the third and final episode, "The Dark Compass". In 2017, Gatiss and Steven Moffat re-teamed to write three episodes for TV miniseries Dracula. The series premiered on BBC One on 1 January 2020, and was broadcast over three consecutive days. The three episodes were then released on Netflix on 4 January 2020. In June 2021, a new adaptation of The Ghosts by Antonia Barber, written and directed by Gatiss for Sky One, was announced. It broadcast on 24 December. In 2021 he acted in the British war film Operation Mincemeat portraying Ivor Montagu. That same year he acted in Locked Down, The Road Dance, and The Sparks Brothers. He joined the Mission Impossible franchise acting in action film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) starring Tom Cruise.

In May 2022, Gatiss directed The Unfriend, a new play by Steven Moffat at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, starring Amanda Abbington, Frances Barber and Reece Shearsmith. The play transferred to London's West End Criterion Theatre in January 2023. In February 2023, Gatiss directed The Way Old Friends Do a new play by Ian Hallard at the Birmingham Rep. This also transferred to the Criterion in August. In April 2022, Gatiss starred as Lawrence in the seventh series opener of Inside No. 9. In April 2023, Gatiss played as Sir John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue, a new play written by Jack Thorne and directed by Sam Mendes at London's National Theatre. The story of how Richard Burton (played by Johnny Flynn) and Gielgud clashed as they staged Hamlet on Broadway in 1964, the play has received good reviews, particularly the two leads. Leonie Cooper of Time Out wrote of his performance, "Mark Gatiss launches himself into a condescending but sensitive Gielgud...[who] is just as impressive, his uncanny Gielgud manifesting a man in flux, as a new era of performance threatens to subsume his traditional take on stagecraft. Gatiss's Gielgud is lonely and lost, but still more than capable of getting one over on the wayward Burton." For his performance Gatiss won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.

Filming got underway in Belgium in April 2024 on Bookish, which Gatiss co-wrote and stars. He will also be appearing in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, set for debut in 2025.

In September 2025, Gatiss appeared alongside Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Monica Dolan, in BBC Radio 4 premier of Jeremy Dyson's original comedy drama High Cockalorum. Set in West Yorkshire in 1978 and inspired by a true story, the drama celebrated Bradford City of Culture and was part of the BBC's "Contains Strong Language Festival".

In April 2026, Gatiss will make his Royal Shakespeare Company debut in the title role of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht, updated by Stephen Sharkey and directed by Seán Linnen at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Writing for ''Doctor Who''

At the age of eleven, Gatiss won a school literary competition with a short science fiction story "The Anti-Noise Machine", published in a booklet by Darlington Borough Council. Gatiss had a childhood interest in the BBC science-fiction show Doctor Who and devoted much of his early writing to the series, despite its 1989 cancellation. Gatiss's earliest published work as a professional writer was a sequence of novels in Virgin Publishing's New Adventures series of continuation stories and novels. In these works, he tried to correct the problems which had led to the show's decline in the late 1980s. in addition to writing for Big Finish he has acted in numerous releases in their Doctor Who, Bernice Summerfield and Classics ranges.

Gatiss has written nine episodes for the 2005 revival of the show. His first, "The Unquiet Dead", was the third episode of the revived series in 2005; the second, "The Idiot's Lantern", aired in 2006 in the second series. Although he acted in the third series and proposed an ultimately unproduced episode for the fourth, involving Nazis and the British Museum, he did not return as a writer until 2010. He wrote "Victory of the Daleks" for that year's fifth series, "Night Terrors" for series 6, "Cold War" and "The Crimson Horror" for series 7 and "Robot of Sherwood" for series 8. He also wrote "Sleep No More" for series 9 and "Empress of Mars" for series 10. He has also contributed to the franchise outside the main show. His early work (see above) was primarily Doctor Who expanded media.

Gatiss wrote and performed in the comedy spoof sketches The Web of Caves, The Kidnappers and The Pitch of Fear for the BBC's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999 with David Walliams. He penned the 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time, a drama depicting the origins of the series, to celebrate the show's fiftieth anniversary. It ended with a cameo by Gatiss's League of Gentleman castmate Reece Shearsmith, portraying Patrick Troughton, who played the Second Doctor. A "Making Of" feature about this programme, narrated by Gatiss, was made available on the BBC Red Button service, and also posted on the BBC's official YouTube channel. He has written for Doctor Who Magazine, including a column written under the pseudonym "Sam Kisgart," which he was originally credited as in the Doctor Who Unbound audio play Sympathy for the Devil for his role as the Master. "Sam Kisgart" is an anagram of "Mark Gatiss", and is also the name under which he was credited for his cameo in Psychoville.

Novels

Gatiss has written several non-fiction works, including a biography of the film director James Whale and the documentary M.R. James: Ghost Writer, which Gatiss also presented. The documentary followed Gatiss's directorial debut with an adaption of one of James's stories, "The Tractate Middoth", for BBC Two, which was broadcast on Christmas Day 2013. His first non-Doctor Who novel, The Vesuvius Club, was published in 2004, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer in the 2006 British Book Awards. A follow-up, The Devil in Amber, was released on 6 November 2006. It transports the main character, Lucifer Box, from the Edwardian era in the first book to the roaring Twenties/Thirties. A third and final Lucifer Box novel, Black Butterfly, was published on 3 November 2008 by Simon & Schuster.

Personal life

Gatiss was featured on The Independent on Sundays Pink List of influential gay people in the UK in 2010, 2011 and 2014. He entered into a civil partnership with actor Ian Hallard in 2008 in Middle Temple, in the City of London.

Gatiss once built a Victorian era laboratory in his north London home, as the fulfilment of a childhood dream. Gatiss is an atheist.

The University of Huddersfield awarded him an honorary doctorate of letters in 2003. The University of Leeds awarded him an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures in 2024.

Performances and works

Actor

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994P.R.O.B.E.: The Zero ImperativeDr. William BruffinVideo; also writer
1995P.R.O.B.E.: The Devil of WinterborneGeorgieVideo; also writer
1996P.R.O.B.E.: Unnatural SelectionMr. EmersonVideo; also writer
2001Birthday GirlPorter
2003Bright Young ThingsEstate agent
2004Sex Lives of the Potato MenJeremy
Shaun of the DeadRadio Presenter With 'Spaceship' Theory
Wildlife voiceoverVoice; Uncredited
2005The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyAdditional Vogon voicesCollectively credited as "The League of Gentlemen"
Match PointPing pong player
The League of Gentlemen's ApocalypseVarious characters / HimselfAlso writer
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-RabbitMiss Blight (voice)
2006Starter for 10Bamber Gascoigne
The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You!Various
2007GrindhouseEye Gouging VictimSegment: Don't
2008Free JimmyJakki (voice)English dub
2015Victor FrankensteinDettweiler
2016Dad's ArmyColonel Theakes
Our Kind of TraitorBilly Matlock
Absolutely Fabulous: The MoviePublisher
DenialRobert Jan van Pelt
2018The MercyRonald Hall
Christopher RobinGiles Winslow
The FavouriteMarlborough
2020The FatherThe Man
2021Locked DownTerry
The Sparks BrothersHimself
A Silent ImprisonmentMr. MurphyShort film
The Road DanceDoctor Maclean
Operation MincemeatIvor Montagu
2023Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part OneAngstrom
2025Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
The Fantastic Four: First StepsTed Gilbert

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993HarryDiner ManagerEpisode #1.5
1994Catherine Cookson's "The Dwelling Place"BowmerEpisode #1.3
1998In the RedJunior Detective3 episodes
1998–1999This Morning with Richard Not JudyVarious voices18 episodes; uncredited
1999–2002,
2017The League of GentlemenVarious charactersAlso co-creator and co-writer
2000Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)Inspector LargeEpisode: "Drop Dead"; also writer
BarbaraArchieEpisode: "Christening"
2001Spacedtitle=Mark Gatiss creditsurl=http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/mark-gatiss//works/publisher=Curtis Brownaccess-date=15 February 2012location=Londonarchive-date=21 October 2012archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021073907/http://curtisbrown.co.uk/mark-gatiss//works/url-status=live}}Episode: "Back"
Dr. Terrible's House of HorribleHang Man ChangEpisode: "Frenzy of Tongs"
2002Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost TribeViking (voice)Television film
2003Little BritainTheatrical AgentEpisode: "Smallest Ant"
2004CatterickPeterEpisode #1.5
Footballers' WivesTeddy – AgentEpisode #3.7
Agatha Christie: A Life in PicturesKenyonTelevision film
Agatha Christie's MarpleRonald HawesEpisode: "The Murder at the Vicarage"
2004–2005Nighty NightGlenn Bulb10 episodes; also writer
2005The Quatermass ExperimentJohn PattersonTelevision film
FunlandAmbrose Chapfel4 episodes
2006Fear of FannyJohnnie CradockTelevision film
The Wind in the WillowsRattyTelevision film
2007Gina's Laughing GearEpisode: "Stairlift to Heaven"
The Worst Journey in the WorldApsley Cherry-GarrardTelevision film; also writer
JekyllRobert Louis StevensonEpisode #1.5
Consenting AdultsPC ButcherTelevision film
2007, 2010–
2011, 2017Doctor WhoProfessor Lazarus / Danny Boy / Gantok / The Captain5 episodes; also writer
2008Sense and SensibilityJohn DashwoodMiniseries, 2 episodes
Agatha Christie's PoirotLeonard BoyntonEpisode: "Appointment with Death"; also writer
CloneColonel Black6 episodes
Crooked HouseCuratorMiniseries, also creator and writer
2009PsychovilleJason GriffinEpisode: "David and Maureen"
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten FallenErnest DunksTelevision film
2010Midsomer MurdersRev. Giles ShawcrossEpisode: "The Sword of Guillaume"
Worried About the BoyMalcolm McLarenTelevision film
The First Men in the MoonProfessor CavorTelevision film; also writer
A History of HorrorHimselfDocumentary; also writer
2010–2017SherlockMycroft HolmesAlso co-creator and writer of 6 episodes
2011The Infinite Monkey CageHimselfEpisode: "The Science of Christmas"
The Crimson Petal and the WhiteHenry Rackham JuniorMiniseries, 2 episodes
2012Being HumanMr Snow2 episodes
Inspector George GentlyStephen GrovesEpisode: "The Lost Child"
Horror EuropaHimselfDocumentary; also writer
2013PsychobitchesJoan CrawfordEpisode #1.1
Horrible HistoriesHollywood Producer No. 2Recurring role; as part of "The League of Gentlemen"
2014Mapp & LuciaMajor Benjy3 episodes
2014–2017Game of ThronesTycho Nestoris4 episodes
2015Wolf HallStephen Gardiner4 episodes
CoalitionPeter MandelsonTelevision film
The VoteSteven CrosswellTelevision film
London SpyRichEpisode: "Blue"
2016Mid Morning Matters with Alan PartridgeThe Partridge Playhouse Players (voice)Episode: "Foxhunter + Radio Play"
2017TabooPrince George5 episodes
Thunderbirds Are GoProfessor Quentin Questa (voice)Episode: "Volcano!"
GunpowderRobert Cecil3 episodes
2017–2018HorizonNarrator2 episodes
2018Sally4EverDoctor2 episodes
The Dead RoomRadio Announcer (voice)Television film; also writer
2019Brexit: The Uncivil WarPeter Mandelson (voice)Television film
Good OmensHarmony2 episodes
2020DraculaFrank RenfieldEpisode: "The Dark Compass", also co-creator and writer
In Search of Dracula with Mark GatissHimself (presenter)Television documentary film
2021The Amazing Mr. BlundenMr WickensTelevision film; also writer and director
2022–2024Inside No. 9Callum / Himself (cameo)2 episodes: "Merrily, Merrily" and "Plodding On"
2023NollyLarry Grayson
20243 Body ProblemIsaac NewtonEpisode: "Destroyer of Worlds"
2024Time BanditsJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichEpisode: "Georgian"
2024Moonflower MurdersParris/Berlin
2025–presentBookishGabriel BookMain role

Writer

ProductionNotesBroadcaster
P.R.O.B.E.The Zero Imperative (1994)
The Devil of Winterbourne (1995)
Unnatural Selection (1996)
Ghosts of Winterbourne (1996)
(released direct to video)N/A
Randall & Hopkirk"Two Can Play at That Game" (2001)
"Painkillers" (2001)BBC One
The League of GentlemenAlso co-creator
22 episodes (1999–2002, 2017)
(with Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith)BBC Two
The League of Gentlemen's ApocalypseFeature film (2005)
(with Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith)N/A
Doctor Who9 episodes;BBC One
The Worst Journey in the WorldTV film (2007)BBC Four
Crooked HouseAlso creator
3 episodes (2008)BBC Four
Agatha Christie's Poirot"Cat Among the Pigeons" (2008)
"Hallowe'en Party" (2010)
"The Big Four" (2013)ITV
Sherlock7 episodes, 1 miniepisode, also co-creator (with Steven Moffat);BBC One
The First Men in the MoonTV film (2010)BBC Four
An Adventure in Space and TimeTV film (2013)BBC Two
A Ghost Story for Christmas"The Tractate Middoth" (2013)
"The Dead Room" (2018)
"Martin's Close" (2019)BBC Two/BBC Four
The Lost Man of British Art, John MintonWriter/Presenter (2018)BBC
DraculaMiniseries (2020)BBC One

Director

YearTitleNotes
2013The Tractate MiddothShort film
2017QueersMini-series; also producer, wrote screen play for "The Man On The Platform"
2018The Dead RoomShort film
2019Martin's CloseShort film
2021The MezzotintShort film
The Amazing Mr. BlundenTV film
2022Count MagnusTV film
2023Lot No. 249TV film
2024Woman of StoneTV film

Theatre

Actor

YearTitleRolePlaywrightVenue
2002ArtSergYasmina RezaWhitehall Theatre
2007All About My MotherAgradoSamuel AdamsonThe Old Vic
2009Darker ShoresStokesMichael PunterHampstead Theatre
2010Season's GreetingsBernardAlan AyckbournLyttelton Theatre, National Theatre
2012The Recruiting OfficerCaptain BrazenGeorge FarquharDonmar Warehouse
55 DaysKing Charles IHoward BrentonHampstead Theatre
2013CoriolanusMeneniusWilliam ShakespeareDonmar Warehouse
2015The VoteSteven CrosswellJames GrahamDonmar Warehouse
Three Days in the CountryShpigelskyPatrick MarberLyttelton Theatre, National Theatre
2016The Boys in the BandHaroldMart CrowleyPark Theatre, Vaudeville Theatre
2018The Madness of George IIIGeorge IIIAlan BennettNottingham Playhouse
2019Dark SublimeKosley the ComputerMichael DennisTrafalgar Theatre 2
2021A Christmas Carol: A Ghost StoryJacob MarleyMark GatissNottingham Playhouse, Alexandra Palace
2023The Motive and the CueSir John GielgudJack ThorneLyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre
2026The Resistible Rise of Arturo UiArturo UiSeán LinnenSwan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (Royal Shakespeare Company)

Writer

  • A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (2021)

Director

YearTitlePlaywrightVenue
2022–2024The UnfriendSteven MoffatMinerva Theatre, Chichester
Criterion Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
2023The Way Old Friends DoIan HallardBirmingham Repertory Theatre
UK tour
Criterion Theatre

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryProjectResultRef.
2011BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SeriesSherlock
2014Best Single DramaAn Adventure in Space and Time
2011Peabody AwardSherlock: A Study in Pink
2012Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Miniseries or MovieSherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
2014Outstanding Television MovieSherlock: His Last Vow
2016Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
2017Sherlock: The Lying Detective
2014Laurence Olivier AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleCoriolanus
2016Three Days in the Country
2024Best ActorThe Motive and the Cue

Bibliography

**Doctor Who novels **

  • Nightshade ()
  • St Anthony's Fire ()
  • The Roundheads ()
  • Last of the Gaderene (; also 2013 reissue )
  • The Crimson Horror ()

** Doctor Who anthology contributions **

  • Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts (teleplay "The Unquiet Dead") ()
  • The Doctor Who Storybook 2007 (short story "Cuckoo-Spit") ()
  • The Doctor Who Storybook 2009 (short story "Cold") ()
  • The Doctor Who Storybook 2010 (short story "Scared Stiff") ()
  • The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2011 (short fiction The Lost Diaries of Winston Spencer Churchill) ()
  • The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2012 (short fiction George's Diary) ()

** *The League of Gentlemen * **

  • A Local Book for Local People ()
  • The League of Gentlemen: Scripts and That ()
  • The League of Gentlemen's Book of Precious Things ()

** Lucifer Box novels **

  • The Vesuvius Club ()
  • The Devil in Amber ()
  • Black Butterfly ()

** Miscellaneous non-fiction **

  • James Whale: A Biography ()
  • They Came From Outer Space!: Alien Encounters in the Movies (with David Miller) ()

** Miscellaneous fiction **

  • The King's Men (as "Christian Fall") ().
  • The EsseX Files: To Basildon and Beyond (with Jeremy Dyson) ().

** Audio plays **

  • 2000 AD (Judge Dredd audio) Death Trap

** Doctor Who (and related) **

  • Time Travellers: Republica
  • Time Travellers: Island of Lost Souls
  • Phantasmagoria
  • Invaders from Mars

References

References

  1. "Science of Christmas".
  2. [https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/news/mark-gatiss-wins-olivier-358570/ Jen Dickson-Purdy - Mark Gatiss wins Olivier (3 April 2016)], accessed 25 January 2026.
  3. Jeffries, Stuart. (11 October 2010). "Mark Gatiss: Rocket man". [[The Guardian]].
  4. "Mark Gatiss featured article on TheGenealogist".
  5. Mark Lawson Talks to Mark Gatiss
  6. "Mark Gatiss".
  7. Stephen Phelan. (7 November 2004). "Renaissance gentleman". [[The Sunday Herald]].
  8. Angelique Chrisafis, Angelique. (3 November 2004). "A league of his own". [[The Guardian]].
  9. (7 November 2004). "Film Info. Interview with Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss". [[The League of Gentlemen]].
  10. (26 March 2007). "Remembering Heighington's past with pride; The headteacher". The Northern Echo.
  11. Pratt, Steve. (8 May 2007). "Golly goth". [[The Northern Echo]].
  12. David Leavey. (25 March 2011). "The Essential Cult TV Reader". The University Press of Kentucky.
  13. (5 April 2012). "Horrible Histories: CBBC meets Royston Vasey".
  14. Walker, Danny. (2 October 2013). "Reece Shearsmith hints at The League of Gentlemen reunion in tweet".
  15. (28 September 2006). "Doctor Who baddie role for Barlow". [[BBC News]].
  16. "Meet the cast of Doctor Who Christmas special 2017 Twice Upon a Time". Radio Times.
  17. Martin, Daniel. (25 December 2017). "Doctor Who Christmas special 2017: Twice Upon a Time". The Guardian.
  18. (20 December 2006). "I Always Wanted to be a Rat". [[The Northern Echo]].
  19. (16 November 2006). "Mark Gatiss joins James Nesbitt in BBC One's Jekyll". [[BBC]].
  20. (10 December 2009). "It's on with the show (From Watford Observer)". Watfordobserver.co.uk.
  21. [http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/film-tv-features/a-moonstruck-mark-gatiss-sends-hg-wells-into-orbit-1.1060842 Moonstruck Mark Gatiss Sends H.G. Wells Into Orbit] {{Webarchive. link. (14 October 2010 Herald Scotland – October 2010)
  22. "A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss – Q&A with Mark Gatiss". BBC.
  23. Mark Gatiss. (1 January 1970). "Media Centre – Mark Gatiss returns to BBC Four to tell story of European horror cinema". BBC.
  24. "Private Passions". [[BBC Radio 3]].
  25. Shenton, Mark. (15 February 2012). "The Recruiting Officer". [[The Stage]].
  26. Wooley, Sarah. "55 Days". [[Hampstead Theatre]].
  27. "Coriolanus 6 December 2013 – 13 February 2014". Donmar Warehouse.
  28. (10 March 2014). "Olivier awards 2014 full list". The Guardian.
  29. Jones, Paul. (3 December 2013). "The Tractate Middoth and An Adventure in Space and Time to air on Christmas Day on BBC2".
  30. Daly, Emma. (5 September 2013). "Mark Gatiss casts Sherlock's Una Stubbs in festive ghost story". [[Radio Times]].
  31. McAlpine, Fraser. "WATCH: 'Sherlock's Mark Gatiss Makes His 'Game of Thrones' Debut". BBC America.
  32. (27 August 2014). "Mark Gatiss returning for Game of Thrones season 5". Watchers on the Wall.
  33. Cadwalladr, Carole. (1 May 2015). ["Mark Gatiss: 'Doctor Who is my first love, my last, my everything']"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/01/mark-gatiss-doctor-who-is-my-first-love-baftas-2015-television). [[The Guardian]].
  34. (18 November 2016). "The Boys in the Band to Receive Short West End Outing".
  35. Meechan, Lauren. (12 January 2017). "Taboo: First look at unrecognisable Sherlock star Mark Gatiss in Tom Hardy's gritty drama". Daily Express.
  36. "The Madness of George III, Starring Mark Gatiss, Streams June 11".
  37. (7 November 2018). "The Madness of George III review – Mark Gatiss delivers a tour de force".
  38. (4 September 2018). "The Favourite Trailer".
  39. (18 May 2019). "Florian Zeller's 'The Father' Adds Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots, Mark Gatiss".
  40. Clarke, Stewart. (20 June 2017). "'Sherlock' Team Reuniting for New 'Dracula' Series (EXCLUSIVE)".
  41. Fullerton, Huw. (3 December 2019). "BBC's Dracula will air three days in a row from New Year's Day". Radio Times.
  42. Romano, Nick. (13 December 2019). "Dracula's Netflix premiere awakens in bloody trailers for Sherlock team's miniseries".
  43. (7 June 2021). "Sky orders Gatiss Xmas drama".
  44. "Mark Gatiss". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
  45. "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
  46. (20 April 2022). "TV tonight: Diane Morgan crashes The League of Gentlemen cast reunion".
  47. "A new play by Jack Thorne". Royal National Theatre.
  48. (3 May 2023). "Gielgud and Burton battle it out". The Guardian.
  49. (3 May 2023). "Sam Mendes's elegant production is a love letter to theatre". Evening Standard.
  50. (20 December 2023). "The Motive and the Cue review".
  51. (12 March 2024). "Olivier Awards: Sarah Snook, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andrew Scott Receive Noms".
  52. Cremona, Patrick. (29 April 2024). "Call the Midwife and Poldark stars join Mark Gatiss's new drama Bookish".
  53. McQuarrie, Christopher. (23 May 2025). "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning". Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media.
  54. "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, High Cockalorum".
  55. Wilson, Daniel. (29 December 2019). "Noise, Drama, Jeremy Beadle's Noise Research, the Darlington Quiet Town Experiment, and the Earliest Published Story by Mark Gatiss". Miraculous Agitations.
  56. "Doctor Who – Invaders From Mars". Bigfinish.com.
  57. "Doctor Who – Phantasmagoria". Bigfinish.com.
  58. "Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time".
  59. "1.1. Bernice Summerfield: Oh No It Isn't!".
  60. "Dracula".
  61. "Mark Gatiss Presents Doctor Who Documentary". BBC.
  62. (24 April 2013). "'Doctor Who': Series 7 news summary". Cultbox.co.uk.
  63. Mulkern, Patrick. (20 November 2013). "Doctor Who: An Adventure in Space and Time – Mark Gatiss takes us behind the scenes". Radio Times.
  64. (21 November 2013). "Behind the scenes of An Adventure in Space and Time – Doctor Who 50th Anniversary – BBC".
  65. "Mark Gatiss – Official Publisher Page". [[Simon & Schuster]].
  66. (1 August 2010). "The IoS Pink List 2010". [[The Independent on Sunday]].
  67. Herbert, Ian. (23 October 2011). "The IoS Pink List 2011". The Independent.
  68. (9 November 2014). "The IoS Pink List 2014". The Independent.
  69. Greenstreet, Rosanna. (6 February 2016). "Q&A: Mark Gatiss – 'Best kiss? My husband, or Ben Whishaw in London Spy'". The Guardian.
  70. Randall, Lee. (17 November 2008). "The Monday Interview: Mark Gatiss – Top of the League". The Scotsman.
  71. Duncan, Alistair. (23 October 2010). "Mark Gatiss: My family values". The Guardian.
  72. Michael Deacon. (15 October 2010). "Mark Gatiss: the journey of a geek made good". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  73. (3 January 2020). "Atheist Dracula writers took Christianity seriously".
  74. (24 April 2017). "Honorary Graduates – University of Huddersfield".
  75. (16 December 2024). "Sherlock star and PCI graduate awarded Honorary Degree=16 December 2024".
  76. "Mark Gatiss credits". [[Curtis Brown (literary agents).
  77. Coming, Winter Is. (17 July 2013). "Sherlock actor Mark Gatiss cast in season 4". Winteriscoming.net.
  78. (8 September 2013). "Mark Gatiss's role revealed". WinterIsComing.net.
  79. O'Rourke, Ryan. (14 December 2023). "Lesley Manville Is Back on the Case in First 'Moonflower Murders' Images".
  80. "Count Magnus". BBC.
  81. (28 December 2011). "Television Awards Winners in 2011".
  82. "Television Awards Winners in 2014".
  83. "Masterpiece: Sherlock A Study in Pink".
  84. "Nominees / Winners 2012 Emmy Awards".
  85. "Nominees / Winners 2014 Emmy Awards".
  86. "Nominees / Winners 2016 Emmy Awards".
  87. "Nominees / Winners 2017 Emmy Awards".
  88. "Olivier Winners 2014".
  89. "Olivier Winners 2016".
  90. "Olivier Winners 2024".
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