Rory Kinnear

Early life

Kinnear was born on 17 February 1978, in Hammersmith, London, the son of actor Roy Kinnear and actress Carmel Cryan. He grew up with two older sisters. He is the grandson of Scottish international rugby union and rugby league player Roy Kinnear and the godson of actor Michael Williams. He was educated at Tower House School (leaving in 1991), St Paul's School, London (leaving in 1996), and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied English. He then studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Career

Theatre

Kinnear performed in Phyllida Lloyd's production of Mary Stuart, and in Trevor Nunn's Hamlet, in which he played Laertes. He also achieved recognition as the outrageous Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode at the National Theatre, winning the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role and Ian Charleson Award. His other notable theatre work includes the lead in Thomas Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy, Pyotr in Maxim Gorky's Philistines, and Mitia in a stage adaptation of the Nikita Mikhalkov film Burnt by the Sun, all for the National Theatre.

In 2010 he played Angelo in Measure for Measure at the Almeida Theatre. Later in 2010, he played the title role in Hamlet at the National Theatre. The two portrayals won him the best actor award in the Evening Standard Drama Awards for 2010.

Kinnear appeared in The Last of the Haussmans by Stephen Beresford at the National Theatre during the summer of 2012. It was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme.

He starred as Iago opposite Adrian Lester in the title role of Othello in 2013 at the National Theatre throughout the summer of 2013. Both actors won the Best Actor award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for their roles; it is normally given to only one actor, but the judges were unable to choose between them. Kinnear also won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor 2014 for his performance in Othello.

From September 2013, the Bush Theatre in London staged Kinnear's debut play The Herd, directed by Howard Davies. It ran at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago beginning 2 April 2015. In October 2017, he appeared in the title role of Young Marx, the premiere production at the Bridge Theatre. He returned to the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre to star in the title role in Macbeth with Anne-Marie Duff from February 2018.

Opera

For The Threepenny Opera (a "play with songs") at the Olivier Theatre from May to October 2016, Kinnear found his "dormant" singing voice for the role of Macheath. In February 2017, he made his directing debut with The Winter's Tale, a new opera written by Ryan Wigglesworth and based on Shakespeare's play, for English National Opera.

Film

Kinnear portrayed Bill Tanner in the Daniel Craig–era James Bond film series after taking over from Michael Kitchen. He is the fourth person to play the character. He has appeared in Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). As well as the films, Kinnear also lends his voice and likeness to the Bond video games; GoldenEye 007 (2010), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010) and 007 Legends (2012). In 2014, he played the fictional character, Detective Nock, in The Imitation Game based loosely on the biography Alan Turing:The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. In January 2017, he portrayed Ellmann in the Netflix film iBoy. He played Henry Hunt in Mike Leigh's 2018 film Peterloo. In 2022, he played Geoffrey, as well as most of the other male roles, in Alex Garland's A24 horror film *Men *.

In 2023 Kinnear starred as Burnley wannabe banker Dave Fishwick in the film Bank of Dave, released on Netflix in January 2023, reprising his role in the sequel Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger in January 2025.

Television

Kinnear appeared in the 2007 television film Mansfield Park, with Billie Piper and Michelle Ryan. He followed this in 2008, with his portrayal of Denis Thatcher in a BBC dramatisation of Margaret Thatcher's political career, The Long Walk to Finchley, which also starred Andrea Riseborough and Samuel West. in 2010, he starred alongside Lucy Punch and Toby Stephens in the BBC Two series Vexed. The same year, he was the co-lead with Mark Gatiss in the BBC4 TV drama, The First Men in the Moon.

In 2011 he provided narration during the BBC Proms production of 'Henry V – suite' arranged by Muir Mathieson during their Film Music Prom. He appeared in the lead role of Prime Minister Michael Callow in "The National Anthem", the first episode of the anthology series Black Mirror. In July 2012, Kinnear appeared as Bolingbroke in Richard II, a BBC Two adaptation of the play of the same name, with Ben Whishaw as King Richard and Patrick Stewart as John of Gaunt.

In 2013 Kinnear starred as Michael in the BBC sitcom Count Arthur Strong, continuing in that role for 4 years. The same year, he appeared in the Channel 4 drama Southcliffe, and in December 2013, he portrayed British peer and suspected murderer Lord Lucan in the two-part ITV series Lucan. He also appeared as Frankenstein's monster in the Showtime television series Penny Dreadful, for which, he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2014.

In 2017 he appeared in the British miniseries Guerrilla as a Chief Inspector in the Special Branches. and as Robert Lessing from the early days of English medicine in the BBC Two comedy series Quacks. In 2018, he appeared in the first episode of the fourth series of the BBC One anthology series Inside No. 9, Zanzibar, a modern take on a Shakespearean comedy performed entirely in iambic pentameter.{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/inside-no-9-series-4-episode-1-review-zanzibar/|title=Inside No. 9 series 4 episode 1 review: Zanzibar|author=Louisa Mellor|date= 2 January 2018|website=Den of Geek|access-date=21 June 2023}}

In 2019 Kinnear played Craig Oliver in the Channel 4 television film Brexit: The Uncivil War, and the desperate financial advisor Stephen Lyons in the futuristic series Years and Years.

In 2021 Kinnear played Neo-Nazi Colin Jordan in the television drama Ridley Road and was Edward Williams in the BBC's* The Mezzotint*. In 2022, he starred in Our Flag Means Death.

Since 2023 he plays the fictional character of British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge in the Netflix series The Diplomat alongside Keri Russell. In 2024, Kinnear played the fictional character of Tom Bombadil in the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Radio

In 2010 he played Flugkapitän Jürgen Rahl in the BBC Radio drama Slipstream as a disaffected German pilot who joins a mission to steal an alien spacecraft harboured by the Nazis.

Personal life

Kinnear is engaged to actress Pandora Colin (née Ormsby-Gore), daughter of the 5th Baron Harlech, They have a son born in 2010, and a daughter born in 2014.

In May 2020 Kinnear's sister Karina, who was quadriplegic, died from coronavirus.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Accolades

References

References

1. Dobson, Michael.. (2016). "The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare". Oxford University Press.
2. TG24, Sky. (26 October 2019). "Caterina la Grande: Rory Kinnear è il primo ministro Panin".
3. "@007".
4. "Rory Kinnear".
5. (10 April 2012). "Rory Kinnear: Good show, sweet prince". standard.co.uk.
6. "Alumni – Tower House School {{!}} An Opportunity for Every Boy".
7. "Old Paulines and Drama".
8. (5 February 2022). "Rory Kinnear – Theatre Credits". londontheatre.co.uk.
9. "Meet our LAMDA Acting Alumni".
10. Day, Elizabeth. (19 December 2010). "Rory Kinnear: why he made the headlines in 2010".
11. (22 September 2009). "National Theatre's 2010 Ł10 Season to Feature Grandage Debut and Kinnear's Hamlet". Playbill.com.
12. Brown, Mark. (29 November 2010). "Kinnear and Carroll land top theatre awards". [[The Guardian]].
13. (11 October 2012). "The Last of the Haussmans". National Theatre.
14. Kennedy, Maev. (17 November 2013). "Othello and Iago share best actor prize in London Evening Standard awards". The Guardian.
15. (19 September 2013). "The Herd: review". The Guardian.
16. (2004). "Steppenwolf Theatre". The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
17. Brown, Mark. (19 April 2017). "Karl Marx comedy to kick off first season at new London theatre". The Guardian.
18. (27 May 2016). "The Threepenny Opera, theatre review: Kinnear really on song". Evening Standard.
19. Saville, Alice. (27 May 2016). "The Threepenny Opera, National Theatre, review: A snarling, sexy beast of a show". [[The Independent]].
20. Maddocks, Fiona. (5 March 2017). "review: The Winter's Tale; Pelléas et Mélisande". [[The Observer]].
21. "Rory Kinnear on Playing the Villain with a Thousand Faces in 'Men'".
22. (21 December 2022). "'Bank of Dave' Netflix Movie: January 2023 Release Date".
23. "Rory Kinnear credits".
24. "Prom 38: Film Music Prom". BBC.
25. (1 December 2011). "Charlie Brooker: the dark side of our gadget addiction". The Guardian.
26. Mike Watkins. (May 2011). "BBC Two to air Shakespeare works Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V". ATV Guide.
27. (2014). "International press Academy satellite Awards 2014". pressacademy.com.
28. Pedersen, Erik. (2 August 2016). "'Guerrilla': John Ridley's Showtime Series Sets Male Lead, Rounds Out Cast".
29. Moss, Stephen. (7 January 2019). "'They've turned Michael Gove into a vacillating fool' – politicians on Brexit: The Uncivil War". The Guardian.
30. (4 October 2021). "Who was Colin Jordan, and was Vivien Epstein a real person?". Digital Spy.
31. "'Our Flag Means Death' Cast & Character Guide: Who Plays Who in the HBO Max Pirate Comedy Series?".
32. "BBC Radio 4 Simon Bovey – Slipstream".
33. "Rory Kinnear, actor".
34. (4 September 2013). "Rory Kinnear on writing his first play". London Evening Standard.
35. Denham, Jess. (13 April 2014). "Olivier Awards 2014: Rory Kinnear beats Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston to Best Actor for Othello". [[The Independent]].
36. Kinnear, Rory. (12 May 2020). "My sister died of coronavirus. She needed care, but her life was not disposable". [[The Guardian]].
37. Fenn, Archie. (10 April 2024). "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Stars on Sparring with Guy Ritchie and Having a Blast".
38. McGee, Sarah. (15 March 2024). "First look at Bank of Dave 2 as Netflix descend on Burnley".
39. Calnan, Ellie. (10 February 2023). "Bankside boards Rebekah Fortune's 'Learning To Breathe Under Water' with Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova".
40. Murphy, J. Kim. (20 March 2023). "'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2 Adds Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie".
41. Breznican, Anthony. (29 May 2024). "Tom Bombadil Finally Steps Forth in 'The Rings of Power'—An Exclusive First Look".
42. (10 August 2023). "'Toxic Town': Netflix Greenlights Jack Thorne-Penned Corby Poisonings Series Starring Aimee Lou Wood, Jodie Whittaker, Robert Carlyle".
43. Yossman, KJ. (30 May 2024). "Sky's Will Sharpe Mozart Drama Adds Rory Kinnear, Lucy Cohu and More (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
44. (17 April 2008). "Kinnear wins Best Performance In A Supporting Role".
45. "Olivier Winners 2010".
46. "Olivier Winners 2011".
47. (24 October 2012). "BIFA Awards – Winners & Nominations".
48. Denham, Jess. (14 April 2014). "Olivier Awards 2014: Rory Kinnear beats Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston to Best Actor for Othello".
49. (18 May 2014). "Bafta TV awards 2014: Winners in full".
50. Jamie, Harris. (20 February 2024). "Broadchurch, The Fall top nominations for the BPG Awards 2014".
51. (12 December 2014). "2014 San Diego Film Critics Award Nominations".
52. "Satellite Satellite Awards – 2014".
53. (5 January 2015). "Palm Springs Film Festival 2015".
54. (24 January 2015). "SAG Awards: Complete List of Winners".
55. Gingold, Michael. (1 June 2015). "The 2015 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Winners and Full Results".
56. (10 May 2016). "The 2016 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Winners and Full Results".
57. Cooper, Lucy. (25 May 2021). "The 7th edition of the National Film Awards returns on the 1st of July 2021".
58. Voyles, Blake. (20 September 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees".
59. (3 November 2022). "BIFA – Winners & Nominations".
60. (19 December 2022). "2022 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Winners".
61. Neglia, Matt. (16 January 2023). "The 2022 North Dakota Film Society (NDFS) Winners".
62. (22 February 2023). "Nominations Announced for the 3rd Annual Critics Choice Super Awards honoring Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, and Action Movies and Series".
63. "2022 PCA Award Winners".