Robert Carlyle#Personal life
{{short description|Scottish actor (born 1961)}}
{{for-multi|the Indian civil servant and historian|Robert Warrand Carlyle|people with similar names|Robert Carlisle (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Robert Carlyle
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=100%|OBE}}
|image = Robert Carlyle.jpg
|caption = Carlyle at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|4|14|df=yes}}
|birth_place = Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
|alma_mater = Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
|occupation = Actor
|years_active = 1990–present
|spouse = {{marriage|Anastasia Shirley|1997}}
|children = 3
}}
Robert Carlyle {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=100%|OBE}}{{cite web |title=Robert Carlyle OBE|url=http://www.onceuponafans.com/apps/blog/show/16750075-broken-hearts-chipped-cups-an-interview-with-robert-carlyle|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131127192122/http://www.onceuponafans.com/apps/blog/show/16750075-broken-hearts-chipped-cups-an-interview-with-robert-carlyle|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 November 2013|work=Once Upon A Fan|access-date=27 November 2013}}{{cite web |title=Robert Carlyle OBE|url=https://sites.google.com/site/robertcarlyleobe/awards-and-honours|work=Google sites |access-date=27 November 2013}} (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes: Trainspotting (1996), The Full Monty (1997), Ravenous and The World Is Not Enough (both 1999), There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (2000), The Beach (2000), The 51st State (2001), Eragon (2006), 28 Weeks Later (2007) and The Legend of Barney Thomson (2015). He has been in the television shows Hamish Macbeth, Stargate Universe, Once Upon a Time and COBRA.
He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Full Monty and a Gemini Award for Stargate Universe, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work in the miniseries Human Trafficking (2005).
Early life and education
Carlyle was born on 14 April 1961 in Maryhill, Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth, who worked for a bus company, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator.{{cite web |title=Robert Carlyle Biography |url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/21/Robert-Carlyle.html |work= FilmReference.com |access-date= 30 December 2008}}{{cite press release |title=Born Equal: Robert Carlyle |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/11_november/15/equal_carlyle.shtml |publisher=BBC |date=15 November 2006 |access-date=30 December 2008}} He was raised by his father after his mother left when he was four years old.{{cite web |url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=888&id=144962006 |title= Father's death causes Carlyle to quit movie |date=29 January 2006 |work= The Scotsman |first=Brian |last= Pendreigh |access-date=30 December 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713001047/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/film/father-s-death-causes-carlyle-to-quit-movie-1-1408770|archive-date=13 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title= Method man |url= http://film.guardian.co.uk/Feature_Story/Observer/0,,38015,00.html |work=The Guardian|date=28 March 1999 |first=Andrew |last=Smith |access-date=30 December 2008}}
Carlyle left North Kelvinside Secondary School at the age of 16 without any qualifications and worked for his father as a painter and decorator.{{Who's Who | title=CARLYLE, Robert | id = U23505 | volume = 2023 | edition = online}} He later attended night classes at Cardonald College, in Glasgow.{{cite news |title=On the Move: Robert Carlyle |last= Armstrong |first=Stephen |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article1808448.ece | work = The Times|location=London |date=20 May 2007 |access-date=5 April 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} He first became involved in drama at the Glasgow Arts Centre at the age of 21 (having been inspired by reading Arthur Miller's The Crucible) and he later graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).{{Cite news |last=Nicholson |first=Rebecca |date=4 June 2023 |title='I won't be getting my kit off again': The Full Monty's Robert Carlyle on the role of a lifetime |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jun/04/i-wont-be-getting-my-kit-off-again-the-full-montys-robert-carlyle-on-the-role-of-a-lifetime |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}
Career
In 1991, Carlyle and four friends founded a theatre company, Raindog (which was involved in television and film work).{{cite web| last1= Sweet| first1= Matthew| title=The Saturday Profile: Robert Carlyle, Actor: A man for all regions| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-saturday-profile-robert-carlyle-actor-a-man-for-all-regions-1084740.html| website= The Independent| date= 2 April 1999|access-date=27 January 2017}} The same year he guest starred in The Bill and also starred in his first film, Riff-Raff, directed by Ken Loach.
In 1994, he played the gay lover of Father Greg in the film Priest. Carlyle's first high-profile role came as serial killer Albie Kinsella in an October 1994 episode of Cracker opposite Robbie Coltrane and Christopher Eccleston. Carlyle claimed that his main inspiration for the role was Robert De Niro's Academy Award-nominated performance as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. This highly acclaimed role showcased Carlyle's "pure intensity".{{Cite web |url= http://www.crackertv.co.uk/tobeasomebody.htm |title=To Be A Somebody | work = crackertv.co.uk |access-date=12 April 2011 |archive-date= 23 September 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170923143601/http://www.crackertv.co.uk/tobeasomebody.htm |url-status=dead }} Shortly after his appearance in Cracker, he landed the role of Highland policeman Hamish Macbeth in the BBC comedy-drama Hamish Macbeth.{{Cite news |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |date=16 July 2015 |title=Robert Carlyle: 'Big films don't feed your soul' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/16/robert-carlyle-big-films-dont-feed-your-soul |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The series ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1997.
In 1996 and 1997, he appeared in the two highest-profile roles of his career to date: as the sociopathic Francis Begbie in Trainspotting and Gaz, the leader of a group of amateur male strippers, in The Full Monty.{{Cite web |last=Goldbart |first=Max |date=6 October 2021 |title=Robert Carlyle To Reprise Role Of Francis Begbie In 'Trainspotting' TV Sequel 'The Blade Artist' |url=https://deadline.com/2021/10/robert-carlyle-trainspotting-tv-sequel-1234850615/ |access-date=1 February 2025 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} The latter earned Carlyle a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.{{Cite web |title=Robert Carlyle as "Gaz" |url=https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/full-monty/cast/robert-carlyle-gaz |access-date=1 February 2025 |website=FX |language=en}} He also starred with Ray Winstone in the 1997 film Face. Carlyle played the senior Malachy McCourt (father of author Frank McCourt) in the 1999 film adaptation of McCourt's first memoir, Angela's Ashes; the arch villain Renard in the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough; and a cannibalistic soldier in the 1999 Ravenous.
File:Stargate Universe Comic Con 2009 Carlyle.jpg
Carlyle appeared in the 2002 Oasis music video for "Little By Little". He played Adolf Hitler in the 2003 miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil. In 2006 he played the villain Durza in Eragon. In 2007 Carlyle played one of the main characters in the film 28 Weeks Later. He also played the lead role as a marine engineer attempting to save London from total devastation in the disaster film Flood. That year he also portrayed Father Joseph Macavoy in the film The Tournament.
In 2008 Carlyle narrated a BBC audiobook version of The Cutting Room. In 2008, he was cast as Dr. Nicholas Rush in the television series Stargate Universe.{{cite web |title=Robert Carlyle cast in Stargate Universe |url=http://gateworld.net/news/2008/12/robert_carlyle_cast_in_istargate.shtml |work=GateWorld |first=Darren |last= Sumner |date=15 December 2008 |access-date=30 December 2008 |page= 1}}{{cite web |url= http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/01/brian-j-smith-cast-in-stargate-universe/ |title=Brian J. Smith cast in Stargate Universe |work=GateWorld.net |first=Darren |last=Sumner |date=15 January 2009 |access-date=15 January 2009 |page=1}} His was touted by the studio as the "leading role" in Universe.{{cite web |title= Robert Carlyle cast in Stargate Universe |url=http://gateworld.net/news/2008/12/robert_carlyle_cast_in_istargate2.shtml |work= GateWorld.net |first=Darren |last= Sumner |date=15 December 2008 |access-date=30 December 2008 |page=2}}
In 2008, Carlyle appeared in 24: Redemption, a television movie based on the TV series 24, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland.
In 2009, Carlyle appeared in "The Man Who Walked Around The World," a long-form commercial for Johnnie Walker whisky. Carlyle was shown walking down a path and talking for six minutes in a single long take. The ad took two days to film. The director, Jamie Rafn, afterwards referred to Carlyle as an "utter genius".{{cite web | url= http://www.shots.net/article_detail.asp?atype=1&id=9071 | title = HLA and BBH Go Walking With Robert Carlyle |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110108030007/http://www.shots.net/article_detail.asp?atype=1&id=9071 |archive-date=8 January 2011 | website = Shots.net | date= 6 August 2009 }}
He voices the character of Gabriel Belmont, and his counterpart, Dracula, in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, as well as its sequels Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2.
From 2011 to 2018, Carlyle portrayed Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold in the fantasy-drama television series Once Upon a Time. The character is a wizard, deal-maker, and master manipulator. In an interview, Carlyle explained that his son inspired him to create Rumplestiltskin's voice.{{Cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R02ht3pt_40| archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/R02ht3pt_40| archive-date= 30 October 2021|title=Once Upon A Time – Creating Rumplestiltskin| date= 2 October 2012| via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}
In 2019, he portrayed Ogilvy in a three-part television adaptation of The War of the Worlds for the BBC,{{cite web| url= http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/a854036/war-of-the-worlds-bbc-cast-pictures/|title=Here's your first look at BBC One's War of the Worlds| first= Morgan|last=Jeffery|date=5 April 2018| website=Digital Spy}} and made an uncredited appearance as John Lennon in the film Yesterday.{{cite web| last= Orquiola|first=John|title=Who Plays [SPOILER] In Yesterday?|url= https://screenrant.com/yesterday-movie-john-lennon-actor-robert-carlyle/|date=28 June 2019|website=Screen Rant}}
In 2020, he portrayed Robert Sutherland, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party in Cobra.
=Acting style=
Known for his commitment to authenticity in roles, Carlyle has often altered his lifestyle and physical appearance to gain a better understanding of a character; much akin to method acting. Before playing a homeless character in Antonia Bird's Safe, for example, he went to live in the Waterloo area of London where the film was set. For his role as a bus driver in Ken Loach's Carla's Song, he passed the test for a PSV licence (a licence to drive a bus with passengers) in a Glasgow Leyland Atlantean bus.{{cite web | url = http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article1808448.ece | title = On the Move: Robert Carlyle | work = The Times|location=London | date = 20 May 2007 | first = Stephen | last = Armstrong | access-date = 30 December 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Carlyle also had dentistry as part of his preparations for reprising his role as Begbie in T2 Trainspotting, choosing to have a dental implant and an adjacent tooth that became damaged during the implant's removal, extracted.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/08/t2-trainspotting-robert-carlyle-begbie-interview|title=Robert Carlyle: 'I took out two teeth and suddenly Begbie came back to life'|last=Leigh|first=Danny|date=8 January 2017| work = The Guardian|access-date=31 January 2017}} Writing of Carlyle's performance in The Full Monty, Andrew Johnston stated: "Carlyle was brilliant as the savage psycho Begbie in Trainspotting; here, he proves he can be almost as good when kept on a short leash. We don't know much about Gaz, but he's the most interesting character in the movie, largely because of Carlyle's down-to-earth warmth."Time Out New York, 14–21 August 1997.
Personal life
Carlyle has been married to make-up artist Anastasia Shirley since 1997.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1077924.stm |title=Skibo: The Full Monty |publisher=BBC News |date=19 December 2000 |access-date=15 July 2014 }} They have three children: a daughter born in 2002, and two sons born in 2004 and 2006.{{cite web|title=Robert Carlyle welcomes third child|url=https://people.com/parents/robert_carlyle_/|date=15 April 2006|website=People}}{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/robert-carlyle-could-i-be-prime-minister-i-cant-think-of-anything-worse-11904713|title=Robert Carlyle: 'Could I be prime minister? I can't think of anything worse'|publisher=Sky News|last=Peplow|first=Gemma|date=13 January 2020|access-date=7 May 2020|quote=Carlyle, who moved to Canada with his family about 10 years ago, says living there he has become more aware of the possibilities of natural disasters. "Because I live in Vancouver now, there's warnings of earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff like that."}} Carlyle is a patron of 'School for Life' in Romania.{{cite web | url = http://schoolforliferomania.org/ | title = School For Life Romania | access-date = 30 December 2008}} He was appointed an OBE in 1999.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 1990
| Big Woodsy | |
| Riff-Raff
| Steve | |
| 1993
|Prehistoric Shaman | |
| rowspan="2"| 1994
| Priest | Graham | |
| Marooned
| Peter | |
| 1995
| Go Now | Nick Cameron | |
| rowspan="2"| 1996
| Francis "Franco" Begbie | |
| Carla's Song
| George Lennox | |
| rowspan="2"| 1997
| Gary "Gaz" Schofield | |
| Face
| Ray | |
| rowspan="4"| 1999
| Will Plunkett | |
| Ravenous
| Colonel Ives / F.W. Colqhoun | |
| The World Is Not Enough
| Renard | |
| Angela's Ashes
| Malachy McCourt | |
| rowspan="2"| 2000
| Daffy | |
| There's Only One Jimmy Grimble
| Eric Wirral | |
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| Major Ian Campbell | |
| The 51st State
| Felix DeSouza | |
| rowspan="2"| 2002
| Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | Jimmy | |
| Black and White
| David O'Sullivan | |
| 2004
| Danny Devine | |
| rowspan="2"| 2005
| O | |
| Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
| Frank Keane | |
| 2006
| Eragon | Durza | |
| rowspan="2"| 2007
| Don Harris | |
| Flood
| Robert Morrison | |
| rowspan="3"| 2008
| |
| Summer
| Shaun | |
| I Know You Know
| Charlie | |
| rowspan="2"|2009
| Father Joseph MacAvoy | |
| The Unloved
| Lucy's Father | |
| 2012
| Lachlan MacAldonich | |
| 2015
| The Legend of Barney Thomson | Barney Thomson | Also director |
| 2016
| All That Remains | Violin player | |
| 2017
| Francis "Franco" Begbie | |
| 2019
| Uncredited |
| 2022
| Papa Dick | |
| 2023
| The Performance | Fugler | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}} |Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1990
| Taggart | Gordon Inglis | Episode: "Hostile Witness" |
| 1991
| The Bill | Tom Ward | Episode: "The Better Part of Valour" |
| | 1993
| Nosty | Episode: "Safe" |
| rowspan="2"| 1994
| 99-1 | Detective Constable Trevor Prescott | Episode: "Doing the Business" |
| Cracker
| Albie Kinsella | 3 episodes |
| 1995–1998
| 20 episodes |
| 1998
| John Joe "Jo Jo" McCann | |
| 2001
| Himself | Hogmanay Special |
| 2003
| |
| 2004
| Television film |
| rowspan="2"| 2005
| Sergei Karpovich | |
| Class of '76
| Detective Inspector Tom Monroe | rowspan="2" | Television film |
| 2006
| Robert |
| rowspan="2"| 2008
| David Russell | 5 episodes |
| 24: Redemption
| Carl Benton | Television film |
| rowspan="3"|2009
| Father | |
| The Man Who Walked Around the World
| Himself | Advert for Johnnie Walker{{cite web | url = http://www.johnniewalker.com/global/themanwhowalkedaroundtheworld/ | title = The Man Who Walked Around the World | access-date = 11 October 2009}} |
| Zig Zag Love
| Jacko | Television film |
| 2009–2011
| 40 episodes |
| 2011–2018
| Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold / Weaver | 138 episodes |
| 2019
| Ogilvy | 3 episodes |
| 2020–2023
| Cobra | Robert Sutherland |
| 2023
|Gary "Gaz" Schofield |Lead role |
| {{Abbr|TBA|To be announced}}
|style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}} |Dave Cook |TBA |
| 2025
|Sam Hagen |4 episodes{{Cite web |date=10 August 2023 |title='Toxic Town': Netflix Greenlights Jack Thorne-Penned Corby Poisonings Series Starring Aimee Lou Wood, Jodie Whittaker, Robert Carlyle |url=https://deadline.com/2023/08/netflix-series-corby-poisonings-aimee-lou-wood-jodie-whittaker-robert-carlyle-1235458310/ |access-date=10 August 2023 |website=Deadline Hollywood}} |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Voice role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2006
| Eragon | Shade Durza | |
| 2010
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | |
| 2013
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate | Gabriel Belmont / Dracula | |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | Gabriel Belmont / Dracula / Inner Dracula | |
| Watch Dogs
| Stephen Fedder | |
=Audio books=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2008
| Narrator | |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable" width="95%" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result |
|---|
| 1993
| rowspan="2" | BAFTA Scotland Awards | Best Actor – Film | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|1995
| Best Actor – Television | {{win}} |
| CableACE Awards
| Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | Cracker | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | {{nom}} |
| Royal Television Society Awards
| Best Actor | {{win}} |
| rowspan="8"|1997
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | {{win}} |
| rowspan="2" | BAFTA Scotland Awards
| Best Actor – Television | {{nom}} |
| Best Actor – Film
| {{nom}} |
| Evening Standard British Film Awards
| Best Actor | rowspan="2"|Face, Carla's Song & The Full Monty | {{win}} |
| London Film Critics' Circle Awards
| {{win}} |
| Salerno Shadowline Film Festival
| Shadowline Award | | {{win}} |
| Golden Satellite Awards
| Best Supporting Actor – Drama | {{nom}} |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (with Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Deirdre Costello, Steve Huison, Bruce Jones, Lesley Sharp, William Snape, Hugo Speer, Tom Wilkinson & Emily Woof) | {{win}} |
| rowspan="4"|1998
| British Academy Television Awards | {{nom}} |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards
| Best Dance Sequence (with Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Hugo Speer & Tom Wilkinson) | {{nom}} |
| Sant Jordi Awards
| Best Foreign Actor | The Full Monty & Go Now | {{win}} |
| Golden Satellite Awards
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical | {{nom}} |
| 1999
| British Academy Television Awards | rowspan="3" | Best Actor | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2000
| Ravenous | {{nom}} |
| Irish Film & Television Awards
| rowspan="2"|Angela's Ashes | {{nom}} |
| 2001
| {{nom}} |
| 2004
| Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="3"|2006
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | rowspan="3"|Human Trafficking | {{nom}} |
| Gold Derby Awards
| TV movie/Miniseries Supporting Actor | {{nom}} |
| Women's Image Network Awards
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | {{win}} |
| 2008
| rowspan="2" | BAFTA Scotland Awards | Best Acting Performance in Film | Summer | {{nom}} |
| 2009
| Best Actor – Television | {{win}} |
| 2010
| Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | {{win}} |
| rowspan="5"|2015
| rowspan="3" | BAFTA Scotland Awards | Best Directing in Film or Television | rowspan="3"|The Legend of Barney Thomson | {{nom}} |
| Best Actor – Film
| {{nom}} |
| Best Feature Film (with John G. Lenic, Kaleena Kiff & Brian Coffey)
| {{win}} |
| Behind the Voice Actors Awards
| Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Video Game | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | {{nom}} |
| Edinburgh International Film Festival Awards
| The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film | rowspan="2"|The Legend of Barney Thomson | {{nom}} |
| 2016
| Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival | Audience Award | {{win}} |
| rowspan="2"|2017
| 20/20 Awards | Best Supporting Actor | {{nom}} |
| BAFTA Scotland Awards
| Best Actor – Film | {{nom}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|1015|Robert Carlyle}}
- {{Screenonline name|id=503438|name=Robert Carlyle biography and credits}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Robert Carlyle
| list =
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role}}
{{Best Actor in a Drama Series CSA}}
{{Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year}}
{{RTS Programme Award for Best Performance by a Male Actor}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlyle, Robert}}
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:Male actors from Glasgow
Category:Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Category:Scottish male film actors
Category:Scottish male television actors
Category:Scottish male video game actors
Category:Scottish male voice actors
Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Best Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners
Category:20th-century Scottish male actors