Christopher Eccleston
Encyclopedia
Christopher Eccleston (ˈ; born 16 February 1964) is an English stage
, film
and television
actor. His films include Let Him Have It
, Shallow Grave
, Elizabeth
, 28 Days Later
, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others
, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2005, he became the ninth incarnation
of the Doctor
in the British television series Doctor Who
and in 2007 was the main villain in The Seeker
.
family in the Langworthy area of Pendleton
, Salford, Lancashire, Eccleston is the youngest of three boys born to Elsie and Ronnie Eccleston. His brothers, Alan and Keith, are twins eight years his senior, born in 1956. The family lived in a small terraced house
in Blodwell Street until the late 1960s, when they moved to nearby Little Hulton
. Eccleston attended Joseph Eastham's High School, Little Hulton, where he became head boy
At the age of 19, he was inspired by television dramas such as Boys from the Blackstuff
to enter the acting profession. Eccleston completed a two-year Performance Foundation Course at Salford Tech, before going on to train at the Hampstead
-based Central School of Speech and Drama
. As an actor, his early influences had been Ken Loach
's "Kes
" and Albert Finney
's performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
, but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the works of Shakespeare, Chekhov
and Molière
. At the age of 25, Eccleston made his professional stage debut in the Bristol Old Vic
's production of A Streetcar Named Desire
. Underemployed as an actor for some years after graduating school, Eccleston took a variety of odd jobs at a supermarket, on building sites and as an artist's model.
in the 1991 film Let Him Have It
and an episode of Inspector Morse
, "Second Time Around", also in 1991. However, it was a regular role in the television series Cracker (1993–94) that made him a recognisable figure in the UK, and after informing TV bosses of his desire to leave the series, his character was killed off in October 1994 as one the victims of serial killer Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle
), when the killer stabbed him to death after provoking him by molesting his wife in a supermarket.
At around the same time he appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot
, in the episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe".
He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle
1994 film Shallow Grave
, in which he co-starred with up-and-coming actor Ewan McGregor
. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC
drama serial Our Friends in the North
, whose broadcast on BBC Two
in 1996 helped make him a household name in the UK. Eccleston starred in an ensemble cast that included acclaimed actors Mark Strong
and Gina McKee
as well as Daniel Craig
.
His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile but not — except in one or two cases — major roles, including the title role in Jude
(1996), Elizabeth
(1998), eXistenZ
(1999), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), The Others
(2001), 24 Hour Party People
(2002) and another Danny Boyle film, the horror movie 28 Days Later (2002). He played a major role as the protagonist of Alex Cox
's 2002 Revengers Tragedy
, adapted from Thomas Middleton
's play
of the same name. He has starred alongside two major Hollywood actresses in smaller independent films, appearing opposite Renée Zellweger
in A Price Above Rubies
(1998) and Cameron Diaz
in The Invisible Circus
(2001). Despite starring in the car-heist movie Gone in 60 Seconds, he did not actually take his driving test until January 2004, and revealed on BBC's Top Gear that his licence restricts him to vehicles with automatic transmission
.
He has appeared in a variety of television roles, racking up credits in British television dramas of recent years. These have included Hearts and Minds (1995) for Channel 4, Clocking Off
(2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1996), a modern version of Othello (2002), playing 'Ben Jago', (the Iago
character) and the religious telefantasy epic The Second Coming (2003) for ITV
, in which he played Steve Baxter, the son of God. He also finds time for the occasional light-hearted role, however, as his guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama Linda Green
(2001) and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen
(2002) have shown. Eccleston's most high-profile stage role has been Hamlet
in the 2002 production at his favourite theatre, Leeds
' West Yorkshire Playhouse
. March–April 2004 saw him return to the venue in a new play, Electricity.
Eccleston has been twice nominated in the Best Actor category at the British Academy Television Awards
, the UK's premier television awards ceremony. His first nomination came in 1997 for Our Friends in the North
, when he lost out to Nigel Hawthorne
(for The Fragile Heart), and he was nominated again in 2004 for The Second Coming, this time being beaten by Bill Nighy
(for State of Play). He did, however, triumph in the Best Actor categories at the 1997 Broadcasting Press Guild
Awards and the Royal Television Society
Awards, winning for Our Friends in the North. He won the RTS Best Actor award for a second time in 2003, this time for his performance in Flesh and Blood.
In July 2004, a poll of industry experts, conducted by Radio Times
magazine, voted Eccleston the 19th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.
in the revival of the legendary BBC science fiction television
series Doctor Who, which began transmission on 26 March 2005. Eccleston was the first actor to play the role who was born after the series began, albeit by less than three months.
On 30 March 2005, the BBC released a statement, ostensibly from Eccleston, saying that he had decided to leave the role after just one series, because he feared becoming typecast
. On 4 April, the BBC revealed that Eccleston's "statement" was falsely attributed and released without his consent. The BBC admitted that they had broken an agreement made in January not to disclose publicly that he only intended to do one series. The statement had been made after journalists made queries to the press office.
On 11 June 2005, during a BBC radio
interview, when asked if he had enjoyed working on Doctor Who, Eccleston responded by saying, "Mixed, but that's a long story." Eccleston's reasons for leaving the role continue to be debated in Britain's newspapers: on 4 October 2005 Alan Davies
told The Daily Telegraph
that Eccleston had been "overworked" by the BBC, and had left the role because he was "exhausted". Ten days later, Eccleston told The Daily Mirror
this was not true, and expressed some irritation at Davies for his comments. In a 2011 interview, Eccleston revealed that he left the show because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in", but that he was proud of having played the role.
On 7 November 2008, at the National Theatre
to promote his book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies said that Eccleston's contract was for a single year because it was uncertain whether the show would continue beyond a single revival series. In retrospect, he says, it has been an enormous success, but at the time there were doubts within the BBC.
Eccleston was voted "Most Popular Actor" at the 2005 National Television Awards
for his portrayal of the Doctor.
alongside Navin Chowdhry
, Bruno Langley
, David Warner
, Saffron Burrows
and David Baddiel
. Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005. The director Norman Jewison
was chairman of the Jury.
In December 2005, Eccleston traveled to Indonesia
's Aceh
province for the BBC Breakfast news programme, examining how survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
were rebuilding their lives.
In March 2006, Eccleston appeared in the ITV
documentary special, Best Ever Muppet Moments as a commentator. In May 2006, he appeared as the narrator in a production of Romeo and Juliet
at The Lowry theatre in his home city of Salford. The theatre company with which he performed, Celebrity Pig (of which he is patron), is made up of learning disabled
actors.
In August 2006, Eccleston filmed New Orleans, Mon Amour with Elisabeth Moss
. The film was directed by Michael Almereyda
and shot in post-Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans. It was released in 2008 to film festivals in the US and Italy. Late in 2006 he starred in Perfect Parents, an ITV
drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne
, who had directed him in Doctor Who.
Eccleston joined the cast of the NBC
TV series Heroes
in the episode "Godsend
", which was broadcast on 22 January 2007. Eccleston played a character named Claude who has the power of invisibility
, and helps Peter Petrelli
with his powers.
Eccleston appeared as The Rider in a film adaptation
of Susan Cooper
's novel The Dark Is Rising
, which opened in the U.S. on 5 October 2007.
Eccleston appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as The Lives of Others
and Pan's Labyrinth
with Jonathan Ross
and Archie Panjabi. In 2009 Eccleston starred opposite Archie Panjabi in a short film The Happiness Salesman. Eccleston agreed to do the film because of Ms Panjabi and the fact that it was a winner of the prestigious British Short Screenplay Competition (BSSC). He also appeared as the villainous Destro
in the live-action G.I. Joe
film: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Eccleston also appeared in an episode of The Sarah Silverman Program
as the titular cult favourite science fiction hero in a show-within-the-show called "Dr. Laser Rage", possibly in reference to his stint as The Doctor in Doctor Who.
In November 2009, Eccleston was reported to have been cast as John Lennon
in a BBC
production called Lennon Naked
. This BBC Four production aired in the UK on Wednesday 23 June 2010, with Eccleston playing the title role.
In November 2010, Eccleston starred in the first episode of BBC One anthology drama Accused
written by Cracker
creator Jimmy McGovern
.
On 5 May 2011, he is set to appear as Joseph Bede in The Shadow Line
, a seven-part television drama serial, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor
and Stephen Rea
.
, and a regular marathon runner, usually entering a number of races each year. Eccleston is unmarried, but was in a relationship with actress Siwan Morris
until it ended in 2005. In September 2007, as part of their £9.5m build scheme, Salford's Pendleton College named their new 260-seat theatre 'The Eccleston Theatre' after him.
Eccleston is an avid charity worker and became a Mencap
charity ambassador on 28 April 2005. He is also a celebrity supporter of the British Red Cross
.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor. His films include Let Him Have It
Let Him Have It
Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater...
, Shallow Grave
Shallow Grave
-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
, Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
, 28 Days Later
28 Days Later
28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...
, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others
The Others (2001 film)
The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2005, he became the ninth incarnation
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
in the British television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and in 2007 was the main villain in The Seeker
The Seeker (film)
The Seeker, titled The Dark Is Rising in the United Kingdom and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising in Canada, is a 2007 American film adaptation of the second book in the five-book young adult fantasy series The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. The film is directed by David L...
.
Early life
Born into a working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family in the Langworthy area of Pendleton
Pendleton, Greater Manchester
Pendleton is an inner city area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is about from Manchester city centre. The A6 dual carriageway skirts the east of the district....
, Salford, Lancashire, Eccleston is the youngest of three boys born to Elsie and Ronnie Eccleston. His brothers, Alan and Keith, are twins eight years his senior, born in 1956. The family lived in a small terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
in Blodwell Street until the late 1960s, when they moved to nearby Little Hulton
Little Hulton
Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
. Eccleston attended Joseph Eastham's High School, Little Hulton, where he became head boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
At the age of 19, he was inspired by television dramas such as Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
to enter the acting profession. Eccleston completed a two-year Performance Foundation Course at Salford Tech, before going on to train at the Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
-based Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
. As an actor, his early influences had been Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
's "Kes
Kes (film)
Kes is a 1969 British film from director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett. The film is based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by the Barnsley-born author Barry Hines in 1968...
" and Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
's performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is a 1960 British film. It is an adaptation of the 1958 novel of the same name by Alan Sillitoe. Sillitoe wrote the screenplay adaptation and the film was directed by Karel Reisz.-Synopsis:...
, but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the works of Shakespeare, Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
and Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
. At the age of 25, Eccleston made his professional stage debut in the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
's production of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
. Underemployed as an actor for some years after graduating school, Eccleston took a variety of odd jobs at a supermarket, on building sites and as an artist's model.
1991–2005
Eccleston first came to public attention as Derek BentleyDerek Bentley
Derek William Bentley was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the...
in the 1991 film Let Him Have It
Let Him Have It
Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater...
and an episode of Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, "Second Time Around", also in 1991. However, it was a regular role in the television series Cracker (1993–94) that made him a recognisable figure in the UK, and after informing TV bosses of his desire to leave the series, his character was killed off in October 1994 as one the victims of serial killer Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
), when the killer stabbed him to death after provoking him by molesting his wife in a supermarket.
At around the same time he appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
, in the episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe".
He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
1994 film Shallow Grave
Shallow Grave
-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
, in which he co-starred with up-and-coming actor Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama serial Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996...
, whose broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 1996 helped make him a household name in the UK. Eccleston starred in an ensemble cast that included acclaimed actors Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
and Gina McKee
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....
as well as Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
.
His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile but not — except in one or two cases — major roles, including the title role in Jude
Jude (film)
Jude is a 1996 English film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini...
(1996), Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
(1998), eXistenZ
EXistenZ
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
(1999), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), The Others
The Others (2001 film)
The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
(2001), 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
(2002) and another Danny Boyle film, the horror movie 28 Days Later (2002). He played a major role as the protagonist of Alex Cox
Alex Cox
Alexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
's 2002 Revengers Tragedy
Revengers Tragedy
Revengers Tragedy is a film adaptation of the 1606 play The Revenger's Tragedy . It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fellow Liverpudlian, Frank Cottrell Boyce...
, adapted from Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
's play
The Revenger's Tragedy
The Revenger's Tragedy is an English language Jacobean revenge tragedy, in the past attributed to Cyril Tourneur but is sometimes considered to be the work of Thomas Middleton by "Middletonians"...
of the same name. He has starred alongside two major Hollywood actresses in smaller independent films, appearing opposite Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
in A Price Above Rubies
A Price Above Rubies
A Price Above Rubies is a 1998 film directed by Boaz Yakin, starring Renée Zellweger as a young woman who finds it difficult to conform to the restrictions imposed on her by her community. Reviews of the movie were mixed, though generally positive to Zellweger's performance. The title is a biblical...
(1998) and Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
in The Invisible Circus
The Invisible Circus (film)
The Invisible Circus is a 2001 drama film, directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Cameron Diaz, Jordana Brewster, Christopher Eccleston and Blythe Danner. It is based on Jennifer Egan's best-selling novel.-Storyline:...
(2001). Despite starring in the car-heist movie Gone in 60 Seconds, he did not actually take his driving test until January 2004, and revealed on BBC's Top Gear that his licence restricts him to vehicles with automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
.
He has appeared in a variety of television roles, racking up credits in British television dramas of recent years. These have included Hearts and Minds (1995) for Channel 4, Clocking Off
Clocking Off
Clocking Off is a British television drama series which ran on the BBC One network for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott...
(2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1996), a modern version of Othello (2002), playing 'Ben Jago', (the Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
character) and the religious telefantasy epic The Second Coming (2003) for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, in which he played Steve Baxter, the son of God. He also finds time for the occasional light-hearted role, however, as his guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama Linda Green
Linda Green
Linda Green is a British television comedy-drama series that lasted for two series, screened in 2001 and 2002. The twenty half-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC One and produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company....
(2001) and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
(2002) have shown. Eccleston's most high-profile stage role has been Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in the 2002 production at his favourite theatre, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
' West Yorkshire Playhouse
West Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
. March–April 2004 saw him return to the venue in a new play, Electricity.
Eccleston has been twice nominated in the Best Actor category at the British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
, the UK's premier television awards ceremony. His first nomination came in 1997 for Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996...
, when he lost out to Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
(for The Fragile Heart), and he was nominated again in 2004 for The Second Coming, this time being beaten by Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
(for State of Play). He did, however, triumph in the Best Actor categories at the 1997 Broadcasting Press Guild
Broadcasting Press Guild
The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Awards and the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards, winning for Our Friends in the North. He won the RTS Best Actor award for a second time in 2003, this time for his performance in Flesh and Blood.
In July 2004, a poll of industry experts, conducted by Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
magazine, voted Eccleston the 19th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.
Doctor Who (2005)
On 20 March 2004, it was announced that Eccleston was to play the ninth incarnation of the DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
in the revival of the legendary BBC science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who, which began transmission on 26 March 2005. Eccleston was the first actor to play the role who was born after the series began, albeit by less than three months.
On 30 March 2005, the BBC released a statement, ostensibly from Eccleston, saying that he had decided to leave the role after just one series, because he feared becoming typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
. On 4 April, the BBC revealed that Eccleston's "statement" was falsely attributed and released without his consent. The BBC admitted that they had broken an agreement made in January not to disclose publicly that he only intended to do one series. The statement had been made after journalists made queries to the press office.
On 11 June 2005, during a BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
interview, when asked if he had enjoyed working on Doctor Who, Eccleston responded by saying, "Mixed, but that's a long story." Eccleston's reasons for leaving the role continue to be debated in Britain's newspapers: on 4 October 2005 Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
told The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that Eccleston had been "overworked" by the BBC, and had left the role because he was "exhausted". Ten days later, Eccleston told The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
this was not true, and expressed some irritation at Davies for his comments. In a 2011 interview, Eccleston revealed that he left the show because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in", but that he was proud of having played the role.
On 7 November 2008, at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
to promote his book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies said that Eccleston's contract was for a single year because it was uncertain whether the show would continue beyond a single revival series. In retrospect, he says, it has been an enormous success, but at the time there were doubts within the BBC.
Eccleston was voted "Most Popular Actor" at the 2005 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
for his portrayal of the Doctor.
Recent works (2005 onwards)
On 30 October 2005, Eccleston appeared on stage at the Old Vic theatre and Doctor Who in London in the one-night play Night SkyNight Sky (play)
Night Sky is a 1991 play by Susan Yankowitz, which originally premiered in New York starring Joan MacIntosh, under the direction of Joseph Chaikin, whose personal struggles with stroke and aphasia were the original inspiration for the play...
alongside Navin Chowdhry
Navin Chowdhry
Navin Chowdhry is a British television actor.-Personal life:Navin Chowdhry was born and raised in Bristol, England. In 1994, Chowdhry graduated from Imperial College, London earning a 3 year degree in biochemistry, with 2:1 honours.-Career:...
, Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street and Adam Mitchell in Doctor Who.- Early life :...
, David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
, Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
and David Baddiel
David Baddiel
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...
. Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005. The director Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
was chairman of the Jury.
In December 2005, Eccleston traveled to Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
's Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
province for the BBC Breakfast news programme, examining how survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
were rebuilding their lives.
In March 2006, Eccleston appeared in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
documentary special, Best Ever Muppet Moments as a commentator. In May 2006, he appeared as the narrator in a production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
at The Lowry theatre in his home city of Salford. The theatre company with which he performed, Celebrity Pig (of which he is patron), is made up of learning disabled
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
actors.
In August 2006, Eccleston filmed New Orleans, Mon Amour with Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
. The film was directed by Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His most well known work is Hamlet , starring Ethan Hawke.-Early life:...
and shot in post-Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
New Orleans. It was released in 2008 to film festivals in the US and Italy. Late in 2006 he starred in Perfect Parents, an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne
Joe Ahearne
Joe Ahearne is a British television writer and director, best known for his work on several fantasy-based programmes including Ultraviolet and Doctor Who...
, who had directed him in Doctor Who.
Eccleston joined the cast of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
in the episode "Godsend
Godsend (Heroes)
"Godsend" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes.-Plot:Two weeks following the events of "Fallout", Peter remains in a coma after consecutively absorbing too many powers...
", which was broadcast on 22 January 2007. Eccleston played a character named Claude who has the power of invisibility
Invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...
, and helps Peter Petrelli
Peter Petrelli
Peter Petrelli, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is a hospice nurse-turned-paramedic in his mid-20s with the power to absorb and mimic the powers of other people with special abilities, or powers...
with his powers.
Eccleston appeared as The Rider in a film adaptation
The Seeker (film)
The Seeker, titled The Dark Is Rising in the United Kingdom and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising in Canada, is a 2007 American film adaptation of the second book in the five-book young adult fantasy series The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. The film is directed by David L...
of Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
's novel The Dark Is Rising
The Dark is Rising Sequence
The Dark Is Rising is the name of a five-book series of children's contemporary fantasy novels by Susan Cooper, published in 1965–1977, which depicts the struggle between the forces of good, called The Light, and the forces of evil, known as The Dark...
, which opened in the U.S. on 5 October 2007.
Eccleston appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
and Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
with Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
and Archie Panjabi. In 2009 Eccleston starred opposite Archie Panjabi in a short film The Happiness Salesman. Eccleston agreed to do the film because of Ms Panjabi and the fact that it was a winner of the prestigious British Short Screenplay Competition (BSSC). He also appeared as the villainous Destro
Destro
Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional villain from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys from Hasbro. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston in the 2009 live-action film, G.I...
in the live-action G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...
film: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Eccleston also appeared in an episode of The Sarah Silverman Program
The Sarah Silverman Program
The Sarah Silverman Program is an American television series that starred comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the series with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab...
as the titular cult favourite science fiction hero in a show-within-the-show called "Dr. Laser Rage", possibly in reference to his stint as The Doctor in Doctor Who.
In November 2009, Eccleston was reported to have been cast as John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production called Lennon Naked
Lennon Naked
Lennon Naked is a 2010 television biographical film focusing on the life of John Lennon between 1967 and 1971. It stars Christopher Eccleston as Lennon and was directed by Edmund Coulthard....
. This BBC Four production aired in the UK on Wednesday 23 June 2010, with Eccleston playing the title role.
In November 2010, Eccleston starred in the first episode of BBC One anthology drama Accused
Accused (TV series)
Accused is a British television anthology series. Written and created by Jimmy McGovern, it stars Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren and Naomie Harris as the accused in each episode. Filming for the series took place around Manchester between May and...
written by Cracker
Cracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
creator Jimmy McGovern
Jimmy McGovern
Jimmy McGovern is a BAFTA award-winning English television scriptwriter from Liverpool.-Early career:McGovern started his career working on Channel 4's soap opera Brookside in 1982, tackling many social issues such as unemployment.-Successes:...
.
On 5 May 2011, he is set to appear as Joseph Bede in The Shadow Line
The Shadow Line (TV series)
The Shadow Line is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/CinemaNX production for BBC Two...
, a seven-part television drama serial, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
and Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
.
Personal life
Although describing his mother as "very religious, a churchgoer" who would "often encourage me to go… but never forced it upon me", Eccleston is an atheist. He is a lifelong supporter of Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, and a regular marathon runner, usually entering a number of races each year. Eccleston is unmarried, but was in a relationship with actress Siwan Morris
Siwan Morris
Siwan Morris is a Welsh actress.After an education in South Wales, she graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University....
until it ended in 2005. In September 2007, as part of their £9.5m build scheme, Salford's Pendleton College named their new 260-seat theatre 'The Eccleston Theatre' after him.
Eccleston is an avid charity worker and became a Mencap
Mencap
The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
charity ambassador on 28 April 2005. He is also a celebrity supporter of the British Red Cross
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
.
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Let Him Have It Let Him Have It Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater... |
Derek Bentley Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the... |
| 1992 | Death and the Compass | Alonso Zunz |
| 1993 | Anchoress Anchoress (film) Anchoress is a 1993 British drama film directed by Chris Newby. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.... |
Priest |
| 1994 | Shallow Grave Shallow Grave -Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45... |
David |
| 1996 | Jude Jude (film) Jude is a 1996 English film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini... |
Jude Fawley |
| 1998 | Elizabeth Elizabeth (film) Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough... |
Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage... |
| A Price Above Rubies A Price Above Rubies A Price Above Rubies is a 1998 film directed by Boaz Yakin, starring Renée Zellweger as a young woman who finds it difficult to conform to the restrictions imposed on her by her community. Reviews of the movie were mixed, though generally positive to Zellweger's performance. The title is a biblical... |
Sender Horowitz | |
| 1999 | Heart | Gary Ellis |
| eXistenZ EXistenZ eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law.... |
Seminar Leader | |
| With or Without You | Vincent Boyd | |
| 2000 | Gone in 60 Seconds | Raymond Calitri |
| 2001 | The Others The Others (2001 film) The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw.... |
Charles Stewart |
| The Invisible Circus The Invisible Circus (film) The Invisible Circus is a 2001 drama film, directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Cameron Diaz, Jordana Brewster, Christopher Eccleston and Blythe Danner. It is based on Jennifer Egan's best-selling novel.-Storyline:... |
Wolf | |
| 2002 | 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom... |
Boethius |
| I Am Dina I Am Dina I Am Dina is a 2002 Swedish-Norwegian-Danish film directed by Ole Bornedal. It is based on the 1989 book Dinas bok by Herbjørg Wassmo. The movie was one of the most high-profile in Norwegian movie history.-Plot:... |
Leo Zukowskij | |
| Revengers Tragedy Revengers Tragedy Revengers Tragedy is a film adaptation of the 1606 play The Revenger's Tragedy . It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fellow Liverpudlian, Frank Cottrell Boyce... |
Vindici | |
| 28 Days Later 28 Days Later 28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston... |
Major Henry West | |
| 2007 | The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising | The Rider |
| 2008 | New Orleans, Mon Amour | Dr. Jekyll |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | James McCullen/Destro Destro Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional villain from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys from Hasbro. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston in the 2009 live-action film, G.I... |
| Amelia Amelia (film) Amelia is a 2009 English-language biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart along with a cast that includes Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It is directed by Mira Nair based on a script initially written by Ronald Bass... |
Fred Noonan Fred Noonan Frederick Joseph "Fred" Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s... |
|
| The Happiness Salesman (short film) | Salesman |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Blood Rights | Dick |
| Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Stephen Hills | |
| 1991 | Inspector Morse Inspector Morse (TV series) Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes.... |
Terrence Mitchell |
| Chancer Chancer Chancer is a British television serial produced by Central Television for ITV. It tells the story of a likable conman and rogue at the end of the yuppie eighties... |
Radio | |
| Boon Boon (TV series) Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV... |
Mark | |
| 1992 | Rachel's Dream | Man in Dream |
| Poirot Agatha Christie's Poirot Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios... (One, Two, Buckle My Shoe) |
Frank Carter | |
| Friday on my Mind | Sean Maddox | |
| Business with Friends Business with Friends Business with Friends was a 1992 British television drama, directed by Uwe Janson and written by David Spencer. Its cast included Adie Allen and Christopher Eccleston.... |
Angel Morris | |
| 1993 | Cracker | DCI David Bilborough |
| 1995 | Hearts and Minds | Drew Mackenzie |
| 1996 | Our Friends in the North Our Friends in the North Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996... |
Nicky Hutchinson |
| Hillsborough | Trevor Hicks | |
| 1999 | "Killing Time – The Millennium Poem" | Millennium Man |
| 2000 | The Tyre | Salesman |
| Wilderness Men | Alexander Von Humboldt | |
| Clocking Off Clocking Off Clocking Off is a British television drama series which ran on the BBC One network for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott... |
Jim Calvert | |
| 2001 | This Little Piggy | Cabbie |
| Strumpet | Stray Man | |
| Linda Green Linda Green Linda Green is a British television comedy-drama series that lasted for two series, screened in 2001 and 2002. The twenty half-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC One and produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company.... |
Tom Sherry/Neil Sherry | |
| 2002 | The League of Gentlemen The League of Gentlemen The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,... "How the Elephant Got Its Trunk", Series 3, Episode 6 |
Dougal Siepp |
| Flesh and Blood | Joe Broughton | |
| Othello Othello (2001 TV film) Othello is a 2001 British television film starring Eamonn Walker, Christopher Eccleston and Keeley Hawes. It is an adaptation in modern English of William Shakespeare's play Othello... |
Ben Jago | |
| Sunday | General Ford | |
| The King and Us | Anthony | |
| 2003 | I Am Kloot I Am Kloot I Am Kloot are an English band formed in Manchester, in 1999 by John Bramwell , Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves .-History:... – "Proof I Am Kloot (album) I Am Kloot is I Am Kloot's self-titled second album, as well as their highest charting album to date, reaching #68 on the UK Albums Chart. It was released in 2003 and yielded four singles and one download-only single... " |
Music video for band |
| The Second Coming The Second Coming (TV serial) The Second Coming is a two-part British television drama first screened on ITV in the UK in February 2003. It concerns the realisation of Steve Baxter that he is in fact the Son of God, and has just a few days to find the human race's Third Testament and thus avert the Apocalypse.It was written... |
Stephen Baxter | |
| 2005 | Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
The Doctor Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston.... |
| 2006 | Perfect Parents Perfect Parents (2006 film) Perfect Parents is a 2006 film written and directed by Joe Ahearne for ITV. It stars Christopher Eccleston and Susannah Harker as Stuart and Alison, who try to get their daughter Lucy into a Catholic school after she witnesses a knife fight at her old school.To improve their chances, they fake... |
Stuart |
| 2007 | Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
Claude |
| 2008 | The Sarah Silverman Program The Sarah Silverman Program The Sarah Silverman Program is an American television series that starred comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the series with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab... |
Dr. Lazer Rage |
| 2009 | The Happiness Salesman | The Salesman |
| 2010 | Lennon Naked Lennon Naked Lennon Naked is a 2010 television biographical film focusing on the life of John Lennon between 1967 and 1971. It stars Christopher Eccleston as Lennon and was directed by Edmund Coulthard.... |
John Lennon John Lennon John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music... |
| I Am Kloot I Am Kloot I Am Kloot are an English band formed in Manchester, in 1999 by John Bramwell , Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves .-History:... – "Northern Skies Sky at Night (I Am Kloot album) Sky at Night is the fifth studio album by Manchester band I Am Kloot. The album was produced by Guy Garvey and Craig Potter of the band Elbow and was released on 5 July 2010. Since 2 July 2010, the whole album has been streamed for free on the guardian.co.uk website.On 20 July 2010, the album made... " |
Music video for band | |
| Accused Accused (TV series) Accused is a British television anthology series. Written and created by Jimmy McGovern, it stars Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren and Naomie Harris as the accused in each episode. Filming for the series took place around Manchester between May and... |
Willy Houlihan | |
| 2011 | The Shadow Line The Shadow Line (TV series) The Shadow Line is a seven-part British television drama serial produced by Company Pictures/Eight Rooks Ltd/Baby Cow/CinemaNX production for BBC Two... |
Joseph Bede |
| 2011 | The Bomb Squad | Narrator |
Radio and narration
- Room of Leaves (Frank) (1998)
- Pig Paradise (Jack) (1998)
- Some Fantastic PlaceSome Fantastic PlaceSome Fantastic Place is a 1993 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's tenth studio album, and it marks the departure of drummer Gilson Lavis, the only band member besides Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook who had appeared on every Squeeze album to this point...
(Narrator) (2001) - Bayeux TapestryBayeux TapestryThe Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
(Harold) (2001) - The Importance of Being Morrissey (Narrator) (2002)
- IliadIliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
(Achilles) (2002) - Cromwell – Warts and All (Narrator) (2003)
- Life Half Spent (Roger) (2004)
- Crossing the Dark Sea (Squaddie) (2005)
- Sacred Nation (Narrator) (2005)
- Born to be Different (Narrator) (2005)
- A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Brian) (2005)
- E=mc² (Narrator) (2005)
- Dubai Dreams (Narrator) (2005)
- Wanted: New Mum and Dad (Narrator) (2005)
- Children in NeedChildren in NeedChildren in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
(Narrator) (2005) - This Sceptred IsleThis Sceptred IsleThis Sceptred Isle is a BBC radio series about the history of the lands and peoples of the British Isles. It was produced by Pete Atkin and broadcast in 1995 twice each day --- in the morning and late at night --- on Radio 4...
(Various Characters) (2005) - The 1970s: That Was The Decade That was (Narrator) (2006)
- The Devil's Christmas (Narrator) (2008)
- Wounded (Narrator) (2009)
Theatre
- A Streetcar Named Desire (Pablo Gonzallez) (1988) – Bristol Old Vic
- Woyzeck (Woyzeck) – Birmingham Rep
- The Wonder – Gate Theatre
- Doña Rosita the Spinster – Bristol Old Vic
- Bent (1990) – National Theatre
- Abingdon Square (1990) – National Theatre/Shared Experience
- Aide-Memoire (1990) – Royal Court Theatre
- Encounters – National Theatre Studio
- Waiting At The Water's Edge (Will) (1993) – Bush Theatre
- Miss Julie (Jean) (2000) – Haymarket Theatre
- Hamlet (Hamlet) (2002) – West Yorkshire Playhouse
- Electricity (Jakey) (2004) – West Yorkshire Playhouse
- A Doll's House (Neil Kelman) (2009) – Donmar Warehouse
Film & television: awards and nominations
- 1997 – Nominated Golden Satellite AwardInternational Press AcademyThe International Press Academy is a large and diverse association of professional entertainment journalists, representing both domestic and foreign markets in print, television, radio, cable and new media outlets. The academy was founded in 1996 by Mirjana Van Blaricom...
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for JudeJude (film)Jude is a 1996 English film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini... - 1997 – Won Broadcasting Press Guild AwardBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Best Actor for Our Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996... - 1997 – Nominated BAFTA Television Award for Best ActorBritish Academy Television AwardsThe British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for Our Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996... - 2003 – Won Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Award for Best Actor for Flesh and Blood - 2004 – Nominated BAFTA Television Award for Best ActorBritish Academy Television AwardsThe British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for The Second Coming - 2005 – Won TV Quick and TV Choice Award for Best Actor for Doctor Who
- 2005 – Won National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
Most Popular Actor for Doctor Who - 2005 – Nominated Broadcasting Press Guild AwardBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Best Actor for Doctor Who - 2006 – Nominated BAFTA CymruBAFTA CymruBAFTA Cymru is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Formed in 1991, they hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Welsh-made films and television programmes...
Best Actor Award for Doctor Who - 2007 – Nominated twice SyFy Genre Awards Best Special Guest/Television for 'Claude' in Heroes
- 2011 – Won International Emmy Award for Best Actor for AccusedAccused (TV series)Accused is a British television anthology series. Written and created by Jimmy McGovern, it stars Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren and Naomie Harris as the accused in each episode. Filming for the series took place around Manchester between May and...
External links
- The Guardian Unlimited Interview – Home Truths (15 January 2000)
- The Independent Interview – You've got to laugh (2 November 2002)
- BBC Drama Faces: Christopher Eccleston