Colin Morgan
Encyclopedia
Colin Morgan is an actor from Armagh
, Northern Ireland
, best known for playing the title character in the BBC TV series Merlin
. Morgan went to Integrated College Dungannon
and, during his third year, won the 'Denis Rooney Associates' Cup awarded to the best overall student of that academic year. After gaining a National Diploma
in Performing Arts (Acting) and studying at Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education in 2004, he went on to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama), situated in Glasgow
, from where he graduated in 2007.
In November 2010 The Belfast Metropolitan College honoured Morgan with an Award of Distinction for his contribution to the Arts
.
and as Esteban in the Old Vic
stage adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar's
Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother).
In 2008, he appeared as Jimmy Rosario in the Young Vic production of Thomas Babe's
A Prayer For My Daughter
. In 2011, he played Carlos in the Royal Court Theatre production of Colombian dramaturg Pedro Miguel Rozo's play Our Private Life.
In film, Morgan appears as Calum in Island, a film adaptation of Jane Rogers
' novel Island
, and as Cathal
in the award winning Irish film Parked.
Morgan featured in two minor TV roles: John Leary in sketches on The Catherine Tate Show
(2007) and Jethro Cane in the Doctor Who
episode "Midnight
" (2008). He plays the title role in BBC
TV series Merlin
, in production since 2008. He, and co-star Bradley James, travelled on an exploration of Arthurian legends
for BBC Wales, The Real Merlin & Arthur, in 2009.
Morgan has taken part in one BBC Radio play, Cry Babies by Kim Newman
, on BBC Radio 4
(March 2009).
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, best known for playing the title character in the BBC TV series Merlin
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
. Morgan went to Integrated College Dungannon
Integrated College Dungannon
Integrated College Dungannon is an integrated secondary school in Dungannon, County Tyrone and is attended by students from ages 11–18 who are from Dungannon, Armagh, Moy, Portadown, Keady and Richill.-Curriculum:...
and, during his third year, won the 'Denis Rooney Associates' Cup awarded to the best overall student of that academic year. After gaining a National Diploma
National Diploma (UK)
A National Diploma is a standard academic qualification, offered by most further education colleges and universities in the United Kingdom. The title National Diploma is used in a variety of ways, however most are undergraduate qualifications rated at levels 3 on the National Qualifications...
in Performing Arts (Acting) and studying at Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education in 2004, he went on to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama), situated in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, from where he graduated in 2007.
In November 2010 The Belfast Metropolitan College honoured Morgan with an Award of Distinction for his contribution to the Arts
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
.
Career
On stage in 2007, Morgan debuted as Vernon Little in the title role of the Young Vic's adaptation of DBC Pierre's Vernon God LittleVernon God Little
Vernon God Little is a novel by DBC Pierre. It was his debut novel and won the Booker Prize in 2003.-Plot introduction:The title character is a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in a small town in the U.S. state of Texas...
and as Esteban in the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
stage adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar's
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother).
In 2008, he appeared as Jimmy Rosario in the Young Vic production of Thomas Babe's
Thomas Babe
Thomas Babe was an American playwright, writing mainly during the mid 70s and 80s. He was the son of Thomas James and Ruth Ina Babe. He died of lung cancer on December 6, 2000, in a hospice in Stamford, Connecticut. .Babe's work brought together many elements of American history and cultural...
A Prayer For My Daughter
A Prayer for my Daughter
"A Prayer for my Daughter" is a poem by William Butler Yeats written in 1919 and published in 1921 as part of Yeats' collection Michael Robartes and the Dancer. It is written to Anne, the daughter of Yeats and Georgie Hyde Lees, whom Yeats married after his last marriage proposal to Maud Gonne was...
. In 2011, he played Carlos in the Royal Court Theatre production of Colombian dramaturg Pedro Miguel Rozo's play Our Private Life.
In film, Morgan appears as Calum in Island, a film adaptation of Jane Rogers
Jane Rogers
Jane Rogers is a British novelist, editor, scriptwriter, lecturer, and teacher. She is best known for her novels Mr. Wroe's Virgins and The Voyage Home...
' novel Island
Island (1999 novel)
Island is a novel by Jane Rogers, first published in 1999. It is a contemporary novel set on an isolated Scottish island, partly inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest...
, and as Cathal
in the award winning Irish film Parked.
Morgan featured in two minor TV roles: John Leary in sketches on The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
(2007) and Jethro Cane in the 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...
episode "Midnight
Midnight (Doctor Who)
"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the...
" (2008). He plays the title role in 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...
TV series Merlin
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
, in production since 2008. He, and co-star Bradley James, travelled on an exploration of Arthurian legends
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
for BBC Wales, The Real Merlin & Arthur, in 2009.
Morgan has taken part in one BBC Radio play, Cry Babies by Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
, on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
(March 2009).
Film and television
| Year | Title | Role | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Catherine Tate Show The Catherine Tate Show The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC... |
John Leary | TV series | Minor role |
| 2008 | 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... |
Jethro Cane | TV series | 1 episode: "Midnight Midnight (Doctor Who) "Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the... " |
| 2008–present | Merlin Merlin (TV series) Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from... |
Merlin | TV series | Title/main role |
| 2009 | The Real Merlin and Arthur | Self | TV one-off | Accompanied by Bradley James |
| 2010 | Parked | Cathal | Film | |
| 2011 | Island | Calum | Feature film |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Vernon God Little | Vernon | Young Vic Theatre, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| 2007 | All About My Mother | Esteban | Old Vic Old Vic The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian... , London |
| 2008 | A Prayer for My Daughter A Prayer for My Daughter (play) -Plot:The play is set in the interrogation room of a downtown New York Police station in the early hours of 5 July. Two hardened cops have arrested two suspects for the murder of an old woman. During the interrogations the police attempt to get a confession from the two suspects, Sean and Jimmy... |
Jimmy | Young Vic Theatre, London |
| 2011 | Our Private Life | Carlos | Royal Court Theatre, London |
Radio
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Cry Babies | Roger |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Variety Club Showbiz Awards | Outstanding Newcomer | Merlin in Merlin Merlin (TV series) Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from... |
|
| 2009 | Monte Carlo TV Festival awards Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo The Monte-Carlo Television Festival was created in 16-20 January 1961 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who wished to “encourage a new art form, in the service of peace and understanding between men”.... |
Outstanding Actor (Drama) | ||
| 2010 | Monte Carlo TV Festival awards | Outstanding Actor (Drama) |