Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine has built a career around characters who seem to hold something back—anger, fear, grief, or, when the occasion calls for it, a perfectly timed joke. Born in Burton upon Trent on 5 September 1973, the British actor is also a screenwriter, director, photographer and musician, with a body of work shaped by both performance and storytelling. Considine first met filmmaker Shane Meadows while studying performing arts at Burton College. After earning a first-class photography degree from the University of Brighton, he made his screen debut as the disturbed Morell in Meadows’ A Room for Romeo Brass. That performance led to his first starring role, as Alfie in Paweł Pawlikowski’s Last Resort, which earned him the Best Actor award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. His early film work established an appetite for difficult, morally complicated parts. In Dead Man’s Shoes, which he co-wrote with Meadows, Considine played Richard, a role that won him the Best British Actor prize at the 2005 Empire Awards. Films including 24 Hour Party People, In America and My Summer of Love expanded his profile, while The Bourne Ultimatum placed him inside a major thriller as reporter Simon Ross. Considine’s intensity has never boxed him into one register. Hot Fuzz gave him his first comedic role as DS Andy Wainwright, and he later reunited with members of its cast and crew for The World’s End. On television, his roles have included Peter Hunter in Red Riding: 1980, Mr Martin in The Third Day and King Viserys Targaryen in House of the Dragon. His work behind the camera carries the same interest in damaged people and emotional pressure. Considine’s short film Dog Altogether won the BAFTA for Best Short Film and became the foundation for his feature-directing debut, Tyrannosaur. He followed it with Journeyman, which he wrote, directed and starred in alongside Jodie Whittaker. Across acting, writing and directing, Considine’s work is connected by an instinct for what characters cannot easily say—and for the consequences when those feelings finally surface.