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Alun Armstrong (actor)

 
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Alun Armstrong (actor)
 
 
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Alun Armstrong (born Alan J. Armstrong on 17 July 1946) is an Olivier award-winning English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 and singer, perhaps best known for his role as Brian Lane in New Tricks.

trong was born in Annfield Plain
Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, County Durham, 4 km to the north-east, and Consett, 8 km to the west....
, County Durham
County Durham

County Durham is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in North East England England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the county is the town of Darlington....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 on the 17 July 1946. Born to English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 parents, his father was from Cumberland
Cumberland

Cumberland is one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an Administrative counties of England from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
 and his mother from County Durham
County Durham

County Durham is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in North East England England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the county is the town of Darlington....
. He attended the local grammar school (Consett Grammar School).






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Alun Armstrong (born Alan J. Armstrong on 17 July 1946) is an Olivier award-winning English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 and singer, perhaps best known for his role as Brian Lane in New Tricks.

Early life

Armstrong was born in Annfield Plain
Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, County Durham, 4 km to the north-east, and Consett, 8 km to the west....
, County Durham
County Durham

County Durham is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in North East England England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the county is the town of Darlington....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 on the 17 July 1946. Born to English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 parents, his father was from Cumberland
Cumberland

Cumberland is one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an Administrative counties of England from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
 and his mother from County Durham
County Durham

County Durham is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in North East England England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the county is the town of Darlington....
. He attended the local grammar school (Consett Grammar School). He is the father of actor Joe Armstrong
Joe Armstrong (actor)

Joe Armstrong is an English actor best known for playing Robin Hood characters#Allan-a-Dale in the BBC television series Robin Hood . He played this role in the first two series, and it's been recently confirmed by sources that he will return in the third....
, who found fame in the current BBC version of Robin Hood.

Career

Armstrong made his debut in the 1971 film Get Carter
Get Carter

Get Carter is a 1971 in film crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a mobster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the northern English city of Newcastle upon Tyne....
, and has since worked regularly in British stage
Stage (theatre)

In theatre, the stage is a designated space for the performance of theatrical productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience....
 and television productions, such as Granada Television
Granada Television

Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. It previously held the "North of England" weekday franchise, which also covered most of Yorkshire, from 1954 until 1968 when its broadcast area was divided into two franchises....
's The Stars Look Down
The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down is a 1935 in literature novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an England coal mining community. A The Stars Look Down was produced in 1939, and television adaptations include both E le stelle stanno a guardare and The Stars Look Down versions....
 (1975), often playing leading characters. Armstrong has also appeared in several films, although in this medium he has usually played supporting or minor roles. Recently, he has appeared in Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow (film)

Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 in film period piece horror film directed by Tim Burton, interpreting the legend of The Headless Horseman and based upon the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow....
, The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns

The Mummy Returns is a 2001 in film American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah , Oded Fehr, and Arnold Vosloo....
 and Van Helsing. On television, Armstrong has played the character of Brian Lane in the highly popular BBC drama New Tricks where he was reunited with James Bolam, with whom he appeared in an episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? was a hit British Situation comedy broadcast between January 1973 and April 1974, as the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads....
 called "Conduct Unbecoming" and the feature film The Likely Lads, in which he played Terry's milkman. He also played Austin Donohue in the 1996 BBC drama series Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North

Our Friends in the North is a United Kingdom television drama Serial , produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996....
, a character based on the politician T. Dan Smith
T. Dan Smith

Thomas Daniel Smith was a United Kingdom politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle City Council from 1960 to 1965 and a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the North East England, such that he was nicknamed 'Mr Newcastle' ....
, Inspector Bucket in the 2005 BBC adaptation of Bleak House and Mr Evans in Carrie's War
Carrie's War

Carrie's War is a 1973 novel by Nina Bawden about the experiences of a girl called Carrie and her brother Nick, who are Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II from London to Wales during World War II to Mr Evans....
. This winter, he will be appearing as Jeremiah Flintwinch in Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)

Little Dorrit is a fourteen-part BBC television drama Serial adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit, which was originally published in 1855–57....
.

Armstrong spent nine years with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company

The Royal Shakespeare Company is a British theatre company. Located primarily at Stratford-upon-Avon, with bases also in London and Theatre Royal, Newcastle, it is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly-funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal National Theatre....
 at Stratford upon Avon and London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, including the roles of Mr Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby, Petruchio in The Taming of The Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew is an early Shakespearean comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a drunken tinker named Sly is tricked into thinking he is a nobleman by a mischievous Lord....
, Barabas in The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta

The Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590.The title character, Barabas, is a complex character likely to provoke mixed reactions in an audience....
 and Monsieur Thénardier in the original cast of Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)

Les Mis?rables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a Musical theatre composed in 1980 by the French composer Claude-Michel Sch?nberg with a libretto by Alain Boublil....
. In 2006, he returned to the London stage to star in Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn Order of the British Empire is an England theatre director and film director....
's new production of The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun

The Royal Hunt of the Sun is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador Francisco Pizarro....
 at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre, London, England, is generally known as the National Theatre and commonly as The National. It is located on the The South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge....
. Later in 2006 he starred as Uncle Garrow
Garrow

Garrow might mean:*Garo s are a group of people from India*Garrow is a minor character from the Inheritance Cycle*Garrow, Perth and Kinross, a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland...
 in the film Eragon
Eragon (film)

Eragon is a 2006 in film live-action/CGI fantasy film-adventure film film based on the Eragon by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the Eragon , Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Joss Stone, and the voice of Rachel Weisz as Saphira the dragon....
. He has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award six times and won in 1994, for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance of Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd is a character who first appeared as the protagonist and main villain of a penny dreadful serial entitled The String of Pearls ....
 in the musical
Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece ? humor, pathos, love, anger ? as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole....
 of the same name.

Armstrong is well known for his performance as Thénardier
Thénardiers

The Th?nardiers are two of the primary villains in Victor Hugo's novel Les Mis?rables and the musical inspired by it. It can be argued that they are the only "villains" of the tale, as the more heavily featured Javert is commonly considered a misguided antagonist, rather than a true "evil villain"....
 in the original London production of Les Misérables in October 1985 with Sue Jane Tanner alongside him as Mme. Thénardier, for which he was also nominated for a Laurence Oliver Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised this role in Les Misérables - The Dream Cast in Concert
Les Misérables - The Dream Cast in Concert

Les Mis?rables: The Dream Cast in Concert a.k.a. Les Mis?rables in Concert is a concert version of the Musical theatre Les Mis?rables , produced to celebrate its 10th anniversary....
, at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
 in October 1995.

In 2003, Armstrong starred alongside his son, Joe Armstrong
Joe Armstrong (actor)

Joe Armstrong is an English actor best known for playing Robin Hood characters#Allan-a-Dale in the BBC television series Robin Hood . He played this role in the first two series, and it's been recently confirmed by sources that he will return in the third....
, in the ITV1
ITV1

ITV1 is the generic brand used by twelve franchises of the ITV television network in England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands....
 drama Between the Sheets
Between the Sheets (TV series)

Between the Sheets is a 2003, United Kingdom television mini series. This carnal drama is based around the love life and sexual hangups of several different couples that we find are all linked in some way....
.

Filmography

  • Get Carter
    Get Carter

    Get Carter is a 1971 in film crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a mobster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the northern English city of Newcastle upon Tyne....
     (1971)
  • The Duellists
    The Duellists

    The Duellists is a 1977 in film film, which was Ridley Scott's first feature film as a director. It won the Best Debut Film award at Cannes....
     (1977)
  • Our Day Out
    Our Day Out

    Our Day Out is a television play about deprived children from Liverpool, United Kingdom. It was written by Willy Russell and first aired on 28 December 1977, at 9pm on BBC Two....
     (1977)
  • A Bridge Too Far (1977)
  • Enemy at the Door
    Enemy at the Door

    Enemy At The Door is a United Kingdom television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV.The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the Nazi Germany Occupation of the Channel Islands, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War....
     (1978)
  • Measure for Measure
    Measure for Measure

    Measure for Measure is a Play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's Problem plays s....
     (1979)
  • The French Lieutenant's Woman
    The French Lieutenant's Woman (film)

    The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1981 in film film directed by Karel Reisz and adapted by playwright Harold Pinter. It is based on the The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles....
     (1981)
  • Krull
    Krull (film)

    Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film film director by Peter Yates and film producer by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Kenneth Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa....
     (1983)
  • Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire
    Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire

    Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire is a 1985 in film musical film starring Phil Daniels and Alun Armstrong. The film was directed by Alan Clarke and written by Trevor Preston....
     (1985)
  • White Hunter, Black Heart (1990)
  • American Friends
    American Friends

    American Friends is a 1991 film starring Michael Palin. It was written by Palin and Tristram Powell, and directed by Powell....
     (1991)
  • Inspector Morse
    Inspector Morse

    Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse is a fictional character in a series of thirteen detective novels by United Kingdom author Colin Dexter, as well as the Inspector Morse produced by Central Independent Television from 1987?2000, in which he was portrayed by John Thaw....
     - "Happy Families" (1992) (TV) as Chief Superintendent Holdsby
  • Blue Ice
    Blue ice

    Blue ice may refer to:*Blue ice , created by glaciers*Blue ice , formed by leaky aircraft waste tanks*Blue Ice , a PC video game from Psygnosis...
     (1992)
  • Patriot Games
    Patriot Games (film)

    Patriot Games is a 1992 in film film based on the Patriot Games by Tom Clancy. It was released on June 5, 1992 and directed by Phillip Noyce....
     (1992)
  • Split Second
    Split Second (1992 film)

    Split Second is a 1992 in film United Kingdom science fiction film starring Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, and Neil Duncan. The film is directed by Tony Maylam and Ian Sharp....
     (1992)
  • Goggle-Eyes (1993) (TV)
  • Black Beauty
    Black Beauty (1994 film)

    Black Beauty is a 1994 film adaptation of Anna Sewell's novel by the Black Beauty, directed by Caroline Thompson in her directorial debut . It was released in 1994 and stars Sean Bean and David Thewlis....
     (1994)
  • Les Misérables
    Les Misérables (musical)

    Les Mis?rables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a Musical theatre composed in 1980 by the French composer Claude-Michel Sch?nberg with a libretto by Alain Boublil....
     in Concert
    Concert

    A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
     (1995) (TV)
  • Braveheart
    Braveheart

    Braveheart is an Academy Award-Winning, 1995 historical action-drama movie film producer and Film director by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role....
     (1995)
  • Our Friends in the North
    Our Friends in the North

    Our Friends in the North is a United Kingdom television drama Serial , produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996....
     (1996)
  • The Saint
    The Saint (film)

    The Saint is a 1997 film based on the character of Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 for a series of books published as "The Saint." Aside from the book series, which ran until 1983, the character has also featured in a series of Hollywood movies made between 1938 and 1954, a 1940s Old-time radio starring Vincent Price as...
     (1997)
  • Underworld
    Underworld (1996 film)

    Underworld is a 1997 in film comedy film/thriller film. It was directed by Roger Christian and stars Denis Leary, Joe Mantegna and Annabella Sciorra....
     (1997) (TV)
  • In the Red
    In the Red

    In the Red is a 1989 novel by Mark Tavener, a black comedy revolving around murder, finance, and intrigue in the halls of the BBC.Despite this, it is the BBC that successfully adapted it for both radio and television....
     (1998) (TV)
  • David Copperfield
    David Copperfield (1999 film)

    David Copperfield is a two part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield , adapted by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day and the second on Boxing Day in 1999....
     (1999) (TV)
  • Aristocrats
    Aristocrats (TV mini-series)

    Aristocrats is a 1999 Television series, based on the biography by Stella Tillyard. The series consists of six episodes of 50 minutes each and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC, starting on 22 June 1999....
     (1999) (TV)
  • Sleepy Hollow
    Sleepy Hollow (film)

    Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 in film period piece horror film directed by Tim Burton, interpreting the legend of The Headless Horseman and based upon the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow....
     (1999)
  • Onegin
    Eugene Onegin

    Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes....
     (1999)
  • This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000) (TV)
  • Proof of Life
    Proof of Life

    Proof of Life is an United States film released in 2000 in film, directed by Taylor Hackford. The film's screenplay was authored by Tony Gilroy, who also was a co-executive producer, and was inspired by William Prochnau's Vanity Fair magazine article "Adventures in the Ransom Trade," and the book The Long March To Freedom by Thom...
     (2000)
  • The Mummy Returns
    The Mummy Returns

    The Mummy Returns is a 2001 in film American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah , Oded Fehr, and Arnold Vosloo....
     (2001)
  • It's All About Love
    It's All About Love

    It's All About Love is a 2003 film by Thomas Vinterberg. It can be classified as an Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic science fiction movie, but the author prefers to call it "a dream"....
     (2003 in film|2003)
  • Bedtime
    Bedtime (TV series)

    Bedtime was a United Kingdom Comedy-drama written and directed by Andy Hamilton and broadcast by the BBC. It ran for three series for a total of fifteen episodes between August 2001 and December 2003....
     - Series 2 (2002)
  • Sparkhouse
    Sparkhouse

    Sparkhouse is a BBC drama, originally shown in 2002, delivering a modern take on Wuthering Heights, two young lovers battle against the odds to be together....
     (2002)
  • Carrie's War
    Carrie's War

    Carrie's War is a 1973 novel by Nina Bawden about the experiences of a girl called Carrie and her brother Nick, who are Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II from London to Wales during World War II to Mr Evans....
     (2004)
  • When I'm 64
    When I'm 64 (TV series)

    When I'm 64 is a TV drama. It was broadcast on BBC in 2004 in television. Jim has just retired from teaching at the school he first attended when he was four years old; Ray is a cab driver, fed up with being an unpaid babysitter for his grandchildren....
     (2004)
  • Millions
    Millions

    Millions is a British films of 2004 Cinema of the United Kingdom, directed by Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle, and starring Alexander Nathan Etel, Lewis McGibbon, and James Nesbitt....
     (2004)
  • Van Helsing (2004)
  • New Tricks (2004)
  • Bleak House (2005)
  • Oliver Twist
    Oliver Twist (2005 film)

    Oliver Twist is a 2005 in film directed by Roman Polanski. It is based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The screenplay was written by Ronald Harwood....
     (2005)
  • Eragon
    Eragon (film)

    Eragon is a 2006 in film live-action/CGI fantasy film-adventure film film based on the Eragon by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the Eragon , Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Joss Stone, and the voice of Rachel Weisz as Saphira the dragon....
     (2006)
  • Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
    Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story

    Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story is a 2008 in television BBC Television docudrama telling the life story of the British morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse....
     (2007) (TV)
  • The Dinner Party
    The Dinner Party

    For other works with this title, see Dinner PartyThe Dinner Party is an installation art by feminist artist Judy Chicago depicting place settings for 39 mythical and historical famous women....
     (2007) (TV)
  • Little Dorrit
    Little Dorrit (TV serial)

    Little Dorrit is a fourteen-part BBC television drama Serial adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit, which was originally published in 1855–57....
     (2008) (TV)


External links