| Brendan Coyle | |
| Birth Name: | David Coyle |
| Birth Date: | 2 December 1962 |
| Birth Place: | Corby, England |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1992–present |
| Relatives: | Matt Busby (great-uncle) |
Brendan Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is a British-Irish actor.[1] [2] He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for The Weir in 1999.[3] He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries North & South, Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford, and more recently Mr Bates, the valet, in Downton Abbey, which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Brendan Coyle was born David Coyle in Corby, Northamptonshire, on 2 December 1962, the son of a Patrick B Coyle and Bedelia M B Anderson. He has an older brother named Shaun [1] Due to his British birth and Irish heritage, he holds both British and Irish citizenship. He is the great-nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby.[4] He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 1983.[1]
Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production.[1] In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama, True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins in North & South for the BBC.
From 2008 he played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle, and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA,[5] as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. He also won three Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013–16. Coyle also played the character of Terry Starling in the short-lived Sky comedy series Starlings.
Coyle divides his time between London and Norfolk.[6] He is a fan of the football team Manchester United FC,[7] which was managed by his great-uncle Matt Busby.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ailsa | Miles Butler | |
| 1997 | The Last Bus Home | Steve Burkett | |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | Leading Seaman – HMS Bedford | ||
| 1998 | Soft Sand, Blue Sea | Gerry | |
| The General | UVF Leader | ||
| Happy Birthday To Me | Short | ||
| 1999 | I Could Read the Sky | Francie | |
| 2001 | Mapmaker | Robert Bates | |
| 2005 | Allegiance | Michael Collins | |
| The Jacket | Damon | ||
| 2006 | Offside | Duncan Miller | |
| 2009 | Perrier's Bounty | Jerome | |
| 2012 | The Raven | Reagan | |
| 2014 | Noble | Gerry Shaw | |
| 2016 | Me Before You | Bernard Clark | |
| Bare | Mick "The Irish Hammer" | Short | |
| 2018 | Mary Queen of Scots | Earl of Lennox | |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | John Bates | |
| 2022 | |||
| 2025 | Untitled Downton Abbey: A New Era sequel | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery | Det. Sgt. Benwell | TV movie | |
| The Bill | Chris Bailey | Episode "Radio Waves" | ||
| 1995 | The Glass Virgin | Manuel Mendoza | Mini-series | |
| Dangerfield | David Walsh | 2 episodes | ||
| 1996 | Silent Witness | Liam Slattery | 2 episodes | |
| Thief Takers | DS Bob "Bingo" Tate | 16 episodes | ||
| 2000 | McCready and Daughter | Donal McCready | TV movie | |
| Paths to Freedom | Jeremy Fitzgerald | 6 episodes | ||
| 2001 | Conspiracy | SS Maj Gen Heinrich Müller | TV movie | |
| Rebel Heart | Michael Collins | Miniseries | ||
| The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Richard Tey | Episode "A Great Deliverance" | ||
| The Bombmaker | George McEvoy | TV movie | ||
| 2002 | Rockface | Douglas McLanaghan | 7 episodes | |
| 2003 | Waking the Dead | Martin Corgan | 2 episodes | |
| Single | Paul | |||
| 2004 | Amnesia | DC Ian Reid | TV movie | |
| Omagh | DS John White | |||
| North & South | Nicholas Higgins | Miniseries | ||
| 2005 | Shameless | Father Polish | Episode 2.4 | |
| Jericho | Christie | 3 episodes | ||
| The Ghost Squad | Sgt. Ralph Allan | Episode "Heroes" | ||
| 2006 | The Commander: Blacklight | Carl Dirkwood | TV movie | |
| Soundproof | DI Dave Cox | |||
| Prime Suspect: The Final Act | DCS Mitchell | |||
| Perfect Parents | Ed | |||
| 2007 | The Mark of Cain | Davey Gulliver | ||
| Wedding Belles | Priest | TV movie | ||
| The Good Samaritan | Lewis Farrell | |||
| Damage | Aidan Cahill | |||
| True Dare Kiss | Kaz Sweeney | 6 episodes | ||
| 2008–2010 | Lark Rise to Candleford | Robert Timmins | Series 1–3; 31 episodes | |
| 2009 | Inspector George Gently | Patrick Donovan | Episode "Gently in the Night" | |
| 2009 | Blue Murder | Derek Jowell | 2 episodes | |
| 2010–2015 | Downton Abbey | John Bates | TV series (52 episodes) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated – BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012) | |
| 2012–2013 | Starlings | Terry Starling | ||
| 2015 | Spotless | Nelson Clay | ||
| 2015 | Murdoch Mysteries | Mr. Rankin | Episode "A Merry Murdoch Christmas" | |
| 2016 | 12 Monkeys | Dr. Benjamin Kalman | Episode "Year of the Monkey") | |
| 2018 | Requiem | Stephen Kendrick | 6 episodes | |
| 2022 | Riches | Gideon Havelock | ||
| 2024 | Finders Keepers[8] | Denys Elland | ||
| Toxic Town | 4 episodes[9] |
In July 2014, Brendan Coyle and Joy Harrison formed Anderson Shelter Productions Limited[10] with the mission to "find talented young filmmakers" and assist in funding their short film projects.[11] On 14 September 2014, Coyle announced via Twitter his involvement with Council Child Production's short film, Starcross.[12]
| Title | Release date | Notes | Refs. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starcross (short film, Council Child Productions) | Associate Producer | [13] | ||
| 2 | The Loneliest Time (short film, Time Bomb Pictures Ltd.) | Associate Producer | [14] [15] | ||
| 3 | Bare (short film, Council Child Productions) | Executive Producer | [16] [17] | ||
| 3 | Margie's Garden (short film, Council Child Productions) | Executive Producer | [18] [19] | ||
| 4 | Emerald City (feature film, Colin Broderick) | Associate Producer | [20] |