| Murray McArthur | |
| Birth Date: | 1966 5, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Honiton, Devon, England |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Alma Mater: | Drama Studio London |
| Years Active: | 1993–present |
| Spouse: | Geraldine |
| Children: | 2 |
Murray McArthur (born 4 May 1966) is an English actor.
McArthur was born and brought up in Devon.[1] The son of a mushroom farmer, of Scottish parentage and red-haired, he often plays Scottish roles. He attended King's School, Ottery St Mary, received a BA (Joint Hons) degree in English and Drama at Loughborough University and went on to study acting at the Drama Studio London. He was a member of the Devon County Youth Theatre.[2]
He has appeared in many stage-plays in British regional theatres and on London's West End[3] (including the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe). Much of his stage work has taken him overseas (Ahmanson Theatre,[4] Los Angeles & Panasonic Globe Theatre, Tokyo). His performance as Joe Gargery in Great Expectations at the Gate Theatre, Dublin was described by Irish Independent critic Bruce Arnold:[5] "Emphasis on the heart-warming relationship between Pip and Joe Gargery is a crucial part of the story, and the blacksmith, played by Murray McArthur in the best performance of the evening, achieves this".
Murray appeared as Hasten,[6] the Viking who breaks the Doctor's sonic sunglasses,[7] in episode The Girl Who Died[8] [9] of Doctor Who.[10]
He also portrayed a Wildling chieftain in the fifth season episode Hardhome[11] of the HBO series Game of Thrones. His character returned in the sixth season episode The Broken Man[12] with the character name Dim Dalba. He speaks for the Wildlings of The Gift when asked by Jon Snow (character), Tormund Giantsbane, Sansa Stark and Davos Seaworth to join them in the battle against the forces of Ramsay Bolton.
Recently played Hákon Iron-Beard[13] in Robert Eggers Viking revenge film The Northman, released in April 2022.[14] Production on the film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[15] resumed in August 2020[16] and finally completed in early December 2020.[17]
In 2021 McArthur was cast as 'Dad' in the British psychological thriller Marooned Awakening.[18] Principal photography took place in September 2021 on the island of Guernsey. The feature film premiered at the Beau Séjour Theatre[19] on Guernsey on 3 September 2022[20] and will be released in the United States and Canada on streaming services on February 21, 2023.[21]
Murray plays the part of Fabian, a homeless man who lives in the ruins of the original pilgrim meeting house, in Tim Burton's recently released Wednesday on Netflix,[22] where Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Addams sets Thing on him. Later on he is killed by a monster and winds up in the Jericho Morgue where Wednesday notices his missing foot.[23]
Married to Geraldine with two children, Orla and Freya, he lives in South East London.[24]
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Endgame | Det. Const. Kenny | Gary Wicks | Various Films Ltd |
| 2005 | Finding Neverland | Stagehand | Marc Forster | Miramax |
| Keeping Mum | Vicar's Convention Master of Ceremonies | Niall Johnson | Summit Entertainment | |
| 2007 | The Last Legion | Tertius | Doug Lefler | Dino De Laurentiis Company |
| 2008 | Made of Honor | Donald | Paul Weiland | Columbia Pictures |
| 2009 | A Congregation of Ghosts | George Tredinnick | Mark Collicott | Whitechapel Films |
| 2018 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Snug (A Midsummer Night's Dream) | Sacha Bennett | Parkhouse Pictures |
| Viking Destiny | Loki | David L.G. Hughes | Fatal Black | |
| 2019 | Virtual Viking - The Ambush | Skald | Erik Gustavson | Ridley Scott Associates |
| 2022 | The Northman[25] | Hákon Iron-Beard | Robert Eggers | New Regency |
| Marooned Awakening | Dad | Musaab Mustafa | Across the Channel Productions Ltd | |
| 2023 | Wonka | Ship's Captain | Paul King | Warner Bros. |
| Seize Them! | Ur-Nammu | Curtis Vowell | Entertainment Film Distributors |
| Year | Series | Episode | Role | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | EastEnders | Episode 950 | P.C. Baines | Jo Johnson | BBC |
| Stanley's Dragon | TV movie | Soldier | Gerry Poulson | Granada Television | |
| 1995 | The Famous Five | Five Fall into Adventure | Red Tower | Michael Kerrigan | Tyne Tees Television & Zenith North |
| 1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Escape | George Heathcote | Peter MacDonald (director) | HBO |
| Black Hearts in Battersea | TV series | Boatswain Morgan | David Bell | BBC | |
| 1997 | Aquila | The Eagle Has Landed | Policeman | David Bell | BBC |
| 1998 | Human Bomb | TV movie | Kessler | Anthony Page | Griffin |
| 1999 | Taggart | Bloodlines | Alan Buchanan | Alan Macmillan | STV Productions |
| 2000 | Heartbeat | The Fool on the Hill | Charlie Osborne | Paul Walker | Yorkshire Television |
| Burnside | Exposed: Parts 1 & 2 | DC McVeagh | Bruce MacDonald | Thames Television | |
| 2002 | Falling Apart | TV movie | Gareth | Brian Hill (director) | Century Films |
| 2006 | The Complete Guide to Parenting | Episode #1.1 | Mr. Franklin | Mandie Fletcher | Talkback Thames |
| Doctors | A Very Important Date | Al Burgess | Fred Aidroos | BBC | |
| Friends and Crocodiles | TV movie | Soup Man 1 | Stephen Poliakoff | BBC | |
| Foyle's War | The French Drop | Private Knox | Gavin Millar | ITV | |
| 2007 | Murphy's Law | Episode #5.2 | Terry Westgate | Colm McCarthy (director) | Tiger Aspect Productions |
| The Bill | Assault on Sun Hill | Sgt. Michael Brindley | Darcia Martin | Talkback Thames | |
| 2008 | John Adams | Unite or Die | The Magistrate | Tom Hooper | HBO |
| Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series) | Episode #1.2 | Bailiff Griggs | Charles Palmer (director) | BBC | |
| Summerhill | TV movie | Fire Officer Sibton | Jon East | Tiger Aspect Productions | |
| 2009 | Casualty | Palimpsest | Roy Hyde | Alan Grint | BBC |
| 2015 | Doctor Who | The Girl Who Died | Hasten | Edward Bazalgette | BBC |
| Game of Thrones | Hardhome | Dim Dalba | Miguel Sapochnik | HBO | |
| 2016 | Barbarians Rising | Revenge | Egus | Simon George | History Channel |
| Game of Thrones | The Broken Man | Dim Dalba | Mark Mylod | HBO | |
| 2017 | Outlander | All Debts Paid | Duncan Kerr | Brendan Maher | Starz |
| 2018 | Doctors | A Safe Place | Barney Rutger | Paul Gibson | BBC |
| Watership Down (miniseries) | Episodes 2-4 | Farmer | Noam Murro | ||
| 2019 | Pitching In | Episodes 2-3 | Sir Henry | Noreen Kershaw | BBC Cymru Wales & LA Productions |
| 2022 | Wednesday | Friend or Woe & Woe What a Night | Fabian | Tim Burton | MGM & Netflix |
| 2023 | The Change | Episode 6 | Brian | Al Campbell | Channel 4 |
| Year | Play | Role | Director | Producer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | On The Piste | Chris Baxter | Neil Sissons | Hull Truck Theatre | |
| 1994 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | Philip Joseph | National Theatre Studios | |
| 1995 | Great Expectations | Bentley Drummle | John Durnin | Northcott Theatre | |
| Abigail's Party | Tony | Tim Carroll | Northcott Theatre | ||
| 1996 | The Grapes of Wrath (play) | Noah Joad | John Durnin | Northcott Theatre | |
| A Doll's House | Anthony Page | Thelma Holt & Playhouse Theatre | |||
| 1997 | An Enemy of the People | Engstrand | Sir Trevor Nunn | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre & Ahmanson Theatre | |
| Peter Pan | Great Big Little Panther | John Caird (director) | Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre | ||
| 2002 | King Lear | Barry Kyle | Shakespeare's Globe & Panasonic Globe Theatre | ||
| 2008 | Great Expectations | Joe Gargery | Alan Stanford | Gate Theatre |