Toby Kebbell

Toby Kebbell
Toby Kebbell, 15 July 2010
Born	Tobias Alistair P. Kebbell 9 July 1982 (1982-07-09) Pontefract, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2004–present

Tobias Alistair P. "Toby" Kebbell (born 9 July 1982) is an English actor.

Life and career

Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall, on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield, Yorkshire, but grew up in Nottinghamshire. He was brought up by his mother, Michelle (née Mathers), a cook and landscape gardener, after his parents divorced when he was eighteen months old (his father, Robert Kebbell, is an engineer). He went to a Catholic primary school. Kebbell first came to notice when Shane Meadows cast him in the role of Anthony in the film Dead Man's Shoes. He was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards and was widely lauded for his sensitive, moving portrayal of a young man with a learning difficulty. Kebbell then appeared in Oliver Stone's Alexander and Match Point, which Woody Allen cast him in without audition after being impressed with his performance in Dead Man's Shoes.^{[citation needed]}

Kebbell's most critically acclaimed role^{[citation needed]} came in 2007 when he played Rob Gretton, the manager of Joy Division in Anton Corbijn's award-winning biopic of Ian Curtis, Control. He won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the British Independent Film Awards; other nominees for the award included Cate Blanchett, Colin Firth and Control co-star Samantha Morton. He was also nominated for the London Critics' Circle Best Supporting Actor Award alongside Albert Finney and Tom Wilkinson.

In December 2007, Kebbell took the lead in an episode of Jimmy McGovern's BBC series The Street, which subsequently won the BAFTA for Best Drama series. His other work for the BBC included a modern retelling of Macbeth alongside James McAvoy, while his theatre roles included spells at the Almeida in David Hare's reworking of Maxim Gorky's Enemies and at the Playhouse in R. C. Sherriff's classic, Journey's End.

In September 2008, Kebbell was featured in the film RocknRolla, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, alongside actors Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton. Kebbell played a crack-addicted musician, Johnny Quid. To play the role Toby Kebbell learned to play the piano and operate a semi automatic. To get into the skin of a crack addicted rocker, Toby abstained from food for 3 days and ate just a single meal for the next 3 weeks. Comparisons were made between his body and Brad Pitt's in Fight Club. He won The Sun's Best Actor award for this part and was described in the paper as "a star of the future".^{[citation needed]}

In January 2009, Kebbell was nominated in the "Orange Rising Star Award" category of the 2009 BAFTA Awards. This award is voted for by the public. Kebbell appeared in the 2009 film Cheri, directed by Stephen Frears, in which he took a small role alongside Michelle Pfeiffer. He filmed in Morocco and London with Jake Gyllenhaal for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

In February 2009, it was reported that Kebbell was dating the former Oxford Union president Ruzwana Bashir, whom he met at a party given by the journalist Andrew Neil.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2000	Peak Practice	Graham	TV series (1 episode: "Keeping Up the Act")
2004	Dead Man's Shoes	Anthony	Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer
	Northern Soul	Mark Sherbert	Short
	Alexander	Pausanius
2005	Match Point	Policeman
	ShakespeaRe-Told	Malcolm	TV series (1 episode: "Macbeth")
2006	Wilderness	Callum
	Born Equal	Beggar 2	TV movie
2007	Control	Rob Gretton	British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – ALFS Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year
	The Commander: Windows of the Soul	Jimmy Bannerman	TV movie
	The Street	Paul Billerton	TV series (3 episodes)
2008	RocknRolla	Johnny Quid
	The German	Barton	Short (director: Nick Ryan)
2009	Tea and Biscuits	Billy	Short
	Chéri	Patron
2010	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	Garsiv
	The Sorcerer's Apprentice	Drake Stone
	The Conspirator	John Wilkes Booth
2011	The Veteran	Miller
	Handcuffed	Son	Short
	Black Mirror	Liam	TV Series (1 Episode: "The Entire History of You")
	War Horse	Colin, the Geordie soldier
2012	Wrath of the Titans	Argenor	Filming

External links

• Toby Kebbell at the Internet Movie Database