Ken Stott
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Ken Stott | |
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 Ken Stott on 20 April 2014 at the Hobbitcon II convention in Bonn, Germany | |
| Born | Kenneth Campbell Stott 19 October 1954 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Known for | Rebus (2000–2007) Takin' Over the Asylum (1994) The Missing (2014) The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014) |
Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play Broken Glass at Royal National Theatre. He is more recently known for his role as the dwarf Balin in The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), and as Ian Garrett in the 2014 BBC TV mini-series The Missing starring alongside James Nesbitt.
His many notable roles in UK television include the role of Edward 'Eddie' McKenna in the Scottish BBC miniseries Takin' Over The Asylum (1994) co-starring with a young David Tennant, the title character DI John Rebus in the crime fiction-mystery series Rebus (2000–2007) and also as DCI Red Metcalfe in Messiah (2001–2005).
Early life
Stott was born in Edinburgh. His mother, Antonia (née Sansica), was a Sicilian lecturer whose own father had previously been a priest.[1][2] His father, David Stott, was a Scottish teacher and educational administrator.[3][4][5] Stott was educated at George Heriot's School. For three years in his youth he was a member of a band called Keyhole, members of which later went on to form the Bay City Rollers.
After attending Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, Stott began working in the theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but for some years his earnings from acting were minimal and he was forced to support himself by also working as a double glazing salesman. This is echoed in the character he plays in Takin' Over the Asylum.
Career
Stott's early work focused on theatre with a notable leading role in the dramatisation of Dominic Behan's play about the Northern Ireland troubles The Folk Singer (Belfast Lyric Theatre). Stott appeared in small roles in BBC series such as Secret Army (1977), The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (King Lear, 1982), and Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective (1986). He also featured in an advert for the British COI's "Drinking And Driving Wrecks Lives" campaign, playing a fireman. He eventually began to earn starring roles on television in the 1990s.[6] He created the leading role in The Prince's Play, a translation and adaptation by Tony Harrison of Victor Hugo's Le Roi s'amuse, for the National Theatre, London, 1996.[7]
His highest-profile television roles have included hospital radio DJ Eddie McKenna in BBC Scotland's Takin' Over The Asylum the leading character, DCI Red Metcalfe, in the BBC crime drama series Messiah (BBC One, 2001–05); DI Chappell in ITV police drama The Vice (1999–2003); as a drunk who fantasises about finding redemption by joining the Salvation Army in Promoted to Glory (ITV, 2003); as Adolf Hitler in Uncle Adolf (ITV, 2005) and as a fictional Chancellor of the Exchequer in Richard Curtis's The Girl in the Café (BBC One, 2005). 2006 saw him take over the title character in detective series Rebus, a television adaptation of the Ian Rankin novels which had previously starred John Hannah. In 2008 Stott was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA for his performance as comedian Tony Hancock in BBC Four's Hancock and Joan. He played the father of cookery writer Nigel Slater in the BBC One adaptation of Slater's autobiographical novel Toast, opposite Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore. In 2015, Stott played Arthur Birling in Helen Edmundson's BBC TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls.
On the big screen, he has tended to play mostly supporting parts, such as DI McCall in Shallow Grave (1994), Ted in Fever Pitch (1997), Marius Honorius in King Arthur (2004), an Israeli arms merchant in Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and Trufflehunter, a badger loyal to Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008). However, he has had occasional starring roles in the cinema, most notably opposite Billy Connolly and Iain Robertson in The Debt Collector (1999) and Plunkett and Macleane of the same year. Most recently, he has starred as Balin in the live-action adaptation of The Hobbit, and played the role to critical acclaim. Stott played a supporting role as Dexter Mayhew's father in One Day (2011) starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.
Stott has continued to act on stage, and in 1997 was nominated for Best Actor at the Laurence Olivier Awards for his role in the Yasmina Reza play Art in which had appeared with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay. In 2008 Stott starred in another West End production of a Reza play, this time God of Carnage, alongside Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ralph Fiennes at the Gielgud Theatre. He starred in a revival of Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge at the Duke of York's Theatre in early 2009 and reprised his role of Michael in God of Carnage on Broadway (as a replacement for James Gandolfini) at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York.
He returned to the Duke of York's Theatre in 2016 to play " Sir" [ alongside Reece Shearsmith ] in Ronald Harwood's 'The Dresser' to great critical acclaim.
He is a popular choice for voice work, as narrator for series such as Trawlermen, a documentary following North Sea trawlers, and Send in the Dogs, following the work of UK Police Officers and their canine partners.
Personal life
Stott has a son, David (born 1985), by his marriage, which ended in divorce. He married his long time partner the artist Nina Gehl in 2016.[8] Stott is a supporter of Heart of Midlothian, with an irony in that the character portrayed by him, Ian Rankin's most well known character Inspector John Rebus, is in fact a Hibernian supporter.[9]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Secret Army | Baroja | TV series |
| 1982 | King Lear | Curan | TV film |
| 1983 | The Beggar's Opera | Jemmy Twitcher | TV film |
| 1985 | Taggart | Dr. MacNaughten | TV series: 1 episode |
| 1986 | The Singing Detective | Uncle John | TV miniseries: 2 episodes |
| 1988 | London's Burning | Cyril | First episode |
| For Queen and Country | Civil Servant | ||
| 1990 | Your Cheatin' Heart | Fraser Boyle | TV series: 6 episodes |
| 1991 | All Good Things | Lawrence Wilson | TV series: 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story | TV | |
| Anna Lee | Bernie Schiller | TV | |
| Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life | Woland the Knifeman | Short film | |
| Being Human | Gasper Diez | ||
| 1994 | Takin' Over the Asylum | Eddie McKenna | TV series: 6 episodes |
| Shallow Grave | DI McCall | ||
| 1996 | Saint-Ex | Prevot | |
| Silent Witness | Sergeant Bob Claire | TV series: 2 episodes | |
| A Mug's Game | McCaffrey | ||
| Rhodes | Barney Barnato | TV miniseries: 5 episodes | |
| 1997 | The Boxer | Ike Weir | |
| Stone, Scissors, Paper | Redfern | TV | |
| Fever Pitch | Ted, the Headmaster | ||
| 1999 | Dockers | Tommy Walton | TV |
| The Debt Collector | Gary Keltie | ||
| Plunkett & Macleane | General Chance | ||
| Vicious Circle | Martin Cahill | TV | |
| 1999–2003 | The Vice | DI Pat Chappel | TV series: 16 episodes Nominated–British Academy Television Award for Best Actor |
| 2000 | The Miracle Maker | Simon Peter | Voice only |
| 2001 | Messiah | DCI Red Metcalfe | TV miniseries |
| 2002 | Messiah 2: Vengeance is Mine | DCI Red Metcalfe | TV miniseries |
| 2003 | Promoted to Glory | Mike | TV |
| The Key | Billy | TV | |
| I'll Sleep When I'm Dead | Frank Turner | ||
| 2004 | Messiah 3:The Promise | DCI Red Metcalfe | TV miniseries |
| King Arthur | Marius Honorius | ||
| Spivs | Jack | ||
| 2005 | Casanova | Dalfonso | |
| Messiah: The Harrowing | DCI Red Metcalfe | TV miniseries | |
| The Girl in the Café | Chancellor | ||
| The Mighty Celt | Good Joe | ||
| Uncle Adolf | Adolf Hitler | TV | |
| 2006–2007 | Rebus | DI John Rebus | TV series: 10 episodes |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Zvi Rafiah | |
| 2008 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Trufflehunter | Voice only |
| Hancock and Joan | Tony Hancock | TV Scottish BAFTA for Best Acting Performance in Television Nominated–British Academy Television Award for Best Actor | |
| 2010 | Toast | Alan Slater | TV film |
| 2011 | The Runaway | Joey Pasqualino | |
| One Day | Steven Mayhew | ||
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Balin | |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | ||
| 2014 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | ||
| Man Up | Bert | ||
| The Missing | Ian Garrett | TV series
Nominated–British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor[10] | |
| 2015 | An Inspector Calls | Arthur Birling | TV film |
| 2016 | War & Peace | Bazdeev | TV series |
| Café Society | Marty Dorfman | ||
| 100 Streets | Terence | ||
| 2017 | Fortitude | Erling Munk | TV series: Season 2 |
| 2018 | The Mercy | Stanley Best | |
| TBA | The Dig | Filming |
Awards and nominations
BAFTA TV Awards
0 win, 3 nominations
| British Academy Television Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2001 | The Vice | 2001 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2009 | Hancock and Joan | 2009 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Missing | 2015 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
BAFTA Scotland Awards
2 win, 2 nominations
| BAFTA Scotland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2009 | Hancock and Joan | 2009 British Academy Scotland Awards for Best Actor in Television | Won |
| 2015 | The Missing | 2015 British Academy Scotland Awards Best Actor in Television | Won |
Laurence Olivier Awards
1 win, 4 nominations
| Laurence Olivier Award | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1992 | The Recruiting Officer at the National Theatre | 1992 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1995 | Broken Glass at the National Theatre Lyttelton / Duke of York's | 1995 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Won |
| 1997 | Art at the Wyndam Theatre | 1997 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role | Nominated |
| 2010 | A View from the Bridge as Eddie Carbone at the Duke of York's | 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role | Nominated |
Royal Television Society
0 wins 1 nomination
| Royal Television Society | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 2002 | The Vice | Royal Television Society Award Best Actor | Nominated |
References
- ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (7 February 2007). "Last night's TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Old family scandal reduces Rebus star to tears". The Scotsman. 2007.
- ^ "Ken Stott biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Ken gets a taste of the past". The Daily Record. 3 February 2007.
- ^ Fulton, Rick (8 December 2005). "Born to be Rebus". The Daily Record. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- ^ "Ken Stott filmography". IMDb.
- ^ Taylor, Paul (21 April 1996). "Theatre: The Prince's Play, Royal National Theatre". The Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Black, Claire (20 May 2009). "Ken Stott interview: View from the top". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Edinburgh A-list stirred by Scottish Cup final derby". BBC Sport. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (8 April 2015). "BAFTA TV Awards: Benedict Cumberbatch Gets Third Nomination for 'Sherlock'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1954 births
- 20th-century Scottish male actors
- 21st-century Scottish male actors
- Male actors of Italian descent
- Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
- British people of Italian descent
- Laurence Olivier Award winners
- Living people
- Scottish male Shakespearean actors
- People educated at George Heriot's School
- Male actors from Edinburgh
- Royal Shakespeare Company members
- Scottish male film actors
- Scottish male radio actors
- Scottish male stage actors
- Scottish male television actors
- Scottish male voice actors
- Scottish people of Italian descent