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Tom Cullen

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For other uses, see Thomas Cullen.
Tom Cullen
Cullen in 2011
Born (1985-07-17) 17 July 1985 (age 39)
Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active2006–present
Partner(s)Tatiana Maslany
(2011–present)

Tom Cullen (born 17 July 1985) is a Welsh actor, writer and director, best known for his role in the award-winning independent film Weekend (2011) and as Viscount Gillingham in the television series Downton Abbey.

Early life

Cullen was born in Aberystwyth, Dyfed. He spent his early years in Llandrindod Wells and moved to Cardiff at age 12, where he attended Llanishen High School.[1] He is the son of two writers and has two siblings.[2] Before pursuing an acting career he was involved in music.[3] He graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2009 with First Class Honours degree in Acting after spending a year at the Central School of Speech and Drama.[4]

Career

Acting

Whilst still in training, Cullen was taken out of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to appear in Daddy's Girl, which won the BAFTA Cymru for Best Film,[5] and to star in Watch Me, which won the BAFTA Cymru for Best Short.[6] His stage roles include Gorgio at the Bristol Old Vic, Assembly and A Good Night Out in the Valleys at National Theatre Wales, and The Sanger at Sherman Cymru.[7] In 2011, he was named on the Screen International Stars of Tomorrow list.[8]

Cullen starred in the 2011 film Weekend as Russell, a Nottingham lifeguard. Weekend collected numerous awards including the Grand Jury award at the Nashville Film Festival and Best Achievement in Production at the British Independent Film Awards. Cullen won Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards and Best Actor at the Nashville Film Festival in 2011 for his role as Russell.[9] His television roles include Jonas in Black Mirror, drug trafficker Yoram in Banged Up Abroad.[7][10] and Richard in Pen Talar. He starred as Wulfric in the 2012 miniseries World Without End.[11] He had a recurring role as Mary Crawley's suitor Anthony Foyle (the Viscount Gillingham) in Downton Abbey.[12]

Recent films include Desert Dancer, the story of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who risked his life to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban, and the science fiction The Last Days on Mars, based around the first manned mission to Mars. Upcoming films include Happily Ever After, No Compass in the Wilderness, and A Hundred Streets.[7][13]

Cullen played Joe Rose in the new three-part ITV drama The Trials of Jimmy Rose, airing in September 2015.[14] He starred in a Canadian indie from production company Motel Pictures, The Other Half, with his partner Tatiana Maslany.[15] He plays the lead role of Mark in Harlan Coben's The Five, a ten-part Sky 1 mystery series.[16] He will star in History series Knightfall as Landry.[17]

Cullen's editorial work includes L'Uomo Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, and 10 Magazine.

Writing

In 2008, Cullen wrote and produced the short film Naughties with Alexander Vlahos. In 2009, he and Vlahos co-founded the Welsh company Undeb Theatre.[18] He wrote and directed his full-length play, Kingfisher, about a man returning from prison, in 2010, as well as other short plays performed by Undeb.[19] His short film about a Welsh boy coping with his parents' divorce was commissioned for the BBC. He has also recently written a script about a young woman.[20]

Personal life

Since 2011, Cullen has been in a relationship with Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany, whom he met filming the Channel 4 miniseries World Without End.[4]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Cravings Jason
2008 Watch Me Tom Short film
Nominated for BAFTA Cymru Best Short Film
2009 20 Questions Adam Short film
2010 Balance Nico Short film
2011 Weekend Russell British Independent Film Award for Best Newcomer
2012 Henry Henry Short film
2013 Room 8 Ives Short film
BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film
2013 The Last Days on Mars Richard Harrington
2014 Desert Dancer Ardavan
2015 Black Mountain Poets Richard
2016 Happily Ever After Colin
2016 No Compass in the Wilderness Nils Short film
2016 The Batsman and the Ballerina Simon Short film
2016 The Other Half Nickie
2016 Trial Ryan/New Aaron Short film
2016 A Hundred Streets Jake
2016 Mine Tommy Madison

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Banged Up Abroad Yoram Episode: "Tokyo"
2010 Pen Talar Richard 2 episodes
2011 Black Mirror Jonas Episode: "The Entire History of You"
2012 World Without End Wulfric 8 episodes
2013–2014 Downton Abbey Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham 12 episodes
2015 The Trials of Jimmy Rose Joe Rose 3 episodes
2016 The Five Mark Wells 10 episodes
2016 Knightfall Landry 10 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2011 London Film Critics Circle Awards British Actor of the Year Weekend Nominated
2011 BFI London Film Festival Best British Newcomer Weekend Nominated
2011 Nashville Film Festival Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Weekend Won
2011 British Independent Film Award Most Promising Newcomer Weekend Won
2016 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Downton Abbey Won

References

  1. ^ "Emerging Welsh actor Tom Cullen on his big screen success". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  2. ^ Grice, Natalie. "Indie film Weekend break for Cardiff actor Tom Cullen". BBC Wales News. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  3. ^ Aftab, Kaleem. "Tom Cullen". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b Rorke, Robert. "Lady Mary's dashing new suitor to debut on 'Downton Abbey'". NY Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  5. ^ "BAFTA Award for Daddy's Girl". Dragon Di. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  6. ^ "BAFTA Nomination: Ieuan Morris 'Watch Me'". Glamorgan. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  7. ^ a b c "Spotlight Actors: Tom Cullen". Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Screen International Stars of Tomorrow 2011". Screen Daily 30.06.2011. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  9. ^ "Weekend Awards". Weekend. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Tokyo - Locked Up Abroad". National Geographic. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  11. ^ "FUTURES: Star Tom Cullen Turns a One Night Stand Into Art". IndieWire. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  12. ^ "Downton Abbey: the dashing aristocrats lining up to lift Lady Mary out of despair". TheTelegraph. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  13. ^ "Graduate Profile: Tom Cullen". Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  14. ^ "Filming begins on The Trials of Jimmy Rose from ITV Studios". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  15. ^ Vlessing, Etan (21 April 2015). "Tatiana Maslany, Tom Cullen to Star in Indie 'The Other Half'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  16. ^ Roxborough, Scott (30 September 2015). "MIPCOM: Canal Plus Takes Harlan Coben's 'The Five' for France". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  17. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (13 May 2016). "Tom Cullen to Star in Jeremy Renner's History Series 'Knightfall' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Actors Unite for Theatre". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  19. ^ Wild, Susie. "Undeb celebrate first birthday with Undeb-velopment – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  20. ^ wise, Louis (21 September 2014). "A cushy new career". Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
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