Daniel Ryan (born 1968 as Daniel O'Brien) is an English actor and writer. He is known for starring as Darren Alexander in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

Linda Green ''Linda Green'' is a British comedy-drama television series that aired on BBC One from 30 October 2001 to 17 December 2002. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company. The series was created by Paul Abbott, and other ...

'', Andrew Gilligan in ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'', Andy Coulson in '' Steel River Blues'' and Kenny Reed in ''

The Whistleblowers ''The Whistleblowers'' is a British drama series, first broadcast on ITV from 27 September to 1 November 2007. The series stars Richard Coyle and Indira Varma as personal injury lawyers Ben Graham and Alisha Cole, who set themselves up in pr ...

''. His stage credits include ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

''. Since 2019, he has played DI Tony Manning in '' The Bay''.

Early life

Ryan was born in

Culcheth Culcheth is a village in the civil parish of Culcheth and Glazebury, in the Warrington district, in Cheshire, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Culcheth is p ...

near

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

to parents who owned a bingo hall. He and his younger brother attended Culcheth High School. Despite playing in a school band called Darker Than Shark he was enthused by a

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

-educated drama teacher. He attended the Lancashire Schools Arts Workshop in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, before being accepted into

LAMDA The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

Career

On graduation, he joined the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

on an 18-month contract. In 1995 he played a paralysed man in a Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives advert. Ten years after graduation, he played the part of Bottom in ''

'' at RSC in 1999/2000. He has also starred in both ''Fallout'' and ''Posh'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, and was in ''Mammals'' at the BushTheatre and later on tour. In 2008 he appeared in ''

Gethsemane Gethsemane ( ) is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus Christ underwent the Agony in the Garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. The garden is ...

'', a new play by David Hare at the National Theatre. In 1992 Ryan played Jamie Hunter who takes revenge on travellers when they befriend his fiancee in series 1 episode 8 of ''Heartbeat'' called " ''Outsiders''". Ryan played Andy in the 2001 ITV drama '' Bob & Rose''. In December 2007, he appeared in the Series 17 episode of '' Heartbeat'' called " Touch and Go", in which he played Max Philpott who murdered long running character PC Phil Bellamy. He appeared on the Teen Drama '' Skins'' as the father of the third generation character Rich Hardbeck in 2011 and 2012. He took over the role of Harry (Sandy's husband, previously played by David Michaels) in the special reunion episodes of BBC sitcom '' As Time Goes By'' alongside

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, member of parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

. Ryan also appeared in the 2008 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode "

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

". He played Felix Sansome in "Wild Justice", S5:E2 of ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

'', which aired April 2011. In 2012, he appeared as antagonist Barry Flint in The Girl Who Lived, the fourth episode of the ninth season of ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

''. In 2014, he appeared in '' Salting the Battlefield'' as Bill Catcheside. He is also known for playing the role of Dan in the

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television television channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living yet became Sky Living by 2011. H ...

comedy-drama '' Mount Pleasant'' since 2011. In 2015 he appeared as Steve Baker in S7:E1 of ''

Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...

'', and as Colonel Anthony Forbes-Leith in the BBC TV series ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' episode 3.9 "The Truth in the Wine". He has played Welsh butcher Bryn Brindsley in the ITV war-time drama '' Home Fires'' from 2015. In 2018 he starred in the ITV mini-series '' Innocent'', as the lead character's brother, Phil Collins. In February 2019 he played Gerald Baynes in '' Death in Paradise'' S8.E8. Also in February he appeared as Alec Sidden in ''The Seagull'', S9:E4 of ''

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

'', and in April 2019 as

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Anthony 'Tony' Manning in '' The Bay''. In 2022 he played Gary in ''

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

'' at the National Theatre. In 2022 he portrayed DAC Peter Clarke (Metropolitan Police) in the four part ITV series '' Litvinenko''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Daniel 1968 births Living people People from Culcheth Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Royal Shakespeare Company members English male stage actors English male Shakespearean actors English male television actors English male dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Lancashire 21st-century English male actors Actors from the Borough of Warrington