Alistair Petrie (born 30 September 1970) is a British actor. He has starred in ''

The Bank Job ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (2008), '' Cloud Atlas'' (2012), '' Rush'' (2013) and '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). Petrie has also starred in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

television series ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...

'', the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

television series' ''

The Night Manager ''The Night Manager'' is an espionage novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1993. It is his first post- Cold War novel, detailing an undercover operation to bring down a major international arms dealer. Plot summary Jonathan Pin ...

, Sherlock,'' and ''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

'' and as Mr. Groff in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

original comedy-drama series ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

''.

Early life

Petrie was born 30 September 1970 in Catterick,

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used ...

. He was brought up in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, mainland Europe and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

. His father was an RAF

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

. He trained at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

Career

Theatre

Petrie spent his early career in theatre around the country before joining the RSC where productions included Shakespeare's ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Me ...

'' and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

's ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

'' opposite

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

. In 2005, he joined the National Theatre, where he stayed for 28 months performing in ''His Dark Materials'', Shakespeare's ''Henry IV'' alongside Sir Michael Gambon and David Edgar's ''Playing With Fire''. Other theatre work includes The Earl of Wessex in the 2015 West End Production of '' Shakespeare in Love''. In 2008, Petrie played the lead role of ''Man'' in ''Mine, Shared Experience'' at the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...

, Leeds.

Screen

In 1996, Petrie appeared as Robert Martin in '' Emma.'' He featured in the BBC production of '' The Forsyte Saga'' as George Forsyte in 2002-2003, and he played a brief role in the music video for "Bellissimo" by Ilya directed by the Guard Brothers in 2004. In 2007 he appeared in '' Marc Munden's The Mark of Cain'', ''The Whistleblowers'' and '' Cranford''. In 2009 he played Heaton in the film '' The Duchess'', and in 2010 played Billing in the horror film '' Devil's Playground''. Petrie appeared as Philip Lisle in ''

'', as Felix Finch in the 2012 film '' Cloud Atlas'', as

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of com ...

in '' Rush,'' and as General Davits Draven in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story''. Also in television, Petrie has portrayed Geoff in Channel 4's ''

'', Alexander "Sandy" Langbourne in ''

'', and Robert Greenlaw in BBC1's ''

''. He played the role of Major James Sholto in the second episode of Season 3 of the BBC TV series '' Sherlock'', which aired on 5 January 2014. In 2018, he played Dr. Stephen Stanley in ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

'' (based on

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

of the same name), a supernatural horror series about

Franklin's lost expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sect ...

. In 2019, Petrie began playing Mr. Groff in the

original comedy-drama series ''

''.

Personal life

Petrie is married to actress Lucy Scott, with whom he has three sons. Petrie is an Ambassador for Borne, a medical research charity looking to identify the causes of premature birth. In 2007, he and his wife swam the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

to fundraise for the charity, becoming the first married couple to complete the crossing.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Roxane Vacca Management - Alistair Petrie Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Alistair 1970 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male film actors English male television actors Living people Male actors from Yorkshire People from Catterick, North Yorkshire