Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA

Michael Cutter Michael Cutter is a fictional character on the long-running NBC series ''Law & Order'' and its spinoff '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' portrayed by Linus Roache. The character debuted in the eighteenth season premiere of ''Law & Order'', ...

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

dramas ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roache played Ecbert, King of Wessex in ''

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

'' from 2014 to 2017. He was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for playing Robert F. Kennedy in '' RFK'' (2002) and won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor (TV) for his role as

Ralph Wigram Ralph Follett Wigram CMG (; 23 October 1890 – 31 December 1936) was a British government official in the Foreign Office. He helped raise the alarm about German rearmament under Hitler during the period prior to World War II. In part, he did ...

in '' The Gathering Storm'' (2002). His film appearances include ''

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

'' (1994), '' The Wings of the Dove'' (1997), '' Pandaemonium'' (2000), ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...

'' (2005), '' Non-Stop'' (2014) and '' Mandy'' (2018). In 2018 and 2020 he had a recurring role in the final two seasons of ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

''.

Early life

Roache was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England, the son of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' actor William Roache and actress

Anna Cropper Anna Cropper (also Roache; 13 May 1938 – 22 January 2007) was an English stage and television actress. Early years Cropper was born in Brierfield, Lancashire, the daughter of Margaret, a stage actress and director, and Jack Cropper, a dentis ...

. Roache was educated at

Bishop Luffa School Bishop Luffa School, named after a former Bishop of Chichester, Ralph de Luffa, is a co-educational Church of England secondary school located in Chichester, West Sussex, England. The number of enrolled pupils was around 1,400 in 2010, in eight ...

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

, West Sussex, and at

Rydal School Rydal Penrhos School is an independent day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-o ...

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

north Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) 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, ...

. He studied acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

. He married Rosalind Bennett in

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit aff ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, in 2002. They have no children.

Career

In 1975 Roache appeared in ''Coronation Street'' playing Peter Barlow, the son of his father's character Ken Barlow. Roache is also a past member of 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 produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. In the 1990s Roache began a career in films while remaining active in television and on stage. In 1994 he received acclaim for his leading role in Antonia Bird's ''

''. He went on to star opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the 1997 film '' The Wings of the Dove'' and to play the role of Thomas Wayne, father of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

, in ''

'' (2005). On television he played

Executive Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

Michael Cutter in two American series, ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). In June 2010 it was announced that he would return to play Laurence Cunningham alongside his father William Roache in ''Coronation Street''. In July 2010 he was cast in the HBO pilot ''The Miraculous Year''. In April 2011 Roache was cast as the lead in the ITV miniseries ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'', airing in March and April 2012 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ship. In February 2014 Roache debuted in season two of the TV series ''

'' as Ecbert of the Kingdom of Wessex. He starred in seasons seven and eight of the TV series ''

'' as David Wellington in 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected theatre

* Tom Wingfield in ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

. Directed by Ian Hastings at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

. (1989) * The title role in ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

''. Directed by James Macdonald at the

. (1993)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roache, Linus 1964 births Living people Male actors from Manchester English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English male child actors People educated at Rydal Penrhos Royal Shakespeare Company members English male Shakespearean actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama People educated at Bishop Luffa School