Aidan McArdle is an Irish character actor. He is known for being a series regular in shows such as '' Beautiful People'' (2008-2009), '' Garrow's Law'' (2009-2011), and '' Mr Selfridge'' (2014-2015).

Early life and education

Aidan McArdle was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He attended Terenure College, later studying for an arts degree at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. He went on to study at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 London ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

Career

Theatre

McArdle's work with 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 ...

includes the title role in ''

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 ...

'' and the role of Puck in ''

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 ...

''. He also appeared in the title role of a stage adaptation of

John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American and Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of his fourth novel '' Th ...

's '' A Prayer for Owen Meany'' by Simon Bent at London's

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in 2002, along with the role of Joseph Surface in Deborah Warner's 2011 '' The School for Scandal'' at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

Film

His first foray into the Hollywood film industry was as Slannen, an elf who secretly aspires to be a lawyer, in the 2004 movie '' Ella Enchanted''.

Television

McArdle is well known for his numerous television roles, the majority of which are period roles. He played a number of roles in biographical TV films. These roles include Dudley Moore in the 2004 television movie '' Not Only But Always'';

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

in the 2005 biography ''Einstein's Big Idea'' (aka ''E=mc²''); and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

in the 2005 production ''Riot at the Rite''. In 2009 he appeared as a supporting character, Jewish anarchist Saul Landau, in an episode of the BBC TV series '' Casualty 1909''. McArdle starred in '' Garrow's Law'' as John Silvester, and in the comedy television series '' Beautiful People'' (2008–09) as Andy Doonan. In the British period drama '' Mr Selfridge'' about the founder of the department store Selfridges, he played Lord Loxley, who becomes an arch-enemy to Harry Selfridge. Another prominent role was as a defence lawyer in '' The Fall''. From 2022, he appeared in the ITV series '' Ridley''.

Personal life

McArdle married actress Aislín McGuckin and they have three children. They later divorced. He is a cousin of

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McArdle, Aidan Living people 21st-century Irish male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Alumni of University College Dublin Irish male actors Irish male film actors Irish male radio actors Irish male Shakespearean actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Male actors from County Dublin Royal Shakespeare Company members People educated at Terenure College Year of birth missing (living people)