Joseph Michael Cole (born 28 November 1988) is an English actor. Some of his most notable roles include Luke in '' Skins'', John Shelby in ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

'', Marzin and Beckwith in '' Secret in Their Eyes'', Billy Moore in '' A Prayer Before Dawn'', Frank in the ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...

'' episode " Hang the DJ", Sean Wallace in '' Gangs of London'', and Iver Iversen in '' Against the Ice''.

Early life and education

The oldest of five boys, Joe Cole was born 28 November 1988 and grew up in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

in London. His younger brother is actor Finn Cole, who starred alongside him in ''Peaky Blinders''. He attended Hollyfield Secondary School in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

Career

Cole's acting career began when he was accepted into the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

. He obtained his first roles in a one-night show in the West End, on ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'', and then in roles on stage at the Bush Theatre's sell-out ''School Season''. In the 2010s, he wrote a comedy series with

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

. From 2013 to 2017, Cole starred as John Shelby in the historical crime drama ''Peaky Blinders''. In 2017, he starred in a season 4 episode of Charlie Brooker's ''Black Mirror'', earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. For his role as Billy Moore in ''A Prayer Before Dawn'', Cole won Best Actor at the 2018

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * English male television actors Living people English male film actors Male actors from London Actors from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 21st-century English male actors National Youth Theatre members 1988 births People from Kingston upon Thames {{England-actor-stub