Coinneach Iain "Kenny" Boyle (born 13 May 1984) is a Scottish actor, playwright and novelist.

Education and career

Boyle was born in

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

and grew up in Cromore. He was trained as an actor at

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

. He also holds a degree from

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

. He is the star, alongside Natalie Clark, of Ryan Hendrick's multi-award winning short film ''Perfect Strangers'' (2015) and of the same director's feature-film version

Lost at Christmas ''Lost at Christmas'' is a 2020 British romantic comedy film. It is written and directed by Ryan Hendrick and stars Kenny Boyle, Natalie Clark, Sylvester McCoy, Sanjeev Kohli, Clare Grogan and Frazer Hines. Plot Two strangers stranded in the ...

(2020). He plays the role of Detective Marvin Starke in BBC Scotland comedy sitcom

Scot Squad ''Scot Squad'' is a Scottish television mockumentary series about a fictional Scottish police force, made in a fly on the wall style. The show first aired on 27 October 2014 on BBC One Scotland. The show has aired seven series, including specia ...

(2022). He plays the role of An Dotair in BBC Alba drama An t-Eilean (2025) His plays include ''Eerie Isles'', ''Playthrough'' and ''An Isolated Incident'', and in 2021, he received a New Playwrights Award from the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. His debut radio play ''Knock of The Ban-Sithe'' was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2022 and made BBC Sounds drama of the week on the 19th Aug 2022. On 7 February 2023, Boyle, for his writing on ''Knock of The Ban-Sithe'', was named a finalist for the

Imison Award The Richard Imison Award is an award which recognises the best radio drama, generally by a writer new to the industry, and is now awarded as part of the BBC Audio Drama Awards. It was established in 1994 and commemorates the life and work of Rich ...

as part of the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2023, and shortlisted for the

Celtic Media Festival The Celtic Media Festival, formerly known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations in film, on television, radio and new media. The festival is an annual three-day celebration ...

’s award for Drama (Sound) on 17 March 2023 In 2021, he was nominated in the Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards under the following categories: The Flourish Award, The New Writing Award, The Digital Award, and Artist of The Year. His debut novel ''The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock'', about an aspiring writer from the Southside of Glasgow, was published by Lightning Books in May 2022. Inspired by

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

, the novel was written during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic after Boyle was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He has said of it: 'The book is about not wanting to grow up into what society hopes for adults to be and having that conflict of interest between your younger self and the adult you’re growing up to be.' In July 2023, the book was named a finalist in the Book Bloggers' Novel of The Year Award. In February 2022, he sought help from the public to find the inspirational primary school teacher who had made him promise to send her his first book when it was published. Twenty-six years on, he managed to find her when the story went viral on social media and was then picked up on TV, radio and in the press.

Private life

He is married to wife Claire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Kenny 1984 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland People from Stornoway Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish male novelists 21st-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors People educated at St Ninian's High School, Giffnock