Kristopher Marshall (born 1 April 1973) is an English actor. He has played

Nick Harper Nick Harper (born 22 June 1965) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper. Early life Harper was born in London, England, to the folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper. Nick tells of how he ...

in ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

'', Colin Frissell in the 2003 film ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

'', Gratiano in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'', and ''Murder City'' (2006–2008), and

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

in the first series of ''

Citizen Khan ''Citizen Khan'' is a British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray. It ran for five series, from 2012 to 2016. It is set in Sparkhill, South Birmingham, described by its lead character, a British Pakistani man named Mr Khan (Ray), ...

'' (2012). He played DI Humphrey Goodman in ''

Death in Paradise ''Death in Paradise'' is a crime drama, crime television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller (Series 1–3), Kris Marshall (Series 3–6), Ardal O'Hanlon (Series 6–9), Ralf Little (Series 9–13) and Don Gilet (2024 Speci ...

'' from 2014 to 2017 and reprised the role in ''Beyond Paradise'' in 2023.

Early life and education

Kristopher Marshall was born in 1973 in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Somerset. His father was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) navigator, whose career included a posting to the

Queen's Flight Air transport of the British royal family and government is provided, depending on the circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. This includes an Airbus Voyager of the Royal Air Force (RAF), No. 10 Squad ...

, eventually becoming a

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

. His parents divorced when he was 12. Marshall moved with his family to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and later to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Upon their return to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he was educated at

Wells Cathedral School Wells Cathedral School is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for 2–18 year olds located in Wells, Somerset, Wells, Somerset, England, which provides an all-round education alongside specialist music and chorister training. T ...

as a boarding pupil. After failing his initial

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

in his first year of

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

and being expelled, he worked various jobs and enrolled at the

Redroofs Theatre School Redroofs Theatre School is an independent part-time theatre training school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The school was established in 1947 in London and moved to Littlewick Green in 1964 into a house that was once the home of Ivor Novell ...

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, Berkshire.

Career

Marshall made an early career appearance on the police series ''

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 ...

'' but it was in 2000 that his major breakthrough role came as

in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

''. In 2003, he appeared in the film ''

'' as Colin Frissell, an

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the Anglo-Saxons, when they we ...

who goes to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin to find love. In 2004, Marshall appeared as DS Luke Stone in the police drama series '' Murder City''. From 2005 to 2011, Marshall appeared on TV and in print for BT Retail adverts, where he played the character Adam; with Esther Hall portraying his character's eventual wife Jane. He also played The Ginger Dave in the BBC comedy series ''

'' in 2012 but left after season 1. Since departing his full-time role in ''

'' in 2003, Marshall made guest appearances three times appearing in 2 episodes of season five in 2004 and his final appearance in a short ''

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

'' special in 2005. He finished working on the film '' Heist'' at the end of 2006, which aired in April 2008 on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. During the summer of 2008, Marshall appeared at

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

in the first UK run of

Neil LaBute Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, ''In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Film Fest ...

's play ''

Fat Pig ''Fat Pig'' is a play by Neil LaBute. The play premiered off-Broadway in 2004 and won the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play. The play had its West End premiere in 2008 and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier ...

''. He became a regular cast-member, playing the character of Ethan on the series ''

Traffic Light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

'' in 2011. In April 2013, it was announced that Marshall would be joining the cast of BBC drama ''

'' as the island's new lead detective, DI Humphrey Goodman. His character was introduced in the first episode of the third series which aired in 2014, with his first case being to solve the murder of his predecessor, DI Richard Poole (played by

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English comedian, actor and author. He rose to fame as a member of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller, with Alexander Armstrong. He is known for roles as Angus Jeremy Bough in the '' Johnny Eng ...

). In January 2017 it was leaked that Marshall would be leaving the series citing the pressures it placed upon his family and that he would be replaced by

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in ''My Hero (British TV series), My Hero'' (2000–2006), and DI Jack Moone ...

who plays DI Jack Mooney. Marshall starred as Tom Sanger in the 2015 independent British romantic comedy ''Sparks and Embers''. Marshall reprised the role of DI Humphrey Goodman from ''Death in Paradise'' in a BBC spin-off '' Beyond Paradise'', set in South

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, which first aired in February 2023.

Personal life

Marshall was hit by a car in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in 2008. The crash happened in the early hours of 28 April as he enjoyed a night out with friends in Bristol city centre. He was taken to

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...

, where a scan revealed

head injuries A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

. He made a full recovery and began his performances in the play ''

'' three weeks later as scheduled. Marshall passionately supports

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and said that a card from the club helped him through his recovery. In October 2011, Marshall was charged with failing to provide a

breath test A breath test is a type of test performed on air generated from the act of exhalation. Types include: *Breathalyzer – by far the most common usage of this term relates to the legal breath test to determine if a person is driving under the inf ...

after police stopped his car in the

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

car park in

Wells, Somerset Wells () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare, south-west of Bath, Somerset, Bath a ...

. Marshall married Hannah Dodkin in 2012 when he was 39. He and Dodkin have a son and daughter. As of December 2019 they were living in

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Theatre

Music video

* ''

Chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

'' - "No More I Sleep"

Awards

* 2002 –

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

– Best Newcomer

References

External links

*
BBC Comedy profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Kris 1973 births Living people Male actors from Bath, Somerset People educated at Wells Cathedral School British expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriates in Canada Actors educated at Redroofs Theatre School English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male Shakespearean actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors