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

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in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

dramas ''

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

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

Vikings Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for playing Robert F. Kennedy in '' RFK'' (2002), won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for his role as Senator Wesley Smith in '' Fellow Travelers'' (2023), and won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor (TV) for his role as Ralph Wigram 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

'' (1994), '' The Wings of the Dove'' (1997), '' Pandaemonium'' (2000), '' The Chronicles of Riddick'' (2004), ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'' (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 national or ethnic 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 ethnic natio ...

''.

Early life

Roache was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, the son of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' actor William Roache and actress Anna Cropper. Roache was educated at Bishop Luffa School in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, West Sussex, and at Rydal School in

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

north Wales North Wales ( ) 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, with Snowdon ...

. He studied acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

Career

From 1973 to 1975, Roache appeared in ''Coronation Street'' as 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 opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. In the 1990s, Roache began a career in films while remaining active in television and on stage. In 1994 he took a leading role in

Antonia Bird Antonia Jane Bird, FRSA (27 May 1951 – 24 October 2013Kate Hardi"Antonia Bird obituary" ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2013) was an English producer and director of television drama and feature films. Career In 1968, at the age of 17, Bird beg ...

's ''

''. In 1997, he starred opposite

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

in the film '' The Wings of the Dove''. In 2001, he won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor, for his performance as

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

in the

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

directed film '' Pandaemonium'' alongside

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...

. In 2005, he played

Thomas Wayne Dr. Thomas Wayne, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayn ...

, father of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, in ''

''. On television he played Executive Assistant District Attorney

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 Lawrence Cunningham, the other son of Ken, in ''Coronation Street''. The following month, Roache was cast in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

pilot ''The Miraculous Year''. In April 2011, Roache was cast as the lead in the ITV miniseries ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', 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, King of Wessex. He starred in seasons seven and eight of the TV series ''

'' as David Wellington in 2017–2019. Since then, he starred as Senator Wesley Smith on Showtime's

-winning miniseries '' Fellow Travelers''.

Personal life

After appearing in 1994's ''Priest'' and ''Seaforth'', Roache took a break from acting. He stayed in India for 18 months, where he discovered meditation. He married actress

Rosalind Bennett Rosalind Sophia Bennett (born 13 May 1966) is an English former stage and television actress. Bennett was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and trained at The Drama Centre, she went on to a number of stage, television and screen roles. Her film app ...

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 af ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, in 2002.

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected theatre

* Tom Wingfield in '' The Glass Menagerie'' 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 three ...

. Directed by Ian Hastings at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (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, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

''. Directed by James Macdonald at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1993)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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