Lorcan Cranitch (born 28 August 1959) is an Irish actor. 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 ...

, Lorcan Cranitch became involved in drama while a student. In 1980 he moved to London, where he trained at

RADA 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 Lond ...

Career

His first major role on British television was as Tim Healy in the 1991

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 ...

drama series '' Parnell and the Englishwoman''. It was as the troubled DS Jimmy Beck in ''

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

'' (1993-1995) that he became a familiar face to viewers. Following ''Cracker'' he returned to the BBC in a part specially written for him, as Sean Dillon in ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural comm ...

''. In 2001 he starred in the short-lived drama series '' McCready and Daughter'', taking on a role originally intended for his former ''Ballykissangel'' co-star, Tony Doyle, who died shortly before the series was due to be filmed. He appeared in several other British television dramas, including ''Deacon Brodie'' (with

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

), ''Shackleton'' (as

Frank Wild John Robert Francis Wild (18 April 1873 – 19 August 1939) was an English sailor and explorer. He participated in five expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, for which he was awarded the Polar Medal ...

) with

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

, ''Omagh'', ''Hornblower'' (with

Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; ; born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his roles in film and television series in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Gruffudd became known for his portrayal of Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' ( ...

), ''The Street'', '' Waking the Dead'', '' Spooks'', ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'' and ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

''. In 2005 he took a villainous role 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 ...

production of ''

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

'', as the underworld baron Erastes Fulmen. In the 2009 BBC drama ''Best: His Mother's Son'', he played Dickie Best, the father of footballer

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

. He also appeared in ''

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 ...

'' playing DCI Frank Keane. Lorcan briefly appeared as DI Littlejohn in the Sky Atlantic series ''Fortitude''. On film he has appeared in ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal, Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He re ...

'' with

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

, ''The Playboys'' and ''Titanic Town''. He played Melvin in "

" "Communal Living" (S5:E7), 2008. In 2011 he appeared as Liam Cullen in “The Gift of Promise”, (S5:E4) of ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

''. He appeared in the BBC series ''Death in Paradise'' (S5:E7), 2016. In 2017 he played Assistant Chief Constable Nicholls in the first part of the final series of the BBC drama ''

Inspector George Gently ''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a British crime drama television series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector Gently ...

'', (S8.E1) He has combined this with stage work with The Royal National Theatre,

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, Strat ...

, Donmar West End, The Abbey and The Gate Theatre in Dublin. In February 2021, Cranitch took a lead role as Detective Chief Superintendent Jackie Twomey in the

crime drama series ''

Bloodlands ''Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin'' is a 2010 book by Yale historian Timothy Snyder. It is about mass murders committed before and during World War II in territories controlled by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In this book, ...

''.

Personal life

Cranitch attended secondary school at

Terenure College Terenure College is a Carmelite-run secondary school located in the suburb of Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1860 and had an associated primary school until 2017. It is one of the "big six" Leinster Schools Rugby-playing ...

. Cranitch was married to Susan Jackson, a journalist and newsreader with

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. They adopted an Ethiopian child in 2010."Lorcan's biggest role", independent.ie, 8 May 2011
Accessed 7 Nov 2014 The couple separated in 2016. His sister, Ellen Cranitch, is a regular presenter on Lyric FM, RTÊ's classical music station.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cranitch, Lorcan 1959 births Living people Irish male television actors Male actors from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art People educated at Terenure College