Murray McArthur (born 4 May 1966) is an English actor.

Early life

McArthur was born and brought up in

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 ...

. The son of a mushroom farmer, of Scottish parentage and red-haired, he often plays Scottish roles. He attended King's School,

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, w ...

, received a BA (Joint Hons) degree in English and Drama at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

and went on to study acting at the

Drama Studio London Drama Studio London (often abbreviated as DSL) is a British drama school in London. It is accredited by the Federation of Drama Schools. The principal is Emma Lucia Hands. The Drama Studio London was started in 1966 by Peter Layton. It focus ...

. He was a member of the Devon County Youth Theatre.

Career

He has appeared in many stage-plays in British regional theatres and on London's West End (including the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

and Shakespeare's Globe). Much of his stage work has taken him overseas ( Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles & Panasonic Globe Theatre, Tokyo). His performance as Joe Gargery in ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

, Dublin was described by ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' critic Bruce Arnold: "Emphasis on the heart-warming relationship between Pip and Joe Gargery is a crucial part of the story, and the blacksmith, played by Murray McArthur in the best performance of the evening, achieves this". Murray appeared as Hasten, the Viking who breaks the Doctor's sonic sunglasses, in episode '' The Girl Who Died'' of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. He also portrayed a Wildling chieftain in the fifth season episode '' Hardhome'' of 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 ...

series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

''. His character returned in the sixth season episode '' The Broken Man'' with the character name Dim Dalba. He speaks for the Wildlings of The Gift when asked by

Jon Snow (character) Jon Snow is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its HBO television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', in which he is portrayed by Kit Harington. In the nov ...

, Tormund Giantsbane,

Sansa Stark Sansa Stark, later Alayne Stone, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. Introduced in '' A Game of Thrones'' (1996), Sansa is the eldest daughter and second ...

and Davos Seaworth to join them in the battle against the forces of

Ramsay Bolton Ramsay Bolton, previously known as Ramsay Snow, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1998's ...

. Recently played Hákon Iron-Beard in

Robert Eggers Robert Houston Eggers (born July 7, 1983) is an American filmmaker who has written and directed '' The Witch'' (2015), '' The Lighthouse'' (2019), '' The Northman'' (2022), and ''Nosferatu'' (2024). His films blend elements of horror, folklore, ...

Viking revenge film The Northman, released in April 2022. Production on the film was halted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, resumed in August 2020 and finally completed in early December 2020. In 2021 McArthur was cast as 'Dad' in the British psychological thriller ''Marooned Awakening''. Principal photography took place in September 2021 on the island of

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

. The feature film premiered at the Beau Séjour Theatre on Guernsey on 3 September 2022 and will be released in the United States and Canada on streaming services on February 21, 2023. Murray plays the part of Fabian, a homeless man who lives in the ruins of the original pilgrim meeting house, in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's recently released ''

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

'' on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, where Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Addams sets Thing on him. Later on he is killed by a monster and winds up in the Jericho Morgue where Wednesday notices his missing foot.

Personal life

Married to Geraldine with two children, Orla and Freya, he lives in South East London.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

* Variety (30 March 2015)
"Game of Thrones’ Actress Maisie Williams to Guest Star on ‘Doctor Who’"
'' Variety''. Retrieved 30 March 2015. * Radio Times (12 October 2015)
"Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 5 The Girl Who Died"
''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

''. Retrieved 12 October 2015. * BBC Media Centre (30 March 2015)
"Doctor Who reveals Maisie Williams as guest star"
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

External links

*
Murray McArthur – 42pm Client
ref> {{DEFAULTSORT:McArthur, Murray English male television actors English people of Scottish descent English male film actors People from Honiton 1966 births Living people Alumni of the Drama Studio London Alumni of Loughborough University Male actors from Devon