Philip Davis (born 30 July 1953) is an English actor, writer, director and narrator. His early work as a director earned awards for ''Life’s a Gas'' (1992) and '' ID'' (1995). As an actor, he starred in ''

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...

'' (1979), '' The Bounty'' (1984), '' High Hopes'' (1988), '' The Firm'' (1989), ''

In the Name of the Father ''In the Name of the Father'' is a 1993 biographical crime drama film co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan. It is based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings that killed fo ...

'' (1993), ''

North Square ''North Square'' is a British television drama series written and created by Peter Moffat, and broadcast by Channel 4 from 18 October to 20 December 2000. Starring an ensemble cast, including Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, Helen McCrory an ...

'' (2000), ''

Vera Drake ''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal ...

'' (2004), ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'' (2005), ''

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

'' (2009–2013), '' Sherlock'' (2010), '' Brighton Rock'' (2010), ''

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

'' (2011), ''

Silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

'' (2012–2014), '' Poldark'' (2015–2016), '' Mad Dogs'' (2015–2016), ''Trying'' (2020–2024) and '' Platform 7'' (2023).

Early life

Davis was born in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, London, and brought up in South Ockendon in

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

, Essex. His father worked for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

in a soap factory and his mother was a hospital dining room supervisor. From the age of eight, he was interested in acting. After failing his

eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

, he attended Ockendon Courts County Secondary School in South Ockendon, Essex, where he was distracted in class, although he enjoyed school plays. He was also a member of both the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

and

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West ...

Career

In 1977, he was cast in the lead role of the play ''Gotcha!'' about an under-achieving student who holds two teachers hostage on his last day at school. An early film role was as Chalky, a mod who is knocked off his scooter by a rocker in ''

'' (1979). He then landed the role of midshipman Edward "Ned" Young in '' The Bounty'' (1984); co-star

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Day-Lewis, numerous a ...

later rated him as one of his greatest inspirations. He appeared in the TV series ''To Have and to Hold'' with

Amanda Redman Amanda Jacqueline Redman (born 12 August 1957) is an English actress, known for her roles as Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman in the BBC One series ''New Tricks'' (2003–2013) and as Dr. Lydia Fonseca in '' The Good Karma Hospital'' (2 ...

. He began a long association with

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

with roles including Cyril the motorcycle courier in '' High Hopes'' in 1988. In 1989, he starred opposite

Gary Oldman Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...

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 ...

's football violence based film '' The Firm'' as 'Yeti', the rival gang leader to the protagonist. In 2004, Davis played Stanley, the husband of the abortion care provider in ''

'' (2004). He portrayed the mean money lender Smallweed in the

adaptation of ''

'' (2005), and as Jeff Hope, a cab driver in the first episode of '' Sherlock'' (2010). From 2009 until 2013, Davis played a main role as DS Ray Miles in the

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

series ''

'', starring alongside Rupert Penry Jones and

Steve Pemberton Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC's ''The League of Gentlemen'' with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also ...

. In 2012, he starred as crime family solicitor Micky Joy in ''

'', then in 2015 as Jud, the malevolent servant in '' Poldark'' alongside Aidan Turner and

Eleanor Tomlinson Eleanor May Tomlinson (born 19 May 1992) is an English actress. She has appeared in films including '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' (2008), ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' (2013), ''Colette'' (2018) and '' Love Wedding Repeat'' (2020). She al ...

. From November 2017 until February 2018, Davis played

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, ''A Christmas Carol''. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by visits from the ghost of Jacob Marley, the G ...

in David Edgar's new adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' at 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 2023, Davis played a main role in the

psychological thriller '' Platform 7'', alongside actors Jasmine Jobson and Toby Regbo.

Personal life

Davis married actress Eve Matheson in Hackney,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2002. They have a daughter. Davis also has a son by a previous partner.

Filmography

Film

Television

Recording career

In 1980, Davis recorded "Blown It", which was released on the

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

-owned label The Rocket Record Company.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Phil 1953 births Living people English male film actors English film directors English male television actors English male voice actors People from Grays, Essex Rocket Records artists 21st-century English male actors 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Essex National Youth Theatre members Actors from Thurrock