Richard Dormer (born 11 November 1969) is an actor and playwright from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. He is best known for his roles as
Beric Dondarrion 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 ...
television 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 ...
'' and Dan Anderssen in
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...
's ''
Fortitude''.
Early life
Dormer was born into a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
family in
Portadown
Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...
, Northern Ireland. He studied at the
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 ...
school of acting in London.
After living and working in London, he returned to Northern Ireland.
Career
Stage and radio
Dormer gained recognition following his performance as Northern Irish
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
star
Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgi ...
in the 2003 play ''Hurricane'', which he wrote and starred in. Dormer won ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'' award for Best Actor in 2003. In 2004, Dormer won the ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' Best Actor Award for his performance in
Frank McGuinness
Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', '' Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and '' Dolly West's Kitche ...
's ''
Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'' and in 2005 completed a season with
Sir Peter Hall at the Theatre Royal and starred 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 ...
as Angelo in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Measure for Measure
''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623.
The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...
'', Jean in
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
's
Miss Julie
''Miss Julie'' () is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of a count in Sweden. ...
and in a production of
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
's ''
Waiting for Godot
''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...
''.
Dormer has written a number of plays including ''The Half'' and ''Gentleman's Tea Drinking Society'' which were produced through Belfast's Ransom theatre company. In 2012, Dormer was commissioned by the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...
to write a play. Set in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
in the summer of 1969, Dormer's ''Drum Belly'' gives an insight into the dark edgy underworld of New York's Irish gangsters and opened in April 2013 to mainly positive reviews and was published by
Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...
.
Dormer has provided the voices for over twenty
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
plays, documentaries and advertising campaigns. In 2020, he played the
Director of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Sky drama series, ''
COBRA
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
'', starring Robert Carlyle as the British Prime Minister.
Dormer has described his early career as difficult owing to his Northern Irish accent, which he said "everybody associated with terrorism".
He refused to play roles he described as "terrorists or thugs", which limited his opportunities in film and television, although he felt the decision to focus on stage acting had sharpened his acting skills.
Film
Following a run of film castings playing secondary characters, he was cast as the lead in the 2012 ''
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...
'' which tells the story of Northern Ireland personality and punk rock visionary
Terri Hooley. The film premièred at the 2012
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, was awarded Best Film at the
Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
film awards, best screenplay, ''Dinard'' and was nominated for the Outstanding Debut award at the 2014
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
Awards. The film was well received by critics gaining consistent reviews, most of which highlighted Dormer's performance as a strength. Dormer's portrayal of
Terri Hooley saw him nominated in the Best Actor award in the 2013
Irish Film and Television Awards
The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...
. He has since played roles in
Yann Demange
Yann Demange (born 1977) is a French film and television director of French and Algerian descent, who grew up in London. After directing the well-received television series '' Dead Set'' (2008) and ''Top Boy'' (2011), he made his directorial film ...
's critically acclaimed film ''
'71'' alongside
Jack O'Connell. In 2019, Dormer portrayed Curtis Welch, town physician of
Nome, Alaska
Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...
, in the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
film ''
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
''.
Television
Dormer has become a well known television actor, more recently playing key roles in the
Cinemax
Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box ...
drama series ''
Hunted'' and
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
's ''
Hidden''. 2012 also saw Dormer taking over the role of Lord Beric Dondarrion, known as the "Lightning Lord", the leader of the "Brotherhood Without Banners", for the third season 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 ...
''. In 2016, Dormer reprised his role as Dondarrion in the sixth season of the series and returned for the seventh season, airing in 2017 as well as the eighth and final season, airing in 2019.
Dormer is the voice of the Dad on the children's animated series ''
Lily's Driftwood Bay''. The series aired in May on the
Nick Jr. Channel
The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...
in the UK and on Sprout in the US. It also airs on
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, ...
in Ireland,
ABC Australia
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...
,
KiKa
Kika may refer to:
People
* Kika de la Garza (1927–2017), American politician
* Kika Edgar (born 1985), Mexican actress and singer
* Kika Karadi (born 1975), American contemporary artist
* Kika Markham (born 1940), English actress
* Kika M ...
in Germany,
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
in Finland, NRK in Norway,
SVT in Sweden, and
HOP!
Air France Hop, formerly branded HOP!, is a French regional airline operating flights on behalf of its parent company Air France. The airline was founded on 21 December 2012 after the merger of Airlinair, Brit Air and Régional brands. Its hea ...
in Israel. Broadcasters in Australia and the US are keeping the original voices to the series.
In 2014, Dormer began filming on Sky Atlantic's ''
Fortitude''. Described as "their most ambitious project to date", he takes the role of Sheriff Dan Anderssen and stars alongside
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of roles ranging from menacing to sophisticated, earning numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards and two Golden ...
,
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...
,
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
and ''
The Killings
Sofie Gråbøl
Sofie Gråbøl (; born 30 July 1968) is a Danish actress. She has starred in a number of films, with her breakthrough role in the 1986 Danish film '' Early Spring'', directed by Astrid Henning-Jensen, playing the lead role in the film version of ...
. ''Fortitude'' aired on 29 January 2015.
The series is set in the fictional Arctic Norwegian settlement of Fortitude. On 9 April 2015, Sky Atlantic recommissioned the show for a second series consisting of 10 episodes.
Also in 2015, Dormer starred in the BBC drama ''We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story'' as TV producer
David Croft. The comedy-drama retells the creation of the popular BBC sitcom ''
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
'' as well as the relationship between Croft and
Jimmy Perry who became successful TV comedy writers.
In 2020, Dormer appeared in the lead role of Captain
Sam Vimes of the
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is a fictional police force appearing in Terry Prattchett's Discworld series. The Watch primarily functions out of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, but some stories do include members of the watch elsewhere in the ...
in the BBC series ''
The Watch'', based on the
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a fl ...
novels by
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
. He also has played Fraser Walker,
Director of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, in two series of ''
COBRA
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
''.
In 2023, Dormer appeared as Gerald 'Gerry' Cliff in the BBC1 drama, ''
Blue Lights''.
In August 2024, it was reported that Dormer had joined the cast of the crime thriller television series ''
The Assassin''.
Personal life
He lives in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and is divorced from director
Rachel O'Riordan
Rachel O'Riordan (born 1974) is an Irish theatre director. She is the artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, London.
Early life and education
Born in Cork, Ireland to poet and novelist Robert Anthony Welch and Angela O'Riordan Welch, O ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dormer, Richard
1969 births
Male film actors from Northern Ireland
Male television actors from Northern Ireland
Living people
Male musical theatre actors from Northern Ireland
Male stage actors from Northern Ireland
Male voice actors from Northern Ireland
People from Portadown
Ulster Protestants
21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland
20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Actors from County Armagh