Sean Harris (born 1 June 1966) is an English actor. He played

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

in '' 24 Hour Party People'' (2002), Micheletto Corella in '' The Borgias'' (2011–2013), Fifield in ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

'' (2012), Solomon Lane in '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' (2015) and '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout'' (2018), Philip in ''

Possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

'' (2018),

William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne (c. 135017 December 1419) was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Life and work Gascoigne (alternatively spelled Gascoyne) was a descendant of an ancient Yorkshire family. He was born in Gawthor ...

in '' The King'' (2019), Henry Peter Teague / Peter Morley in '' The Stranger'' (2022), and Jacob Pearce in '' Paris Has Fallen'' (2024). Harris won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role in the

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Southcliffe'' (2013) and received three consecutive nominations for the BIFA for Best Supporting Actor.

Early life and education

Harris was born on 1 June 1966 in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green 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. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

and grew up in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

, Suffolk. He attended Denes High School, now the

Ormiston Denes Academy Ormiston Denes Academy is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status located in the northern outskirts of Lowestoft in the England, English county of Suffolk. It has around 1000 students aged 11 to 16.Suffolk County Counci ...

, in Lowestoft. At 23, he moved to

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 ...

to train at the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Career

Stage

Harris was a member of the

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Citizens Theatre, where he performed in stage productions such as

Tybalt Tybalt () is a fictional character and the principal antagonist in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name ...

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

directed by Giles Havergal and as Carino in Don Juan directed by

Robert David MacDonald Robert David MacDonald (27 August 1929 – 19 May 2004) was a Scottish playwright, translator and theatre director. Early life Robert David MacDonald was born in Elgin, in Morayshire, Scotland on 27 August 1929, the son of a doctor and a toba ...

. He also appeared as Lysander in a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', directed by Matthew Lloyd at the

Haymarket Theatre (Leicester) The Leicester Haymarket Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, next to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester City Centre, Leicester City centre. History The Haymarket Theatre was opened by Ralph Richardson, Sir Ralph R ...

and as Johnny in a Nottingham Playhouse production of Angels Rave On, directed by Jonathan Church.

Television

Harris' television credits include serial killer Ian Brady, on

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 ...

's television mini-series, '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' (2006), the 2007 television films '' Wedding Belles,''

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's drama series ''

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

'' (Meadowlands in the United States) as Gordon Ormond and 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 ...

series '' Ashes to Ashes'' as Arthur Layton. In 2009, he played corrupt Detective Inspector Bob Craven in Channel 4's critically acclaimed '' Red Riding'' trilogy, and as photographer Anton Blair in Dean Cavanagh's comedy series, ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

''. In the BBC TV drama '' Five Daughters'' (2010), Harris portrayed Brian Tobin, co-founder of the drug treatment facility, The Iceni Project, based in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. In preparing to play Tobin, Harris followed the real Brian Tobin around during pre-production. From 2011 to 2013, Harris appeared as the assassin Micheletto in '' The Borgias'', a series created by

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

. In 2013, he starred as Stephen Morton in the

drama '' Southcliffe'', for which Harris won a

BAFTA 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 ...

award for Best Actor in 2014. He also played Joss Merlyn in the poorly received BBC adaptation of '' Jamaica Inn'', which became a subject of controversy and made national news over its mumbling cast and other sound problems. He appears as the disfigured former soldier turned terrorist mastermind Jacob Pearce in the 2024 French/British action thriller series '' Paris Has Fallen''.

Film

Harris played the main cast role of Thomas the Disciple, and later Thomas the Apostle in the 1999 biblical, historical, drama television film ''Jesus''. His notable roles include that of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

's lead singer

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

's 2002 film '' 24 Hour Party People'' and as Steven in the film short '' True Love (Once Removed)'', directed by Kevin Thomas. The film won Best Short Film at both the Palm Springs and Houston Film Festivals, was selected for the several international festivals, and also qualified for an Oscar nomination in 2004. Harris also played Nick Sidney in the 2005

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

Brothers of the Head A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

'', directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe. In 2007, he appeared in his first feature film lead role as Eddie in ''

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

'', directed by Greg Loftin. In 2009, he played Stretch in '' Harry Brown'', directed by Daniel Barber. In 2010, Harris appeared in another film short, '' Native Son'', written and directed by Scottish director Scott Graham. It premiered at the 2010

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 ...

. In 2012, he played Fifield in

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

's ''

''. In 2014, Harris played Mick Santino in '' Deliver Us from Evil'' (2014), directed by

Scott Derrickson Scott Derrickson (born July 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He is known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as ''The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), ''Sinister (film), Sinister'' (2012), and ''The Black Phone'' (2021). He ...

and based upon the 2001 novel "Beware the Night" by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool. He was cast by Derrickson for the film, without an interview, based upon the director had seen the actor's performance in '' Harry Brown''. That same year, he appeared as Gene Womack in Guy Myhill's '' The Goob''. Myhill previously directed Harris in two film shorts, ''Two Halftimes to Hell'' (1997) and ''The Fabulous Bilsons'' (2001). Harris finished the year with his performances as Captain Sandy Browning in '' '71'', directed by Yann Demange, for which he earned a 2014 British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he starred as Campbell in '' Serena'' (2014), directed by

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. Bier is the first female director to collectively receive an Academy Award (Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Foreign Film), a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award ...

. In 2015, Harris appeared as Solomon Lane in '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,'' directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and as Macduff in Justin Kurzel's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' earning another BIFA nomination. In 2016, he starred in the crime drama '' Trespass Against Us'', in a cast that included Michael Fassbender,

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Aw ...

, and Rory Kinnear. His performance in the film merited a third BIFA nomination in a row. Harris filmed ''

'' in 2016, a film by Matthew Holness, in which he plays the main character. He reprised his role as Lane in the sequel '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout'' (2018). In 2021, Harris portrayed Darren McGrady, the Royal Head Chef, in the film '' Spencer'', and a frail, aged King Arthur in the film '' The Green Knight''.

Music videos

Harris made a cameo appearance as a clown in a music video for the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

band the Black Sharks' debut album titled ''Lose Control'', directed by Myhill (evidently filmed at the same time as ''The Fabulous Bilsons''). In 2007, he appeared in a video for

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

's " Stop Me". In 2012, Harris appeared in London-based music group Barbarossa's video short, ''Battles'', directed by Montserrat Lombard.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Sean 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male film actors English male television actors Living people Male actors from Suffolk People from Lowestoft Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners Alumni of the Drama Centre London 1966 births People from Bethnal Green Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets