Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell
[''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com] (born 9 July 1982) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''
Dead Man's Shoes'' (2004), ''
Control'' (2007), ''
RocknRolla
''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven and ...
'' (2008), ''
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2010), ''
War Horse'' (2011), ''
Wrath of the Titans
''Wrath of the Titans'' is a 2012 action fantasy film and a sequel to the 2010 film '' Clash of the Titans''. The film stars Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Édgar Ramírez, Toby Kebbell, Danny Huston, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Ne ...
'' (2012), ''
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'' (2014), ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' (2015), ''
Warcraft
''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...
'' (2016), ''
A Monster Calls'' (2016), ''
Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to:
Fiction
*'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace
** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899
** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...
'' (2016), and ''
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
'' (2016). He is also known for his work in the ''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...
'' episode "
The Entire History of You" (2011) and starred in the second film of the
MonsterVerse
The Monsterverse (also stylized as MonsterVerse) is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other characters owned and created by Toho, Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise consists of five films and two tel ...
film series, ''
Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and the
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...
series ''
Servant
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...
'' (2019–2023)
Bloodshot (2020) and ''
For All Mankind'' (2023–2024).
Early life
Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
, Yorkshire, but grew up in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
where he attended The Grove School (now the
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades.
It was the first school in New Jersey to offer the International Ba ...
) in
Balderton. He was brought up by his mother, Michelle (née Mathers), a cook and landscape gardener, and his father, Robert Kebbell, an engineer
from
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. He was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and attended a Catholic primary school.
Kebbell trained in acting at the
Central Junior Television Workshop
The Television Workshop, formerly known as the Central Junior Television Workshop, is a British organisation that offers training for young people in performance skills for television, film, radio and theatre. Open to anybody between the ages of 7 ...
in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
along with
Andrew Shim and
Vicky McClure
Vicky Lee McClure (born 8 May 1983) is an English actress, model and presenter. She is known for her roles as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC series ''Line of Duty'' (2012–2021) and Lol Jenkins in Shane Meadows's film '' This Is ...
.
Career
Kebbell's first movie appearance was as Anthony, a young man with a learning difficulty, in the
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015).
Meadows' other films inc ...
directed ''
Dead Man's Shoes''. He was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the
British Independent Film Awards 2004
The 7th British Independent Film Awards, held on 30 November 2004 and hosted by Richard Jobson (television presenter), Richard Jobson, honoured the best British independent films of 2004 in film, 2004. For the second year in succession, the awa ...
The same year, Kebbell appeared in
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
's ''
Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
'' and
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
's ''
Match Point''.
In 2007, Kebbell played
Rob Gretton
Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ra ...
, the manager 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 ...
in
Anton Corbijn
Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...
's award-winning biopic of
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 ...
, ''
Control'',
for which his performance won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the
British Independent Film Awards 2007.
He was also nominated for the
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2007 Best Supporting British Actor Award.

In December 2007, Kebbell took the lead in an episode of season 2 of
Jimmy McGovern
James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...
's
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 ''
The Street'',
which subsequently won the BAFTA for Best Drama series. His other work for the BBC included a modern retelling of ''
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 ...
''
alongside
James McAvoy
James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor and director. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his film career began. His notable television work inclu ...
, while his theatre roles included spells at the
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...
in
David Hare's reworking of
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...
's ''Enemies''
and at the Playhouse in
R.C. Sherriff's classic, ''Journey's End''.
In September 2008, Kebbell was featured in ''
RocknRolla
''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven and ...
'' (winner of the
Empire Award for Best British Film
The Empire Award for Best British Film was an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine Empire (film magazine), ''Empire'' to honour the best British film of the previous year. The Empire Award for Best British Film was one of ...
),
written and directed by
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films.
Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...
,
alongside actors
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (5 February 1948 – 30 December 2023) was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well ...
,
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...
and
Thandiwe Newton
Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton ( ), is a British actress. She has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for two Golden Globe ...
. Kebbell played a heroin-addicted musician, Johnny Quid,
for which he was nominated for
BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award of the
2009 BAFTA Awards,
an award voted for by the public. Kebbell was also nominated for the
Empire Award for Best Newcomer
The Empire Award for Best Newcomer (formerly known as Best Debut) was an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine ''Empire'' to honor a director with a breakthrough film or an actor who has delivered a breakthrough performan ...
,
but lost out to his friend
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is a British actress. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature-film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' (2007). She p ...
.
Kebbell appeared in the 2009 film ''
Cheri'', directed by
Stephen Frears
Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...
, in which he took a small role alongside
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...
. He filmed in
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and London with
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...
for ''
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time''.
In 2011, Kebbell played a leading role in "
The Entire History of You",
the finale of the first series of
Charlie Brooker
Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
's
anthology series
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...
'',
which was written by
Jesse Armstrong
Jesse David Armstrong (born 13 December 1970) is a British screenwriter and producer. Known for writing for a string of several critically acclaimed British comedy series as well as satirical dramas, he has received numerous accolades includin ...
.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...
has since bought the rights to adapt the script for a forthcoming film.
In 2014, Kebbell took over the role of
Koba in the sequel ''
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes''.
Kebbell played the Marvel antagonist,
Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...
, in the 2015 ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' film, and an orc, Durotan, in the 2016 ''
Warcraft
''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...
''.
He played Jack Chapman in the monster film ''
Kong: Skull Island'' (2017), while also providing guidance for
Kong's motion capture sequences.
Acting credits
Film
Television
Video games
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kebbell, Toby
1982 births
British male film actors
English expatriate male actors in the United States
Living people
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
Male actors from West Yorkshire
Male actors from Nottinghamshire
Actors from Pontefract
British male television actors
British male voice actors
Male motion capture actors