Alun Armstrong

He was born as Alan Armstrong on 17 July 1946 in a village named Annfield Plain situated in County Dunham, England. His father was a coal miner and both his parents were Methodist lay preachers.

Armstrong attended Annfield Plain Junior School and decided to pursue acting during his school days. He acted in the Shakespearean comedy ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, where he played the role of Petruchio. In 1964, he took part in the National Youth Theatre Summer School.

Since he was not accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he studied art at the Newcastle University instead. However, he was expelled after two years due to poor attendance.

For some time, he worked as a bricklayer and a gravedigger. Later, he found work as an assistant stage manager at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. He began his acting career performing in radio plays for BBC Radio 4.

Alun Armstrong’s first work on the big screen was a supporting role in the British crime film ‘Get Carter’. Directed by Mike Hodges, the film was about a gangster investigating his brother’s accidental death. Armstrong portrayed a character named Keith. The film did well commercially and eventually came to be recognized by many as one of the best British films of all time.

Over the next years, he appeared in many films, mostly in minor as well as supporting roles, the notable ones being ‘The Likely Lads’ (1976), ‘A Bridge Too Far’ (1977), ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ (1981), ‘Krull’ (1983), ‘That Summer of White Roses’ (1989), ‘White Hunter Black Blood (1990), ‘Blue Ice’ (1992) and ‘Black Beauty’ (1994).

In 1995, he appeared in the Oscar-winning epic war film ‘Braveheart’. The film, which was directed by Mel Gibson, was not only a commercial success, but also won five Oscars. Armstrong continued to appear in films, such as ‘The Saint’ (1997), ‘Strictly Sinatra’ (2001), and ‘Eragon’ (2006). Following a hiatus of a few years, he made his comeback in 2016 with a supporting role in the British film ‘Golden Years’.

Alun Armstrong mostly played guest roles and supporting roles in TV shows. He was seen in TV series, such as ‘General Hospital’ in 1972, ‘Father Brown’ in 1974, ‘Enemy at the Door in 1978, ‘Get Lost’ in 1981, and ‘This is David Lander’ in 1988. His most notable work is undoubtedly his role of an eccentric ex-detective named Brian Lane in the TV series ‘New Tricks’ which aired from 2003 to 2015.

He also appeared in several TV films, such as ‘The House’ (1984), ‘The Widowmaker (1990), ‘Breaking the Code’ (1996), and ‘This is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper’ (2000), for which he was nominated for the Royal Television Society Award. Other TV films he was seen in over the years include ‘When I’m 64’ (2004), ‘The Girls who Came to Stay’ (2006) and ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ (2012).

His most recent work on television is his role in the detective drama series ‘Prime Suspect 1973’. Armstrong portrayed a criminal named Clifford Bentley planning a bank heist.