Tom Cullen

Tom Cullen met his partner, Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany, in Budapest, Hungary, in 2011 on the set of ‘World Without End’. They made their first public appearance together at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012. The couple live together in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Cullen was born on July 17, 1985, in Aberystwyth, a historic market town in Wales. Both his parents are writers. He has a brother named Joseph and a sister named Ruth. Despite being the son of an Irish father and an English mother, he grew up fully assimilated into the Welsh culture.

In the early years, it was music that held much of his attention. He was raised in Llandrindod Wells before moving to Cardiff at the age of 12. He studied at the Llanishen High School and later attended Central School of Speech and Drama for a year. He then enrolled at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama from where he graduated in 2009 with a First Class Honours degree in Acting.

From the very outset of his career, Tom Cullen demonstrated his natural talent for the craft. In 2006, while still a college student, he debuted on screen with the Welsh horror film ‘Daddy’s Girl’ (also known as ‘Cravings’), playing a character named Jason. The movie won the Best Film Award at the 2008 British Academy Cymru Awards.

During this period, he regularly appeared on stage as well. He performed in the productions of ‘Gorgio’ at the Bristol Old Vic, ‘Assembly’ and ‘A Good Night Out in the Valleys’ at National Theatre Wales, and ‘The Sanger’ at Sherman Cymru.

He then acted in a series of short films: ‘Watch Me’ (2008), ‘20 Questions’ (2009), and ‘Balance’ (2010). ‘Watch Me’ received a BAFTA Cymru nomination for the Best short film. In ‘20 Questions,’ he portrayed an unfaithful husband. Alternatively, he played a supportive husband in ‘Balance’.

In the ensuing years, he did three more shorts, ‘Henry’ (2012), ‘Room 8’ (2013), and ‘Trial’ (2016), with ‘Room 8’ winning BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film.

In 2010, he debuted on the small screen in the episode ‘Tokyo’ of the British docudrama ‘Banged Up Abroad’. Later, he worked in the S4C’s drama series ‘Pen Talar’.

Tom Cullen became part of the series ‘Downton Abbey’s ensemble cast in 2013, portraying the character Anthony "Tony" Foyle, the Viscount Gillingham. He is a childhood friend of Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) and later becomes her lover. To prepare for the role, he learned horse riding and how to act like an English nobleman from the early 20th century. His performance on the show was well-received by the critics and it established him as an up and coming star in the British entertainment industry.