Brendan Coyle - wikipedia Brendan Coyle Brendan Coyle David Coyle ( 1962 - 12 - 02 ) 2 December 1962 ( age 55 ) Corby, Northamptonshire, England Occupation Actor Years active 1992 -- present Brendan Coyle ( born David Coyle ; 2 December 1962 ) is a British actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for The Weir in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries North & South, Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford, and more recently Mr Bates, the valet, in Downton Abbey, which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Anderson Shelter Productions 6 References 7 External links Early life Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire, to an Irish father and Scottish mother. Due to his British birth and Irish parentage, he holds dual British and Irish citizenship. He is a great - nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby. He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the United Kingdom in 1983. Career Brendan Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson 's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production. In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama, True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins in North & South for the BBC. From 2008 he played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes 's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle, and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA, as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. He also won three Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013 - 16. Coyle also played the character of Terry Starling in the short - lived Sky comedy series Starlings. Personal life Coyle divides his time between London and Norfolk. Filmography Year Film Role Notes 1992 Fool 's Gold : The Story of the Brink 's - Mat Robbery Det Sgt Benwell TV movie 1992 The Bill Chris Bailey TV series ( 1 episode : `` Radio Waves '' ) Ailsa Miles Butler 1995 The Glass Virgin Manuel Mendoza TV mini-series 1995 Dangerfield David Walsh TV series ( 2 episodes ) Silent Witness Liam Slattery TV series ( 2 episodes ) Thief Takers D.S Bob `` Bingo '' Tate TV series ( 16 episodes ) 1997 The Last Bus Home Steve Burkett 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies Leading Seaman - HMS Bedford 1998 Soft Sand, Blue Sea Gerry 1998 The General UVF Leader 1998 Happy Birthday To Me short 1999 I Could Read the Sky Francie 2000 McCready and Daughter Donal McCready TV movie 2000 Paths to Freedom Jeremy Fitzgerald TV series ( 6 episodes ) 2001 Rebel Heart Michael Collins TV mini-series 2001 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Richard Tey TV series ( 1 episode : `` A Great Deliverance '' ) 2001 The Bombmaker George McEvoy TV movie 2001 Conspiracy SS Maj Gen Heinrich Müller TV movie 2001 Mapmaker Robert Bates 2002 Rockface Douglas McLanaghan TV series ( 7 episodes ) 2003 Waking the Dead Martin Corgan TV series ( 2 episodes ) 2003 Single Paul TV series Amnesia D.C Ian Reid TV movie Omagh D.S John White TV movie North & South Nicholas Higgins TV mini-series ( 4 episodes ) 2005 Allegiance Michael Collins 2005 The Jacket Damon 2005 Shameless Father Polish TV series ( 1 episode : `` Episode # 2.4 '' ) 2005 Jericho Christie TV series ( 3 episodes ) 2005 The Ghost Squad Sgt Ralph Allan TV series ( 1 episode : `` Heroes '' ) 2006 The Commander : Blacklight Carl Dirkwood TV movie 2006 Soundproof D.I. Dave Cox TV movie 2006 Offside Duncan Miller 2006 Prime Suspect : The Final Act D.C.S Mitchell TV movie 2006 Perfect Parents Ed TV movie 2007 The Mark of Cain Davey Gulliver 2007 Wedding Belles Priest TV movie 2007 The Good Samaritan Lewis Farrell TV movie 2007 Damage Aidan Cahill TV movie 2007 True Dare Kiss Kaz Sweeney TV series ( 6 episodes ) 2008 Lark Rise to Candleford Robert Timmins TV series ( 31 episodes : 2008 - 2010 ) 2009 Inspector George Gently Patrick Donovan TV series ( 1 episode : `` Gently in the Night '' ) 2009 Perrier 's Bounty Jerome 2009 Blue Murder Derek Jowell TV series ( 2 episodes ) 2010 -- 2015 Downton Abbey John Bates TV series ( 52 episodes : 2010 -- present ) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated - BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series ( 2012 ) 2011 The Raven Reagan 2012 -- 13 Starlings Terry Starling TV series 2014 Noble Gerry Shaw Feature Film 2015 Spotless Nelson Clay TV series 2015 Murdoch Mysteries Mr. Rankin TV series ( 1 episode : `` A Merry Murdoch Christmas '' ) 2016 12 Monkeys Dr. Benjamin Kalman TV series ( 1 episode : `` Year of the Monkey '' ) 2016 Me Before You Bernard Clark Feature film 2016 The Rising Augustine Birrell Announced 2016 Bare Mick `` The Irish Hammer '' Short 2017 Requiem Kendrick TV series 2018 Mary Queen of Scots Post-production Anderson Shelter Productions In July 2014, Brendan Coyle and Joy Harrison formed Anderson Shelter Productions Limited. with the mission to `` find talented young filmmakers and then helps fund their short films. '' On 14 September 2014, Coyle announced via Twitter his involvement with Council Child Production 's short film, Starcross. # Title Release date Notes Refs. Starcross ( short film, Council Child Productions ) 000000002014 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2014 Associate Producer The Loneliest Time ( short film, Time Bomb Pictures Ltd. ) 000000002015 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2015 Associate Producer Bare ( short film, Council Child Productions ) 000000002016 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2016 Executive Producer Margie 's Garden ( short film, Council Child Productions ) 000000002016 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2016 Executive Producer Emerald City ( feature film, Colin Broderick ) 000000002016 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2016 Associate Producer References ^ Jump up to : Paddock, Terri ( 16 January 2006 ). `` 20 Questions With... Brendan Coyle ''. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Jump up ^ `` Olivier Winners 1999 ''. Retrieved 1 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` True Dare Kiss : Brendan Coyle interview '' ( Press release ). BBC Press Office. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Jump up ^ `` Downton Abbey characters at PBS ''. Retrieved 2 February 2011. Jump up ^ `` Anderson Shelter Productions Limited ''. Endole UK Company Insights. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Brendan Coyle : Farewell Downton Abbey, Hello Spotless and More ! ''. Parade. Retrieved 10 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Brendan Coyle on Twitter ( 14 September 2014 ) ''. Twitter. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Starcross ''. British Films Directory. British Council. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Loneliest Time Kickstarter ''. Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Brendan Coyle on Twitter ( 20 May 2015 ) ''. Twitter. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Bare ( 2016 ) - Full Cast & Crew ''. IMDb. Retrieved 26 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Bare - Our Supporters ''. Margie 's Garden. Retrieved 26 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Margie 's Garden ( 2016 ) - Full Cast & Crew ''. IMDb. Retrieved 18 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Margie 's Garden - Thank you to our backers ! ''. Margie 's Garden. Retrieved 22 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hollywood Shows Its Support for Emerald City ''. Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 September 2015. External links Brendan Coyle Fansite Brendan Coyle on IMDb Awards for Brendan Coyle Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role 1977 -- 1984 Actor Nigel Hawthorne ( 1977 ) Robert Eddison ( 1978 ) Patrick Stewart ( 1979 ) David Threlfall ( 1980 ) Joe Melia ( 1981 ) David Healy ( 1982 ) Alan Devlin ( 1983 ) Edward Petherbridge ( 1984 ) Actress Mona Washbourne ( 1977 ) Elizabeth Spriggs ( 1978 ) Doreen Mantle ( 1979 ) Suzanne Bertish ( 1980 ) Gwen Watford ( 1981 ) Anna Massey ( 1982 ) Abigail McKern ( 1983 ) Marcia Warren ( 1984 ) 1985 -- 1990 Merged Imelda Staunton ( 1985 ) Paul Jesson ( 1986 ) Michael Bryant ( 1987 ) Eileen Atkins ( 1988 ) Michael Bryant ( 1989 / 1990 ) 1991 -- 1995 Actor David Bradley ( 1991 ) Oleg Menshikov ( 1992 ) Julian Glover ( 1993 ) Joseph Mydell ( 1994 ) Ken Stott ( 1995 ) Actress Sara Crowe ( 1991 ) Frances de la Tour ( 1992 ) Barbara Leigh - Hunt ( 1993 ) Helen Burns ( 1994 ) Dora Bryan ( 1995 ) 1996 -- 2002 Actor Trevor Eve ( 1997 ) Roger Allam ( 2000 ) Ben Daniels ( 2001 ) Toby Jones ( 2002 ) Actress Deborah Findlay ( 1997 ) Patricia Hodge ( 2000 ) Essie Davis ( 2001 ) Marcia Warren ( 2002 ) Merged Simon Russell Beale ( 1996 ) Sarah Woodward ( 1998 ) Brendan Coyle ( 1999 ) 2003 -- 2009 Merged Essie Davis ( 2003 ) Warren Mitchell ( 2004 ) Amanda Harris ( 2005 ) Noma Dumezweni ( 2006 ) Jim Norton ( 2007 ) Rory Kinnear ( 2008 ) Patrick Stewart ( 2009 ) 2010 -- present Actor Eddie Redmayne ( 2010 ) Adrian Scarborough ( 2011 ) Richard McCabe ( 2013 ) Jack Lowden ( 2014 ) Nathaniel Parker ( 2015 ) Mark Gatiss ( 2016 ) Anthony Boyle ( 2017 ) Bertie Carvel ( 2018 ) Actress Ruth Wilson ( 2010 ) Michelle Terry ( 2011 ) Nicola Walker ( 2013 ) Sharon D. Clarke ( 2014 ) Angela Lansbury ( 2015 ) Judi Dench ( 2016 ) Noma Dumezweni ( 2017 ) Denise Gough ( 2018 ) Merged Sheridan Smith ( 2012 ) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2010 : Boardwalk Empire, season 1 Antonacci Buscemi Coleman Graham de la Huerta Laciura Macdonald Mol Palladino Piazza Pitt Shannon Sparks Stuhlbarg Weiner Whigham 2011 : Boardwalk Empire, season 2 Buscemi Chianese Clohessy Coleman Cox J. Gallina L. Gallina Graham Huston Laciura Lind Macdonald D. McTigue R. McTigue Mol B. Noon C. Noon O'Rourke Palladino Pennewill Piazza Pitt Shannon Sparks Stuhlbarg Van Wagner Whigham Williams Yusef 2012 : Downton Abbey, series 2 Bonneville Boyle Carmichael Carter Coyle Dockery Findlay Finneran Froggatt Glen Howes James - Collier Leech Logan McGovern McShera Nicol Nuttall Robb Smith Stevens Wilton 2013 : Breaking Bad, season 5, part II Bowen Brandt Cranston Crawford Fletcher Fraser Gunn Metzler Mitte Norris Odenkirk Paul Plemons Quezada Rankin Sane 2014 : Downton Abbey, series 4 Bonneville Carmichael Carter Coyle Dockery Doyle Froggatt James James - Collier Leech Logan McGovern McShera Milne Robb Smith Speleers Theobold Wilton 2015 : Downton Abbey, series 5 Bonneville Carmichael Carter Cassidy Coyle Dockery Doyle Froggatt James James - Collier Leech Logan McGovern McShera Nicol Ovenden Smith Wilton 2016 : Stranger Things, season 1 M.B. Brown Buono Chrest Dyer Harbour Heaton Keery Matarazzo McLaughlin Modine Morgan Reynolds Ryder Schnapp Steger Wolfhard 2017 : This Is Us, season 1 / season 2 Baker Breckenridge S.K. Brown Chavis Hartley Herman Jones Metz Moore Sullivan Ventimiglia Watson Zeile Complete list ( 1994 -- 1999 ) ( 2000 -- 2009 ) ( 2010 -- present ) BIBSYS : 7048013 BNE : XX5653801 BNF : cb170514266 ( data ) GND : 1019943696 ISNI : 0000 0003 9862 3937 LCCN : no2002088270 SUDOC : 190255684 VIAF : 262518677 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brendan_Coyle&oldid=833163353 '' Categories : 1963 births Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts English male film actors English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent English male stage actors English male television actors Living people People from Corby Actors from Northamptonshire Laurence Olivier Award winners 20th - century English male actors 21st - century English male actors Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from January 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Use dmy dates from August 2016 Use British English from August 2016 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia تۆرکجه Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Português Русский Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 March 2018, at 00 : 42. 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Question: actor who plays john bates in downton abbey
Answer: Brendan Coyle