# Stanley Townsend

Stanley Townsend is an Irish actor.

## Personal life

Townsend was born and brought up in Dublin. After attending Wesley College, Dublin, he studied mathematics and civil engineering at Trinity College. While there he joined the Dublin University Players, the college's Amateur Dramatic Society. He later co-founded co-operative theatre company Rough Magic with writer/director Declan Hughes and theatre director Lynne Parker, performing in numerous productions including The Country Wife, Nightshade, and Sexual Perversity in Chicago. He subsequently went on to perform in several productions at The Gate and The Abbey Theatres in Dublin. In London, he has worked with such directors as Sam Mendes in The Plough and the Stars, Richard Eyre in Guys and Dolls and Rufus Norris in Under the Blue Sky. Theatre appearances at the Royal Court include The Alice Trilogy directed by Ian Rickson and Shining City directed by Conor McPherson, for which he won an Irish Theatre Award and was nominated for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor in 2004.

## Career

Townsend's television work began on a number of shows for RTÉ in Dublin. Since moving to London, television appearances have included Spooks, The Commander, Hustle, Waking the Dead, and Omagh Bombing.
Film credits include Mike Newell's Into the West, Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father with Daniel Day-Lewis, The Van by Stephen Frears, Peter Greenaway's The Tulse Luper Suitcases, The Libertine with Johnny Depp, Paul Morrison's Wondrous Oblivion with Delroy Lindo, John Boorman's The Tiger's Tale and Michael Radford's Flawless. He currently lives in London.

### Theatre

Townsend's work in theatre includes: Remember This, Guys and Dolls, Phedre and Happy Now? at the National Theatre, London; The Alice Trilogy, Shining City (for which he won the Irish Times Best Actor Award), Under the Blue Sky, The Weir and Tribes at the Royal Court, London; The Wake, Trinity for Two and Sacred Mysteries at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin; The Gingerbread Mix-up at St Andrews Lane, Dublin; Prayers of Sherkin at the Old Vic, London; Someone Who'll Watch Over Me at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; The Plough and the Stars at the Young Vic, London; Democracy at the Bush Theatre, London; Speed-the-Plow for Project Arts Centre, Dublin; Saint Oscar for Field Day Theatre Company, Derry; Sexual Perversity in Chicago, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Country Wife, Nightshade and The White Devil for Rough Magic, Dublin; Who Shall Be Happy...? for Mad Cow Productions, Belfast, London and tour; and 'Art' in the West End. He played Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in early 2011. His portrayal of Sims in The Nether for director Jeremy Herrin at the Royal Court Theatre in July 2014 won critical acclaim.

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Lapsed Catholic | Mickey Geraghty | TV film |
| 1987 | Fortycoats & Co. | Ranny Gazoo | |
| 1991 | Parnell and the Englishwoman | Thomas Sexton | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1992 | The Bill | Jim Kerr | Episode: "Counting the Cost" |
| 1993 | Screen Two | Anaesthetist | Episode: "The Snapper" |
| 1994 | Downwardly Mobile | Seamus | Episode: "Grapefruit and Roses" |
| 1995 | The Governor | Pete (Carpenter) | Episode: "Episode 6" |
| 1995 | Jake's Progress | Consultant | Miniseries |
| 1995 | Beyond Reason | John Horan | TV film |
| 1998 | Jonathan Creek | Detective Inspector Barrison | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Peak Practice | Keith Johnson | Episode: "Body and Soul" |
| 1998 | Ballykissangel | Micky Keeler | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | The Ambassador | DS Slater | Episode: "Getting Away with Murder" |
| 1999 | DDU: District Detective Unit | Ciaran Gregory | Episode: "The Gates of Eden" |
| 2000 | In Defence | Dr. Jack Gower | Episode: "Episode 4" |
| 2001 | Best of Both Worlds | Paddy | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Table 12 | Guido | Episode: "Opera Lovers" |
| 2001 | Station Jim | Matapan | TV film |
| 2001 | Casualty | Joe | Episode: "Dirty Laundry" |
| 2001 | Heartbeat | Igor Saukas | Episode: "Russian Roulette" |
| 2001 | The Seventh Stream | Constable | TV film |
| 2002 | Menace | Fellner | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2003 | The Commander | David Sperry | |
| 2003 | Byron | Turkish Governor | TV film |
| 2003 | Wire in the Blood | Geoffrey Markham | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Murder City | Edward De Vere | Episode: "Nothing Sacred" |
| 2004 | Fallen | Mara | |
| 2004 | The Brief | Costas Nicolaou | Episode: "So Long, Samantha" |
| 2004 | Omagh | Sam Pollock | TV film |
| 2005 | Hustle | Johnny Keyes | Episode: "Confessions" |
| 2005 | Proof | Patrick Mooney | 4 episodes |
| 2005 | Spooks | Roy Woodring | Episode: "The Book" |
| 2005 | The Virgin Queen | King Philip of Spain | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Waking the Dead | DI Bailey | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Foyle's War | Jose De Perez | Episode: "Casualties of War" |
| 2007 | Rough Diamond | Charlie Carrick | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Saddam's Tribe | Saddam | TV film |
| 2007 | Prosperity | Eamonn | Episode: "Pala's Story" |
| 2008 | He Kills Coppers | Mick | TV film |
| 2008 | Whistleblower | Michael Neary | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | The Clinic | Michael Kinsella | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | New Tricks | Don Maddox | Episode: "Shadow Snow" |
| 2010 | Ashes to Ashes | Jason Sacks | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Sherlock | Angelo | Episode: "A Study in Pink" |
| 2011 | Zen | Moscati | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2011 | The Shadow Line | Bulkat Babur | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Appropriate Adult | Syd Young | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Call the Midwife | Father Joe | Episode: "The Browne Incident" |
| 2012 | Titanic: Blood and Steel | Rex Riley | Episode: "The 'Unsinkable' Sets Sail" |
| 2012 | Coming Up | Yevgeny Sukhov | Episode: "If We Dead Awaken" |
| 2012 | Fresh Meat | John Frobisher | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Mad Dogs | Lazaro | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Burton and Taylor | Milton Katselas | TV film |
| 2013 | Toast of London | Mr. Fasili | Episode: "Vanity Project" |
| 2013 | Ripper Street | Aiden Galven | Episode: "Dynamite and a Woman" |
| 2014 | Fleming : The Man Who Would Be Bond | Colonel William Donovan | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Quirke | Inspector Hackett | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2014 | New Worlds | Colonel Blood | Miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Anatol Stolnavich | 5 episodes |
| 2015-2016 | Galavant | King of Valencia | 13 episodes |
| 2016 | The Hollow Crown | Warwick | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The Tunnel | Mike Bowden | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | The Collection | Stanley Rossi | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Redwater | Peter Dolan | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | Informer | Geoffrey Boyce | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | Finding Joy | Joy's Dad | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Rebellion | Senator Daniel Shea | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Resistance | Senator Daniel Shea | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Traitors | Henry | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 2019 | The Spy | General Ad-Din | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 2019 | Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar | Sir Constance | TV film |
| 2021 | Death in Paradise | Bruce Garrett | Episode: "Christmas in Paradise" |
| 2022 | Becoming Elizabeth | Anthony Denny | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Andor | Commandant Jayhold Beehaz | Episode: "The Eye" |
| 2022 | Dangerous Liaisons | Eduard Abbaye | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Regime | Emil Bartos | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Blackshore | Bill McGuire | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Kaos | Minos | 6 episodes |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1988 | Taffin | Les |
| 1991 | The Miracle | Washington |
| 1992 | Blue Ice | Interrogator #1 |
| 1992 | Into the West | Rico |
| 1993 | In the Name of the Father | Hooker's Driver |
| 1995 | Undercurrent | Bob Harris |
| 1996 | The Van | Health Inspector |
| 1996 | My Friend Joe | Mr. Doyle |
| 1996 | Moll Flanders | Gambler |
| 2000 | Rat | Newsreader |
| 2002 | American Girl | |
| 2003 | Wondrous Oblivion | Victor Wiseman |
| 2003 | Monsieur N | Dr. O'Meara |
| 2003 | Mystics | Mickey Mac |
| 2003 | What a Girl Wants | Bride's Father |
| 2004 | The Libertine | Keown |
| 2004 | Inside I'm Dancing | Interview Panelist |
| 2004 | Tulse Luper II | |
| 2004 | Suzie Gold | Irving Gold |
| 2005 | Isolation | Garda Hourican |
| 2005 | Dot.Kill | Captain Tommy Byrnes |
| 2006 | Nativity | Zechariah |
| 2006 | The Tiger's Tail | Jim Brady |
| 2007 | Flawless | Henry |
| 2008 | Happy-Go-Lucky | Tramp |
| 2009 | Hilde | David O. Selznick |
| 2009 | Holy Water | Inspector Brian Hogan |
| 2009 | Happy Ever Afters | Mr. Maguire |
| 2010 | 1st Night | Paolo Prodi |
| 2011 | Killing Bono | Danny |
| 2011 | Cars 2 | Vladimir Trunkov / Ivan / Victor Hugo |
| 2013 | Lovely Louise [de] | Bill |
| 2013 | One Chance | Luciano Pavarotti |
| 2013 | The Physician | Bar Kappara |
| 2014 | The Voices | Sheriff Weinbacher |
| 2016 | Florence Foster Jenkins | Phineas Stark |
| 2017 | The Current War | Franklin Pope |
| 2019 | A Girl from Mogadishu | Joe Costello |
| 2019 | The Song of Names | Gilbert Simmonds |
| 2022 | About Joan | Doug |
| 2023 | Kinked | Bulent |
| 2023 | The Teacher | Simon Cohen |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1997 | Independence War | |
| 2001 | RuneScape | Saradomin |
| 2001 | Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos | Smith |
| 2002 | Drakan: The Ancients' Gates | Various voices |
| 2004 | Powerdrome | Amran Dachs / Angul |
| 2005 | Spartan: Total Warrior | Ares |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Mad-Eye Moody |
| 2007 | The Witcher | Azar Javed |
| 2008 | WorldShift | Jack the Crank |
| 2011 | Cars 2: The Video Game | Victor Hugo |
| 2014 | Transformers Universe | Rampart |
| 2014 | Sacred 3 | Zane |
| 2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Nakmor Drack |
| 2017 | Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | Battle Narrator |
| 2018 | Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country | Battle Narrator |
| 2018 | World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth | |
| 2022 | Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Consul Triton |