# Paul Ready

Paul John Ready (born 1977) is a British actor. In 2009 he played Dr Milligan in Doc Martin S4 ep5. In 2013–2014, he played Lee in Utopia. In 2016, he played Kevin in Motherland. In 2018, he played the role of Rob MacDonald in the BBC television series Bodyguard, and Harry Goodsir in AMC's The Terror. In 2019, Ready played journalist Nick Caplan in the BBC television series MotherFatherSon. His film credits include The Death of Stalin. He received a commendation at the 2003 Ian Charleson Awards.

## Early life

Ready was born in Birmingham and grew up in Harborne. He attended King Edward VI Five Ways school in Bartley Green, after which he trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His first acting performance was in a primary school production of The Willow Pattern. In secondary school, he would go on school trips to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit the theatre.

## Career

At the age of 17, Ready played Romeo in the National Youth Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, opposite Rosamund Pike as Juliet.
He is a regular at the National and Royal Court theatres. Past apearances have included leading parts in Major Barbara and Saint Joan (both plays by George Bernard Shaw) and Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley. His West End credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which starred Christian Slater. In 2018 he starred as the titular character in Macbeth at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2018), opposite his wife Michelle Terry as Lady Macbeth. Of his role as Macbeth the Financial Times said: "Ready is a rare bird in that he has an actorly way with oratory, but instead of keeping us at a distance from his character, it clarifies nuances and levels and paradoxically allows us in deeper." In 2020, he and Terry returned to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse as Petruchio and Biondello respectively in The Taming of the Shrew, which had to close early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between January 31 and April 19 2025 he will star in Chekhov's Three Sisters as Aleksandr Vershinin, once again alongside Terry.
Also appearing on television, Ready received notability in 2013 for his role in the television show Utopia. He is best known for his role as the special adviser to Keeley Hawes’ Home Secretary in the BBC series Bodyguard and Kevin in the BBC series Motherland.
In 2018 he featured as Harry Goodsir, one of the lead roles in The Terror, a 10-part series based on Dan Simmons' best-selling novel, for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award. Vanity Fair said of his performance: "Ready’s character is the heart of the show: despite the various calamities that have befallen him and his comrades, he still sees hope."

## Personal life

Ready is married to actress and writer Michelle Terry, whom he met in Shakespeare's Globe 2009 production of Love's Labour's Lost. They have one daughter.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Angels and Insects | Tom | |
| 2000 | Doctors | Terry Hyde | Episode: "Confidential Information" |
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Student Doctor | |
| 2001 | Princess of Thieves | Sheriff's servant | |
| 2001 | Poirot | William | Episode: "Evil Under the Sun" |
| 2002 | Plain Jane | Clerk | |
| 2002 | Heartbeat | Henry Harrison | Episode: "A Girl's Best Friend" |
| 2002 | Tipping the Velvet | Renter Alice | TV mini-series |
| 2002 | Jeffrey Archer: The Truth | Paul McCartney | |
| 2004 | Life Begins | Mark | Episode: "Maggie & Phil" |
| 2004 | Blackpool | Will | Episode 1.3 |
| 2005 | Twisted Tales | Phil | Episode: "Death Metal Chronicles" |
| 2005 | Born and Bred | Abel Marl | Episode: "The Great Leap Forward" |
| 2005 | Pierrepoint | Anthony David Farrow | |
| 2005 | Trial & Retribution | Harry Cranley | Episode: "The Lovers: Part 1" |
| 2006 | Holby City | Leon Harris | Episode: "Yesterday Once More" |
| 2006 | Dresden | William | |
| 2008 | The Gravity of Belief | Mr. Bumpkin | Short film |
| 2008 | Pulling | Mike | Episode 2.2 |
| 2011 | Silk | Tony Paddick | Episode: "All Plain Sailing" |
| 2012 | Private Peaceful | Captain Wilkins | |
| 2013 | One Wrong Word | Tony | Short film |
| 2013 | The Tunnel | Benji Robertson | |
| 2013–2014 | Utopia | Lee | |
| 2013–2016 | Ripper Street | Frederick Treves | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Cuffs | DI Felix Kane | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | The Complete Walk: Richard III | Second Murderer | Short film |
| 2016 | The Circuit | Danny | TV movie |
| 2016 | The Witness for the Prosecution | Tripp | |
| 2016–2022 | Motherland | Kevin Brady | |
| 2017 | Fortitude | Mark Devlin | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Beside Himself | Devlin | Short film |
| 2017 | The Death of Stalin | NKVD Officer Delov | |
| 2018 | Endeavour | Sebastian Fenix | Episode: "Quartet" |
| 2018 | Bodyguard | Rob | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | The Terror | Harry Goodsir | |
| 2019 | Our Liam of Lourdes | Toby | Short film |
| 2019 | MotherFatherSon | Nick Caplan | 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Muse | Aderman | Short film |
| 2020 | Flack | Damien Paulson | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | The Dig | James Reid Moir | |
| 2022 | The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself | Soul O'Brien | |
| 2023 | Capture | Dad | Short film |
| 2023 | Heart of Stone | Max Bailey | |
| 2024 | Mandy | Cooper | Episode: "Destination: Dundee" |
| 2024 | A Gentleman In Moscow | Petrov | |
| 2024 | Bring Them Down | Gary | |
| † | All That Glitters | Shakespeare | |
| † | Kafka's Appraisal | Franz Kafka | Short film |

## Radio

| Year(s) | Title | Role | Station | Notes |
| 2011 | A Tale of Two Cities | Syndey Caton | BBC Radio 4 | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Twelfth Night | Orsino | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2013 | Imo and Ben | Benjamin Britten | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2013 | Sword of Honour | Guy Crouchback | BBC Radio 4 | 7 episodes |
| 2014 | The Once and Future King | Arthur | BBC Radio 4 | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Master and Margarita | Master | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2015 | The Pumpkin Eater | Jake Armitage | BBC Radio 4 | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | Home Front | Johnnie Marshall | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 2022 | He Do The Wasteland In Different Voices | The Poet | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2022 | Jason's Mates | Ernest Montague | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 2023 | Christmas Miracle on Brighton Pier | William McFadden | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 2025 | The History of Mr Polly | Alfred Polly | BBC Radio 4 | 2 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year(s) | Title | Role | Theatre |
| 1999 | The Beggar's Opera | Filch | Wilton’s Music Hall |
| 2000 | Cuckoos | Tito | Gate Theatre |
| 2001 | Twelfth Night | Sebastian | Liverpool Playhouse |
| 2001/2 | Mother Clap's Molly House | Martin | Lyttelton Theatre |
| 2002 | Romeo and Juliet | Mercutio | Liverpool Playhouse |
| 2002 | Crazyblackmuthafuckin'self | Colin | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2003 | Black Milk | Levchick | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2003 | Terrorism | Various | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2003 | The Comedy of Errors | Dromio of Syracuse | Bristol Old Vic |
| 2003/4 | World Music | Tim/Young Geoff | Donmar Warehouse |
| 2004 | Forty Winks | Charlie | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2005 | Romance | Bernard | Almeida Theatre |
| 2006 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Billy Bibbit | Garrick Theatre |
| 2006 | Waves | Neville | National Theatre |
| 2007 | Attempts on Her Life | Various | National Theatre |
| 2007 | Saint Joan | Dauphin | National Theatre |
| 2008 | Major Barbara | Adolphys Cusins | National Theatre |
| 2009 | Love's Labour's Lost | Don Armado | Shakespeare's Globe |
| 2009 | The Pillowman | Michal | Curve Theatre |
| 2009 | Time and the Conways | Alan Conway | National Theatre |
| 2009 | Three More Sleepless Nights | Pete | National Theatre |
| 2010 | London Assurance | Charles Courtly | National Theatre |
| 2011 | Wastwater | Mark | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2011 | A Woman Killed with Kindness | John Frankford | National Theatre |
| 2011/12 | Noises Off | Tim Allgood | The Old Vic |
| 2012/13 | In the Republic of Happiness | Bob | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2014 | Black Comedy | Brindsley | Chichester Festival Theatre |
| 2014 | Much Ado About Nothing | Benedick | Royal Exchange, Manchester |
| 2015 | Measure for Measure | Angelo | Young Vic |
| 2018/19 | Macbeth | Macbeth | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse |
| 2020 | The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse |
| 2020 | Macbeth: A Conjuring | Macbeth | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse |
| 2022 | King Lear | King Lear (cover) | Shakespeare's Globe |
| 2022 | The Contingency Plan | Chris Casson | Crucible Theatre |
| 2023 | Twelfth Night: For One Night Only | Sir Andrew Aguecheek | Shakespeare's Globe |
| 2024 | The Duchess (of Malfi) | The Cardinal | Trafalgar Theatre |
| 2025 | Three Sisters | Aleksandr Vershinin | Sam Wanamaker Playhouse |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2019 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film | The Terror | Nominated |