# John Noble

John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Denethor in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), and Dr. Walter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013). His other television credits include the supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow (2013–2017) and the police procedural Elementary (2015–2019).
Noble has also lent his distinctively deep voice to animated and video game projects, most notably as Leland Monroe in Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire (2011), Unicron in the animated series Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), and Scarecrow in the DC Comics game Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).

## Career

Noble's early acting career started in theater throughout the 1970s and 1980s. For 10 years, he was an artistic director for the Stage Company of South Australia. Noble was a Trustee of the Adelaide Festival Centre and chairman of the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. In 1979, he starred in Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In 1984, Noble received a nomination by South Australian Premier John Bannon, for the Young Australian of the Year award.
Noble at age 40 made his film debut in the 1988 horror film The Dreaming.
He made occasional appearances on the television series All Saints. His performance as Denethor, son of Ecthelion, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy resulted in his becoming better known to international audiences. He played Russian Consul Anatoly Markov in the sixth season of the US television series 24.
He won awards when starring as eccentric scientist Walter Bishop in the television series Fringe for 5 seasons (2008–2013). Noble played Morland Holmes, father of Sherlock Holmes, in Elementary. He was a series regular for season 4 with guest appearances in seasons 6 and 7.
Noble has also done voice acting, usually portraying villains. He voiced the Dragon Spirit in M. Night Shyamalan's film The Last Airbender (2010), appeared as Real Estate tycoon Leland Monroe in Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire (2011), and provided the voice for Unicron in the animated series Transformers: Prime and its conclusion film Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising. Noble also voiced the Diviner in the 2021 animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. In 2024, he played an alternate version of the Diviner called Ilthuran.
Noble has done voice-over work for numerous DC Comics projects, including the animated film Superman: Unbound (2013) as the supervillain Brainiac, the video game Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) as the primary antagonist Scarecrow, and the television series Legends of Tomorrow as the demon Mallus. Additionally, Noble appeared as himself in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Guest Starring John Noble".
On February 21, 2025 Noble made his debut on season two of the Apple TV+ show Severance in the sixth episode, titled "Attila," playing the role of a character named Cecil Fields. Fields is a homosexual man who is married to Christopher Walken's character, Burt Goodman, who is often identified as "Burt G."

## Personal life

Noble divides his time between residences in New York City and Sydney, Australia, with wife Penny Noble. They have three children, including actress Samantha Noble. In 2011, Noble's hobbies were reported to be "music, painting, and narration". He studies theoretical physics and requested that the writers of Fringe always keep things grounded in what could be scientifically feasible.
In 2012, Noble was diagnosed with osteoporosis. His charity, Noble Bones, helps to raise awareness of the disease.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | The Dreaming | Dr. Richards | |
| 1989 | A Sting in the Tale | Prime Minister's minder | |
| 1990 | Call Me Mr. Brown | Sergeant | |
| 1993 | The Nostradamus Kid | General Booth | |
| 2000 | The Monkey's Mask | Mr. Norris | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Denethor | Seen only in the Extended Edition |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Denethor | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
| 2004 | Fracture | Howard Peet | |
| 2006 | One Night with the King | Prince Admantha | |
| 2006 | Running Scared | Ivan Yugorsky | |
| 2006 | Voodoo Lagoon | Ben | |
| 2010 | Risen | Eddie Thomas | |
| 2010 | The Last Airbender | Dragon Spirit | Voice Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble (shared with the entire cast) |
| 2013 | Superman: Unbound | Brainiac | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2014 | The Mule | Pat Shepherd | |
| 2021 | The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | Father Kastner | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | Police Rescue | Sergeant | Episode: "Hostage" |
| 1993 | Time Trax | Mr. Michaels | Episode: "One on One" |
| 1997 | Big Sky | Graham James | Episode: "Future Past and Present" |
| 1998 | Water Rats | Dr. Harry | Episode: "Epiphany" |
| 1998–2004 | All Saints | Dr. John Madsen | 32 episodes |
| 1999 | Airtight | Sorrentino | Television film |
| 2000 | Tales of the South Seas | Christian Ambrose | Episode: "Trent in Love" |
| 2000 | Virtual Nightmare | Dad | Television film |
| 2001 | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World | Inspector Robert Anderson | Episode: "The Knife" |
| 2001 | The Bill | Commander Warren | Episode: "Beech on the Run" |
| 2001–2006 | Home and Away | Dr. Helpman | 9 episodes |
| 2002 | Young Lions | Adam Gallagher | 4 episodes |
| 2002 | Stingers | Michael Kranz | Episode: "Disgraceful Conduct" |
| 2002 | The Outsider | Fergus Hunter | Television film |
| 2004 | The Mystery of Natalie Wood | Irving Pichel | Television film |
| 2002 | Superfire [it] | Paul Baylis | Television film |
| 2006 | Stargate SG-1 | Meurik | Episode: "Camelot" |
| 2007 | Journeyman | Wine Connoisseur | Episode: "Winterland" |
| 2007 | The Unit | The CEO | Episode: "Pandemonium – Part 2" |
| 2007 | 24 | Anatoly Markov | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Pirate Islands: The Lost Treasure of Fiji | Blackheart | 13 episodes |
| 2008–2013 | Fringe | Walter Bishop / Walternate | 100 episodes Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2008–09) Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television (2010, 2012–13) |
| 2011–2012 | Dark Matters: Twisted But True | Himself | 16 episodes |
| 2011 | Transformers: Prime | Unicron | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2013 | The Good Wife | Matthew Ashbaugh | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising | Unicron | Voice, television film |
| 2013–2017 | Sleepy Hollow | Henry Parrish | 22 episodes |
| 2013 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Edward Stanley | Episode: "Murder Under The Mistletoe" |
| 2014 | Rake | Clayton Post | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Devil's Playground | Bishop McNally | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Forever | Aubrey Griffin | Episode: "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" |
| 2015–2019 | Elementary | Morland Holmes | 16 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Legends of Tomorrow | Mallus, himself | 7 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Salvation | Nicholas Tanz | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | The Librarians | Monsignor Vega | Episode: "And the Dark Secret", season 4 |
| 2018 | The Blacklist | Raleigh Sinclair III | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Resident | Elliot Festervan | Episode: "Broker and Broker" |
| 2020 | Hunters | Frederic Hauser | Episode: "The Pious Thieves" |
| 2020 | The Boys | Sam Butcher | Episode: "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" |
| 2021 | Debris | Otto | Episode: "Celestial Body" |
| 2021–2024 | Star Trek: Prodigy | The Diviner/Ilthuran | Voice; 28 episodes |
| 2021 | Cowboy Bebop | Caliban | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Totally Completely Fine | Wilkinson | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Fired on Mars | Falco | Voice; episode: "Marsiversary" |
| 2024 | Twilight of the Gods | Odin | Voice role |
| 2025 | Severance | Fields | Season 2 |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role |
| 2009 | The Saboteur | Bishop |
| 2011 | L.A. Noire | Leland Monroe |
| 2013 | Infinity Blade III | The Worker of Secrets |
| 2015 | Batman: Arkham Knight | Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow |

## Other work

* Artistic Director of Stage Company of South Australia 1977–1987
* Head of Drama, Brent St. School of Arts (Sydney) 1997–2000

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2003 | National Board of Review | Best Cast | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| 2004 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Cast | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| 2004 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Cast | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| 2004 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Cast | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Nominated |
| 2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| 2008 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2009 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2010 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Fringe | Won |
| 2011 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Fringe | Won |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2012 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2013 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2016 | 15th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards | Performance in a Drama, Supporting (as "Scarecrow") | Batman: Arkham Knight | Nominated |