Aidan Gillen

Irish actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:Irish actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Aidan Gillen** (Template:IPAc-en; born **Aidan Murphy**; 24 April 1968) is an Irish actor. He is known for his portrayal of Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series *Game of Thrones* (2011–2017), Dr. J. Allen Hynek in The History Channel's *Project Blue Book* (2019–present), Tommy Carcetti in the HBO series *The Wire* (2004–2008), Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series *Queer as Folk* (1999–2000), John Boy in the RTÉ series *Love/Hate* (2010–2011), Aberama Gold in the BBC One series *Peaky Blinders* (2017–2019), Queen's manager John Reid in *Bohemian Rhapsody* (2018), and CIA operative Bill "Big Guy" Wilson in *The Dark Knight Rises* (2012); he also hosted seasons 10–13 of *Other Voices* (2011–2016).

Gillen has won three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, and a Tony Award.

## Early life

Gillen was born in Drumcondra, Dublin. He was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Glasnevin. He began his acting career as a teenager with the Dublin Youth Theatre, playing Nick Bottom in *A Midsummer Night's Dream* at the Project Arts Centre before moving to London.

## Career

Gillen played Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 television series *Queer as Folk* and its sequel, for which he received a British Academy Television Award nomination for Best Actor. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his Broadway role in Harold Pinter's play *The Caretaker* and has also been nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for his portrayal of Teach in the Dublin Gate Theatre's 2007 production of David Mamet's *American Buffalo*.

In 2004, having been spotted by producers in *The Caretaker*, Gillen was cast as Tommy Carcetti in the acclaimed HBO series *The Wire*, for which he received an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television. In 2008, he was named an "Irish cult hero" by the *Sunday Tribune*. He appeared in the 2009 film *12 Rounds*, and in July of that year, he appeared in the one-off BBC2 drama *Freefall*. He co-starred as Phil Hendrick in the British drama *Thorne*.

In 2011, Gillen began playing Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on the HBO series *Game of Thrones*, for which he received his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination. He appeared in all seven broadcast seasons, until his character's death in the season 7 finale "The Dragon and the Wolf". He starred as cop killer Barry Weiss in the British crime-thriller *Blitz* and in the British horror film *Wake Wood*. He played crime boss John Boy in the acclaimed Irish crime-drama *Love/Hate*, for which he received his third Irish Film & Television Award nomination and second win.

In 2012, Gillen played CIA operative Bill Wilson (referred to solely as "CIA" in the film's dialogue; the character's name is revealed in the film's novelisation) in *The Dark Knight Rises*, his first role in a major Hollywood film. Gillen said he enjoyed playing the role, but preferred low-budget lead roles to blockbuster bit-parts. Gillen's character was particularly noted by some Internet circles for his supposedly awkward delivery of dialogue in the film's opening plane scene, especially by users of 4chan's /tv/ board. Thus, he subsequently became the subject of an Internet meme popular among /tv/ users known as "Baneposting", which references the dialogue between Wilson and Tom Hardy's character Bane in said scene. The same year, Gillen also starred in the British spy-drama *Shadow Dancer*, and was announced as the new host of the music show *Other Voices*.

Gillen starred in the BBC five-part thriller *Mayday* in 2013, and the Irish comedy-drama film *Calvary* the following year. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with the cast of *Game of Thrones* for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He also starred in the short film *Ekki Múkk*, created for the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment by Icelandic band Sigur Rós. Gillen also starred as Janson in the second film, *The Scorch Trials*, and third film, *Maze Runner: The Death Cure*, in the Maze Runner trilogy.

Gillen played Queen's manager John Reid in the biopic *Bohemian Rhapsody*, which was released on 2 November 2018.

Gillen currently stars in The History Channel's *Project Blue Book*. He plays Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant but under appreciated college professor who is recruited by the U.S. Air Force to spearhead an operation called Project Blue Book. He is joined by his partner, Air Force Capt. Michael Quinn as they investigate UFO sightings around the country. *Project Blue Book* was renewed for a second season in February 2019 amid strong ratings for the series, which is averaging 3.4 million viewers in L+3, making it the No. 1 new series on cable among total viewers this season.

## Personal life

Gillen married Olivia O'Flanagan in 2001. They have two children. In 2009, when Gillen won an Irish Film and Television Award for his role in *The Wire*, he dedicated the award to his wife and children, whom Gillen has stated "were a big motivation" for him. Gillen and O'Flanagan separated in 2014. Gillen's partner is singer Camille O'Sullivan.

## References

1. ↑ "IFTA winners 2012 announced". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120429103636/http://www.rte.ie/ten/2012/0212/iftas2012.html. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
2. ↑ Harris, David (2 February 2016). "Current (Aidan Gillen) and future (Richard E. Grant) Game of Thrones Actors discuss their careers". *Winter is Coming*. http://winteriscoming.net/2016/02/02/current-aidan-gillen-and-future-richard-e-grant-game-of-thrones-actors-discuss-their-careers/. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
3. ↑ Mark Lawson (2 October 2007). "'I don't mind nasty roles'", *The Guardian*. Retrieved on 3 August 2013.
4. ↑ "Aidan Gillen Tony Award". Broadwayworld. http://broadwayworld.com/tonyawardspersoninfo.php?nomname=Aidan%2520Gillen. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
5. ↑ "Theatre Awards Shortlist Announced". http://www.rte.ie/ten/2008/0114/irishtheatreawards.html. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
6. ↑ "Aidan Gillen – Nominated for TWO IFTA awards". Live Journal. http://aidangillen.livejournal.com/93324.html. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
7. ↑ Dresdale, Andrea (12 April 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Premiere: What to Expect from Season 5", Go.com.
8. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
9. ↑ "Third series of Love/Hate in development". Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120525042032/http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/1212/lovehate.html. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
10. ↑ Template:Cite book
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mottram, James (14 September 2013). "Lost soul: Aidan Gillen is taking on an existential crisis in the spiky Mister John". Retrieved on 8 February 2017.
12. ↑ "Baneposting". http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/baneposting. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
13. ↑ Broderick, Ryan (25 January 2017). "Trump Supporters And Neo-Nazis Are Using Secret Chatrooms To Harass Shia LaBeouf". BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/trump-supporters-and-neo-nazis-are-using-secret-chat-rooms-t. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
14. ↑ "Aidan Gillen has accidentally become part of a bizarre 'alt-right meme'", *The Daily Edge* (29 January 2017). Retrieved on 8 February 2017.
15. ↑ "Gillen is new Other Voices host". http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/1108/othervoices.html. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
16. ↑ "I did warn you not to trust me…". UniversityObserver. http://www.universityobserver.ie/2012/02/22/i-did-warn-you-not-to-trust-me/. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
17. ↑ "Aidan Gillen in BBC thriller Mayday". http://www.digitalspy.ie/tv/news/a378796/game-of-thrones-aidan-gillen-in-bbc-thriller-mayday.html. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
18. ↑ "Sigur Rós – Ekki múkk". *Vimeo*. http://vimeo.com/50053037. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
19. ↑ Kit, Borys (26 September 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Actor to Play Villain in 'Maze Runner' Sequel (Exclusive)" (in English). *The Hollywood Reporter*. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/game-thrones-actor-play-villain-734722. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
20. ↑ "Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander Join Cast of Queen Biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody'" (in en), *The Hollywood Reporter* (26 September 2017). Retrieved on 26 September 2017.
21. ↑ Petski, Denise; Petski, Denise (10 February 2019). "‘Project Blue Book’ Renewed For Season 2 By History – TCA". https://deadline.com/2019/02/project-blue-book-renewed-season-2-history-robert-zemeckis-tca-1202553267/.
22. ↑ "Hot off the Wire". Herald. http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/hot-off-the-wire-2238716.html. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
23. ↑ "Winners of the 6th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards". Irish Film and Television Academy. http://www.ifta.ie/winners/iftawinners2009.html. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
24. ↑ Greenstreet, Rosanna (6 May 2017). "Aidan Gillen: ‘My best kiss? Up against a caravan in County Sligo as a teenager’".
25. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
26. ↑ Carrie, Battan (24 September 2012). "Watch: New Sigur Rós Video Starring Aiden Gillen, a.k.a. Mayor Tommy Carcetti From "The Wire"". http://pitchfork.com/news/47958-watch-new-sigur-ros-video-starring-aiden-gillen-aka-mayor-tommy-carcetti-from-the-wire/. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
27. ↑ Template:Citation
28. ↑ "Faith Healer" (in en). https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/faith-healer/.
29. ↑ "MIFF Awards Winners MIFF Tour". Milan International Film Festival Awards. http://www.miff.it/mifftour.php?lang=1.
30. ↑ "Empire Hero Award". *Empireonline.com*. Bauer Consumer Media. 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714065122/http://www.empireonline.com/awards2015/winners/hero.asp. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
31. ↑ Eliahou, Maya (9 June 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016—Captain America: Civil War Leads Second Wave of Nominations". *E! Online*. http://www.eonline.com/news/771305/teen-choice-awards-2016-captain-america-civil-war-leads-second-wave-of-nominations. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
32. ↑ "Teen Choice Awards 2018: See the full list of winners". Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/awards/2018/08/12/teen-choice-awards-winners-list/. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

## External links

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* Template:IMDb name
* *The Guardian* profile, 2012

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