Alec Newman

'Alec Newman' (qv) was born in Glasgow on the 27th of November, 1974. He joined the NYT at 17 after injury ruled out a career in soccer. There he played various roles most notably Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. Upon finishing his training at LAMDA, Newman went straight to work both on television and in the theatre, appearing in the obligatory Scots cop show _Taggart (1983)_ (qv) and playing leading roles at Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum. Playing guest leads in several of Britain's leading network shows led Newman to his debut feature the 'Taylor Hackford' (qv) produced _G:MT Greenwich Mean Time (1999)_ (qv), where he won critical acclaim for his performance. He landed the role of Paul Atreides in the Sci-fi channel mini series _Dune (2000)_ (qv) which exposed him to US audiences for the first time. Appearances on US shows such as _Angel (1999)_ (qv), _Tru Calling (2003)_ (qv) and _Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)_ (qv) would follow.Relocating to the US for a period , Alec was cast in the much sought after role of Barnabas Collins in a reboot of _Dark Shadows (2005)_ (qv) for the WB produced by 'John Wells' (qv) and led the 2004 version of _Frankenstein (2004)_ (qv) for the Hallmark Channel with 'Donald Sutherland' (qv) and 'William Hurt' (qv) This after having reprised the role of Paul Atreides in _Children of Dune (2003)_ (qv) directed by 'Greg Yaitanes' (qv). To date, Newman is the only actor to have played the Atreides role through the 3 adapted novels the character appears in.On film during the same period, he led the cast of the 'Penny Woolcock' (qv) Film 4 indie _The Principles of Lust (2003)_ (qv) and appeared in 'Stephen Fry' (qv) feature debut _Bright Young Things (2003)_ (qv). Both played at festivals around the world including Cannes, Sundance and the LIFF. He led the musical _Moonlight Serenade (2009)_ (qv) with 'Amy Adams' (qv) and in action thriller _A Lonely Place to Die (2011)_ (qv) Newman guides a doomed climbing party into the Highlands in the commercially and critically successful thriller directed by 'Julian Gilbey' (qv).Throughout his career Newman has maintained a strong presence on the London stage appearing at the Almeida, Donmar Warehouse, the National, Young Vic and Hampstead theatres among others. The 2011 Donmar production of _National Theatre Live: King Lear (2011)_ (qv) in which Newman played Edmund, toured the UK and played a six week engagement at the Brooklyn Academy in New York. In 2015's National Theatre production, Newman played the ubiquitous title role in 'TheMotherfu**er With The Hat' to universal critical acclaim, as well as consecutive appearances at the Hampstead Theatre - most recently in the new play 'Alligators' and 'Hapgood' by 'Tom Stoppard' (qv). Newman has been heavily influenced by working with directors like 'Peter Gill' (qv), 'Michael Grandage' (qv) and the late, great 'Howard Davies' (qv).TV and film work has continued in the US with series regular roles in Directv's _Rogue (2013)_ (qv) and 'Kurt Sutter' (qv) series _The Bastard Executioner (2015)_ (qv) for FX, with guest roles on _24: Live Another Day (2014)_ (qv) and _Dracula (2013)_ (qv) for NBC. In the UK he played the Head Teacher Michael Byrne for 2 seasons of the BBC prime time drama _Waterloo Road (2006)_ (qv). The character was central to the BBC1 flagship show's move to production in Scotland, where Newman met his now wife. Also for the BBC, he appeared as King Aethelred of England in _The Last Kingdom (2015)_ (qv) and in strong roles in ITV dramas _Him (2016)_ (qv) and _Fearless (2017)_ (qv).His portrayal of blind soldier Mal Walker in 'Guy Pitt' (qv) film _Greyhawk (2014)_ (qv), contributed to the film's nomination for the Michael Powell award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and led to Newman's association with the Blind Veterans UK charity. He took an ambassadorial role as a result of the charity's assistance in his preparation for the film, and helped to promote their work with visually impaired former servicemen and women.More recently he has worked with 'Tomas Alfredson' (qv) on _The Snowman (2017)_ (qv) and 'Amma Asante' (qv) on _Where Hands Touch (2018)_ (qv). He appeared as the villainous Pavel Kuragin in Season 7 of HBO's _Strike Back (2010)_ (qv) and will recur in Season 4 of _Unforgotten (2015)_ (qv) on ITV.He also regularly lends his voice to video games including _Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (2015)_ (qv), _Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017)_ (qv) , and _Hitman (2016)_ (qv). He has voiced numerous commercials, audio books and documentaries including _Natural World (1983)_ (qv).He is a keen supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and aside from work and family, his great passion is the beautiful game. To keep in shape, he enjoys running and swimming. He has traveled to Nepal on two occasions to trek through the Himalayan region, indulging his fascination with the mountains.He lives in Surrey with his wife 'Heather Newman' (qv) and their daughter.::Ray Jones