Andrew Tiernan
Encyclopedia
Andrew James Tiernan is an English
actor.
and moved to London
in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren
. His theatre work has included Joe Penhall
's The Bullet at the Donmar Warehouse
, and a long-term collaboration with the Tony
-nominated director Wilson Milam
, including Ché Walker
's Flesh Wound at the Royal Court Theatre
and two critically acclaimed productions of Sam Shepard
plays; A Lie of the Mind
at the Donmar Warehouse
and True West
at the Bristol Old Vic
. In 2008, Tiernan returned to the theatre in Dorota Maslowska
's "A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians" at the Soho Theatre
.
in Derek Jarman
's controversial film of Christopher Marlowe
's Edward II
in 1991, after appearing in Lynda La Plante
's award-winning drama Prime Suspect. In the same year, he went on to star as Orlando and Oliver in Christine Edzard
's version of Shakespeare's As You Like It
playing alongside actors James Fox
and Cyril Cusack
.
He played Szalas in Roman Polanski
's film The Pianist
.
He has also worked with Antonia Bird
on a number of improvisational film productions, including Safe (Bafta
- Best single drama), Face
, Rehab and Spooks
.
Tiernan starred in Zack Snyder
's 300
, an adaptation of the Frank Miller
graphic novel, in which he portrays Ephialtes of Trachis. Filming took place from October 2005 - January 2006 in Montreal
. To portray Ephialtes, Tiernan dressed in full body prosthetics which took 10 hours each day to complete.
He appeared at Captain Martin Stone in Marko Mäkilaakso's Stone's War
. In 2009 he completed work on two films, both reuniting him with directors he had previously worked with. The first was Mr. Nice with director Bernard Rose in which Tiernan plays Alan Marcuson. The second was Freight with director Stuart St. Paul.
in the episode "To Say I Love You". In 1997 played Banquo in Shakespeare adaptation for BBC (MacBeth on The Estate) alongside James Frain and Susan Vidler. In 1998, in the British TV series Hornblower
, he played Bunting in the second episode, "The Examination For Lieutenant". Other credits in television include Victor Carroon in The Quatermass Experiment
, Kim Trent in Life on Mars
and Lenny Spearfish in the BBC TV series Jonathan Creek (2004) 'The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish'. In 2005, he played Ben Jonson
in A Waste of Shame
, a William Shakespeare
biopic presented as part of the BBC
's ShakespeaRe-Told
series. He appeared in an episode of crime drama Midsomer Murders as Steve Bright, a photography enthusiast who is strangled with his own camera strap. And more recently starred in Casualty directed by Will Sinclair.
Also recently made an appearance in the new 9.00pm time slot of The Bill starring as Craig Middleton.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor.
Theatre
Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth TheatreBirmingham Youth Theatre
The Birmingham Youth Theatre was founded in 1971 in Birmingham, England by local teachers Derek Nicholls and Ray Speakman, and was based at the Midlands Arts Centre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre...
and moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren
Yat Malmgren
Yat Malmgren was a Swedish dancer and acting teacher, born in Gävle, Sweden to Gustaf Sigurd Eriksson and Signe Emma Maria Malmgren....
. His theatre work has included Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter.Born in London, his first major play was Some Voices for the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award. It has twice been revived off Broadway...
's The Bullet at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, and a long-term collaboration with the Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-nominated director Wilson Milam
Wilson Milam
Wilson Milam is an American theatre director from Bellevue, Washington. He is a founding member and Artistic Director of The Hired Gun Theatre Company....
, including Ché Walker
Ché Walker
Ché Walker is an English actor, playwright, theatre director and teacher at the Identity Drama School.Walker lives in Camden in London and his play The Frontline deals with street life outside Camden Town tube station....
's Flesh Wound at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
and two critically acclaimed productions of Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
plays; A Lie of the Mind
A Lie of the Mind
A Lie of the Mind is a play written by Sam Shepard, first staged at the off-Broadway Promenade Theater on 5 December 1985. The play was directed by Shepard himself with stars Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Frankie, Geraldine Page as Lorraine, and Will Patton as Mike...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
and True West
True West (play)
True West is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard. Like most of his works it is inspired by myths of American life and popular culture. The play is a more traditional narrative than most of the plays that Shepard has written.-Plot:...
at the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
. In 2008, Tiernan returned to the theatre in Dorota Maslowska
Dorota Maslowska
Dorota Masłowska is a Polish writer and journalist.Masłowska was born on 3 July 1983 in Wejherowo, and grew up there. She applied for the University of Gdańsk's faculty of psychology and was accepted, but left the studies for Warsaw, where she joined the culture studies at the Warsaw University...
's "A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians" at the Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
.
Film
Tiernan played Piers GavestonPiers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...
in Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
's controversial film of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's Edward II
Edward II (film)
Edward II is a 1991 film directed by Derek Jarman, starring Steven Waddington, Tilda Swinton and Andrew Tiernan. It is based on the eponymous play by Christopher Marlowe...
in 1991, after appearing in Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series....
's award-winning drama Prime Suspect. In the same year, he went on to star as Orlando and Oliver in Christine Edzard
Christine Edzard
Christine Edzard is a film director, writer, and costume designer. She is best known for her critically acclaimed film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel, Little Dorrit , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay...
's version of Shakespeare's As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
playing alongside actors James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
and Cyril Cusack
Cyril Cusack
Cyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
.
He played Szalas in Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's film The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
.
He has also worked with Antonia Bird
Antonia Bird
Antonia Bird is an English television drama and feature film director.-Life and career:Bird was born in London. She began her career at the Royal Court Theatre before moving to television in the mid 1980s, directing episodes of EastEnders , Casualty , and drama serials like Thin Air and The Men's...
on a number of improvisational film productions, including Safe (Bafta
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
- Best single drama), Face
Face (1997 film)
Face is a British crime drama directed by Antonia Bird and written by Ronan Bennett. It stars Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn.-Plot Summary:...
, Rehab and Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
.
Tiernan starred in Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...
's 300
300 (film)
300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
, an adaptation of the Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
graphic novel, in which he portrays Ephialtes of Trachis. Filming took place from October 2005 - January 2006 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. To portray Ephialtes, Tiernan dressed in full body prosthetics which took 10 hours each day to complete.
He appeared at Captain Martin Stone in Marko Mäkilaakso's Stone's War
Stone's War
"War of the Dead" is an upcoming action / horror film written and directed by Finnish director Marko Mäkilaakso and starring Andrew Tiernan, Mikko Leppilampi, Jouko Ahola, Samuli Vauramo, Andreas Wilson, Mark Wingett, and Antti Reini....
. In 2009 he completed work on two films, both reuniting him with directors he had previously worked with. The first was Mr. Nice with director Bernard Rose in which Tiernan plays Alan Marcuson. The second was Freight with director Stuart St. Paul.
TV
In 1993, Tiernan appeared in the series CrackerCracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
in the episode "To Say I Love You". In 1997 played Banquo in Shakespeare adaptation for BBC (MacBeth on The Estate) alongside James Frain and Susan Vidler. In 1998, in the British TV series Hornblower
Hornblower (TV series)
Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
, he played Bunting in the second episode, "The Examination For Lieutenant". Other credits in television include Victor Carroon in The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment (2005)
The Quatermass Experiment was a 2005 live remake of the 1953 TV series of the same name by Nigel Kneale.-Production:The remake was commissioned as part of a "TV on Trial" season being run by BBC Four, examining past television trends and productions...
, Kim Trent in Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
and Lenny Spearfish in the BBC TV series Jonathan Creek (2004) 'The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish'. In 2005, he played Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
in A Waste of Shame
A Waste of Shame
A Waste of Shame is a 90-minute television drama on the circumstances surrounding William Shakespeare's composition of his sonnets. It takes its title from the first line of Sonnet 129...
, a William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
biopic presented as part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told is the umbrella title for a series of four television adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays broadcast on BBC One during November 2005. In a similar manner to the 2003 production of The Canterbury Tales, each play is adapted by a different writer, and relocated to the present day...
series. He appeared in an episode of crime drama Midsomer Murders as Steve Bright, a photography enthusiast who is strangled with his own camera strap. And more recently starred in Casualty directed by Will Sinclair.
Also recently made an appearance in the new 9.00pm time slot of The Bill starring as Craig Middleton.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Two Deaths | ||
| 1996 | The Sculptress | ||
| 1997 | Snow White: A Tale of Terror Snow White: A Tale of Terror Snow White: A Tale of Terror is a 1997 horror film based on the Snow White fairy tale. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill and Monica Keena. The original music score is composed by John Ottman... |
||
| Face Face (1997 film) Face is a British crime drama directed by Antonia Bird and written by Ronan Bennett. It stars Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn.-Plot Summary:... |
|||
| Playing God Playing God (film) Playing God is a 1997 film directed by Andy Wilson. It stars David Duchovny , Timothy Hutton, and Angelina Jolie.-Plot:... |
|||
| MacBeth on The Estate | Banquo | BBC TV film | |
| 1998 | The Scarlet Tunic | ||
| Hornblower Hornblower (TV series) Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.... |
TV Series | ||
| 1999 | The Criminal | ||
| 2000 | Small Time Obsession | ||
| 2001 | Mr In-Between Mr In-Between Mr In-Between is a 2001 British crime drama film based on the novel of the same title by English novelist Neil Cross... |
||
| The Bunker The Bunker (2001 film) The Bunker is a 2001 horror film directed by Rob Green, written by Clive Dawson and starring Jason Flemyng.-Plot:In late 1944 the remnants of a platoon of German Panzergrenadiers from the Großdeutschland Division are caught in an Ambush by American troops. In their retreat, they find a bunker,... |
|||
| 2002 | The Pianist The Pianist (2002 film) The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman... |
||
| The Red Siren The Red Siren The Red Siren is a 2002 French criminal thriller film based upon the novel by same name by Maurice G. Dantec film directed by Olivier Megaton from a script by Olivier Megaton, Alain Berliner, Norman Spinrad, and Robert Conrath.-Plot:... |
|||
| 2003 | Rehab | ||
| 2004 | Whose Baby? Waking the Dead (2004) Episode: Anger Management |
||
| Jonathan Creek | Lenny Spearfish - episode:The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish | (BBC TV) | |
| 2005 | The Quatermass Experiment The Quatermass Experiment (2005) The Quatermass Experiment was a 2005 live remake of the 1953 TV series of the same name by Nigel Kneale.-Production:The remake was commissioned as part of a "TV on Trial" season being run by BBC Four, examining past television trends and productions... |
||
| The Rotters' Club | |||
| 2006 | Snuff-Movie | ||
| 2007 | 300 300 (film) 300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant... |
Ephialtes | |
| 2008 | Stone's War Stone's War "War of the Dead" is an upcoming action / horror film written and directed by Finnish director Marko Mäkilaakso and starring Andrew Tiernan, Mikko Leppilampi, Jouko Ahola, Samuli Vauramo, Andreas Wilson, Mark Wingett, and Antti Reini.... |
Post production | |
| Survivors Survivors (2008 TV Series) Survivors is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC. It depicts the lives of a group of people who survived a virulent strain of heretofore unknown influenza which has wiped out most of the human race... |
|||
| 2009 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
TV Series | |
| Harvest Harvest Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper... |
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| Mr Nice | |||
| Murderland Murderland Murderland is a three part British television series created by David Pirie and directed by Catherine Morshead. The series also marks a return to ITV for Robbie Coltrane... |
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| The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... |
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| 2010 | Dead Cert | Chekha | |
| Freight | |||
| Rough Cut Rough Cut Rough Cut is a 1980 American heist film directed by Don Siegel. The screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart, based upon the novel by Derek Lambert.-Plot:... |
|||
| Whitechapel Whitechapel (TV series) Whitechapel is a three-part British television drama series produced by Carnival Films, which first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and which dealt with the murders of Jack the Ripper.... |
Steven Dukes | TV Series | |
| 2011 | Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
Purcell | Night Terrors Night Terrors (Doctor Who) "Night Terrors" is the ninth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 3 September 2011.-Synopsis:... |