Peter Harness
Encyclopedia
Peter Harness is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. He grew up in Hornsea
, East Yorkshire and attended Oriel College, Oxford where he studied English and graduated with a first. He is a former president of the Oxford Revue. He was one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, 2007 and is a recipient of the Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award. He lives in Malmö, Sweden
.
) and later at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh and the Trafalgar Studios, London. The text is published by Nick Hern Books.
In 2005, he adapted the M.R. James short story "A View From A Hill" for BBC4. It was the first in a new annual series of BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas
. Harness went on to write several other single films for BBC4, including a biopic of Frankie Howerd, Rather You Than Me, starring David Walliams
and Rafe Spall, which was part of the Curse of Comedy season, as well as the Spanish Flu
drama, The Forgotten Fallen
, starring Bill Paterson, Mark Gatiss
and Charlotte Riley
, which dealt with the efforts of a medical team in Manchester to combat the disease in 1918.
Harness has worked on several successful crime series. City of Vice
, starring Ian McDiarmid
and Iain Glen, was shown on Channel Four to critical acclaim. Harness (along with co-writer Clive Bradley) was nominated for a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Series. In 2011, he adapted Kate Atkinson's
novel When Will There Be Good News as part of the BBC1 series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs
as private detective Jackson Brodie. Harness's episodes of the series won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Television Drama, 2011. He is also the writer of the upcoming third series of the BBC's Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh
. The new series will comprise three films: The Dogs of Riga
, Before the Frost
, and a new story developed by Henning Mankell
and Harness and called An Event in Autumn.
His first original screenplay, Is Anybody There? was filmed by award-winning Irish director John Crowley
in 2007. The movie, set in an old people's home, stars Michael Caine
, David Morrissey
, Anne-Marie Duff
and Bill Milner. It was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2008, and released theatrically across Europe and the US in 2009. Harness was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for the film.
He has also been active in the Malmö
theatre community as part of the theatre group Teater Insite both as an actor and a writer.
Hornsea
Hornsea is a small seaside resort, town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail.-Overview:According to the 2001 UK Census, Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
, East Yorkshire and attended Oriel College, Oxford where he studied English and graduated with a first. He is a former president of the Oxford Revue. He was one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, 2007 and is a recipient of the Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award. He lives in Malmö, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Career
Mongoose, his first original stage play, was performed at the Southwark Playhouse in 2003 (directed by Thea SharrockThea Sharrock
Thea Sharrock is an award-winning English theatre director. In 2001, when at age 24 she became artistic director of London's Southwark Playhouse, she was the youngest artistic director in British theatre....
) and later at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh and the Trafalgar Studios, London. The text is published by Nick Hern Books.
In 2005, he adapted the M.R. James short story "A View From A Hill" for BBC4. It was the first in a new annual series of BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas
A Ghost Story for Christmas
A Ghost Story for Christmas is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and later revived in 2005 on BBC Four. With one exception, the original instalments are directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and the films are all shot on 16 mm...
. Harness went on to write several other single films for BBC4, including a biopic of Frankie Howerd, Rather You Than Me, starring David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
and Rafe Spall, which was part of the Curse of Comedy season, as well as the Spanish Flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
drama, The Forgotten Fallen
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen is a 2009 television drama. It deals with Dr James Niven's attempts to deal with the 1918 flu pandemic in Manchester. Its screenplay was written by Peter Harness and it starred Bill Paterson as Niven, along with Mark Gatiss, Kenneth Cranham and Charlotte Riley. It...
, starring Bill Paterson, Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
and Charlotte Riley
Charlotte Riley
Charlotte Riley is an English actress. She is best known for her role Sarah Hurst in Easy Virtue and as Catherine Earnshaw in ITV's adaptation of Wuthering Heights.-Personal life:...
, which dealt with the efforts of a medical team in Manchester to combat the disease in 1918.
Harness has worked on several successful crime series. City of Vice
City of Vice
City of Vice is a British historical crime drama television series set in Georgian London and was first screened on 14 January 2008 on Channel 4. It is produced by Touchpaper Television part of the RDF Media Group. The series mixes fiction with fact following the fortunes of the famous novelist...
, starring Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
and Iain Glen, was shown on Channel Four to critical acclaim. Harness (along with co-writer Clive Bradley) was nominated for a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Series. In 2011, he adapted Kate Atkinson's
Kate Atkinson
Kate Atkinson MBE is an English author.She was born in York, and studied English Literature at the University of Dundee, gaining her Masters Degree in 1974. She subsequently studied for a doctorate in American Literature. She has often spoken publicly about the fact that she failed at the viva ...
novel When Will There Be Good News as part of the BBC1 series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
as private detective Jackson Brodie. Harness's episodes of the series won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Television Drama, 2011. He is also the writer of the upcoming third series of the BBC's Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
. The new series will comprise three films: The Dogs of Riga
The Dogs of Riga
The Dogs of Riga is a Swedish detective mystery by Henning Mankell, set in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It is the second book of the Kurt Wallander series, and was translated into English by Laurie Thompson.- Plot introduction:...
, Before the Frost
Before the Frost
Before the Frost is a novel by Swedish crime-writer Henning Mankell.The main protagonist is Linda Wallander, daughter of Inspector Wallander...
, and a new story developed by Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell is a Swedish crime writer, children's author, leftist activist and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Life and career:...
and Harness and called An Event in Autumn.
His first original screenplay, Is Anybody There? was filmed by award-winning Irish director John Crowley
John Crowley (director)
John Crowley is an Irish television, theatre and film director. He is perhaps best known for his feature film debut Intermission .-Education:Crowley earned a B.A. in philosophy from University College Cork.-Career:...
in 2007. The movie, set in an old people's home, stars Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, David Morrissey
David Morrissey
David Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
, Anne-Marie Duff
Anne-Marie Duff
Anne-Marie Duff is an English actress best known for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.-Early life:...
and Bill Milner. It was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2008, and released theatrically across Europe and the US in 2009. Harness was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for the film.
He has also been active in the Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
theatre community as part of the theatre group Teater Insite both as an actor and a writer.