Profile of Actor Robert Carlyle
Scottish Star of Trainspotting, Full Monty and 24: Redemption
Jan 7, 2009
Robert Carlyle was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1961, and brought up by his painter/decorator father Joseph. He shot to fame globally thanks to a dynamic, but scarily close to the bone, performance as Begbie in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. Carlyle had already cut his acting chops playing another frighteningly convincing psychopath Albie, in a bravura episode of Cracker.
At the time (1994), Cracker was the best programme on British TV, with an excellent ensemble cast and the great screen writer Jimmy McGovern steering the ship. For Carlyle to come into such a well oiled machine as Cracker and shake it to the very foundations was indicative of just how impressive an actor he is.
From Cracker to Hamish Macbeth - Robert Carlyle, an Actor with Range
Amazingly, after breathing life into Begbie and Albie, two of the most repellent characters ever to grace the screen, Carlyle managed to sidestep being typecast. He plays cute and funny just as easily as dark and troubled. Bobby Carlyle can imbue any character with a lived-in-the-skin sense of realism. Be it the fair-minded, upstanding village police officer and occasional hash smoker Hamish Macbeth, or the down-on-his luck steel worker turned male stripper Gaz from The Full Monty. There's not many actors with a range so wide and varied.
Robert Carlyle's first role of note was Stevie, the lead in Riff Raff. Ken Loach, one Britain's foremost social realist directors, crafted Riff Raff with the power to make audiences laugh and cry. Sometimes simultaneously, such as when Stevie attends his mother's funeral and cack-handedly disperses her ashes all over the assembled mourners. Carlyle balances the fine line between humour and tragedy with ease, never making anything look contrived, always conveying emotions without words.
Robert Carlyle's Career, Family and Friends
Carlyle has worked with an array of talented actors and directors, building up relationships that can be traced through his career. Fellow Glaswegian David Hayman, who's probably most recognisable as DCSI Mike Walker from Trial and Retribution, is a name that regularly crops up alongside Carlyle's. Hayman cast Carlyle in an early film of his, Silent Scream, and then directed him in The Bill. Hayman and Carlyle have acted together in Flood, and Hayman has directed Carlyle on stage in the theatrical works Nae Problem and No Mean City. Presumably they are friends, but as Carlyle is such a very private person it's hard to be specific. Carlyle is married, to Anastasia Shirley, whom he met working on Cracker. (She was a make-up artist). They have three children, Ava, Harvey and Pearce, but Carlyle works hard to avoid press attention. He keeps his private life private.
Antonia Bird, Irvine Welsh and The Meat Trade Film
Carlyle also has links with director Antonia Bird, having appeared in many of her films and founded a production company, Four Way Pictures, with her. He famously prepared for his role as a homeless drunk in Bird's Safe by living rough in Waterloo, London. Bird also cast Carlyle in Priest (written by Cracker's Jimmy McGovern), Face and Ravenous. She is currently working with him again on the upcoming film The Meat Trade. The Meat Trade is based on the stories of Burke and Hare, 19th century procurers of cadavers for medical experimentation. The screenplay, by Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, updates this gruesome tale of Edinburgh body-snatching for a modern audience. Welsh has also indicated that certain characters from Trainspotting might make an appearance in The Meat Trade.
Other Important Roles in Robert Carlyle's Career – From Bond to 24
Carlyle is a hard-working actor with an ever-expanding CV. It's worth recapping his role as Bond baddie Renard in The World Is Not Enough, as it marks a certain career pinnacle even if the film wasn't the greatest. Robert also re-united with Ken Loach for Carla's Song, and has worked with other leading British film directors, notably Alan Parker for Angela's Ashes, Shane Meadows for Once Upon a Time in the Midlands and Michael Winterbottom for the hugely underrated Go Now. In Go Now, which again was written by lucky star Jimmy McGovern, Carlyle plays a deteriorating multiple sclerosis sufferer. It remains the performance of his career, in a funny, poignant little gem of a film.
Carlyle has also played both Hitler and King James I on TV, and recently appeared as Jack Bauer's fearless friend Carl in 24: Redemption. This was not Carlyle's first appearance with Kiefer Sutherland either, as they also both starred in the excellent POW drama To End All Wars.
Coming Soon – Future Projects For Robert Carlyle
Aside from The Meat Trade, Carlyle is also attached to a number of other projects. The Tournament, offers an action packed battle royale prospect, and I Know You Know is about a boy who suspects his father (Carlyle) is some kind of undercover spy. Carlyle is also set to star in Stargate Universe, a new TV spin off from Stargate.
Further Reading: For a complete film/TV history, please see this article's companion piece - Filmography of Robert Carlyle.
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