Brendan Coyle
Actor, Producer
December 2, 1963 (62 years)
Brendan Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is a British-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for The Weir in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries North & South, Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford, and more recently Mr Bates, the valet, in Downton Abbey, which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Brendan Coyle was born David Coyle in Corby, Northamptonshire, on 2 December 1962, the son of a Patrick B Coyle and Bedelia M B Anderson. He has an older brother named Shaun Due to his British birth and Irish heritage, he holds both British and Irish citizenship. He is the great-nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby. He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 1983.
Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production. In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins in North & South for the BBC.
From 2008 he played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle, and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. He also won three Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013–16. Coyle also played the character of Terry Starling in the short-lived Sky comedy series Starlings.
Brendan Coyle was born David Coyle in Corby, Northamptonshire, on 2 December 1962, the son of a Patrick B Coyle and Bedelia M B Anderson. He has an older brother named Shaun Due to his British birth and Irish heritage, he holds both British and Irish citizenship. He is the great-nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby. He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 1983.
Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production. In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins in North & South for the BBC.
From 2008 he played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle, and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. He also won three Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013–16. Coyle also played the character of Terry Starling in the short-lived Sky comedy series Starlings.
FreeMovies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2026 | Hit Point · as Michael |
| 2025 | Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale · as John Bates |
| 2025 | Toxic Town · as Roy Thomas |
| 2024 | Has Fallen · as Cast |
| 2024 | Finders Keepers (2024) · as Denys EllandOn Plex |
| 2022 | Riches · as Gideon |
| 2022 | Downton Abbey: A New Era · as John Bates |
| 2021 | The Red Orchestra · as Narrator |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey · as John Bates |
| 2018 | Mary Queen of Scots · as Earl Of Lennox |
| 2018 | Requiem · as Stephen Kendrick |
| 2016 | |
| 2016 | Me Before You: Deleted Scenes · as Bernard Clark |
| 2016 | Me Before You · as Bernard Clark |
| 2015 | A Merry Murdoch Christmas · as Rankin |
| 2015 | Downton Abbey Text Santa Special 2015 · as John Bates |
| 2015 | Spotless · as Nelson Clay |
| 2015 | 12 Monkeys · as Benjamin Kalman |
| 2014 | Text Santa 2014 · as John Bates (segment: Downton Abbey) |
| 2014 | Noble · as Gerry ShawOn Plex |
| 2013 | Common Ground · as Dci Cockburn |
| 2012 | |
| 2012 | The Raven · as Reagan |
| 2011 | North & South: Deleted Scenes · as Nicholas Higgins |
| 2010 | Downton Abbey · as John Bates |
| 2009 | Perrier's Bounty · as JeromeOn Plex |
| 2008 | Lark Rise to Candleford · as Robert Timmins |
| 2008 | Murdoch Mysteries · as RankinOn Plex |
| 2007 | The Mark of Cain · as Davey GulliverOn Plex |
| 2007 | True Dare Kiss · as Kaz Sweeney |
| 2007 | Damage · as Aidan Cahill |
| 2007 | The Good Samaritan · as Lewis Farrell |
| 2007 | Inspector George Gently · as Patrick Donovan |
| 2007 | Wedding Belles · as Father Henry |
| 2006 | Perfect Parents · as Ed |
| 2006 | Offside · as Duncan Miller |
| 2006 | Soundproof · as Di Dave Cox |
| 2006 | The Commander: Blacklight · as Carl Dirkwood |
| 2005 | |
| 2005 | Jericho (2005) · as ChristieOn Plex |
| 2005 | The Jacket · as DamonOn Plex |
| 2004 | North & South · as Nicholas Higgins |
| 2004 | Omagh · as Detective Sergeant John White |
| 2004 | Amnesia · as D.c. Ian ReidOn Plex |
| 2004 | Shameless · as Father PolishOn Plex |
| 2003 | Blue Murder (UK) · as Derek JowellOn Plex |
| 2003 | |
| 2003 | New Tricks · as Hanson Henchman With Short Hair |
| 2002 | Rockface · as Douglas Mclanaghan |
| 2001 | Mapmaker · as Robert Bates |
| 2001 | Conspiracy · as Heinrich Müller |
| 2001 | The Bombmaker · as George Mcevoy |
| 2001 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries · as Richard Tey |
| 2001 | Rebel Heart · as Michael Collins |
| 2000 | |
| 2000 | Waking the Dead · as Martin Corgan |
| 1999 | I Could Read the Sky · as Francie |
| 1998 | The General · as Uvf LeaderOn Plex |
| 1998 | Soft Sand, Blue Sea · as Gerry |
| 1997 | Tomorrow Never Dies · as Hms Bedford Leading Seaman |
| 1996 | Silent Witness · as Liam Slattery |
| 1995 | Thief takers · as Ds Bob Tate |
| 1995 | |
| 1995 | Catherine Cookson's The Glass Virgin · as Manuel MendozaOn Plex |
| 1994 | Ailsa · as Miles Butler |
| 1992 | Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery · as Det. Sgt. Benwell |
| 1991 | Prime Suspect · as Dcs MitchellOn Plex |
| 1984 |
| 2016 | Saving Lives at Sea · as Self - Narrator |
| 2012 | Downton Abbey Revisited · as Self |
| 2012 | The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards · as Self - Nominee |
| 2011 | Downton Abbey: Behind the Drama · as Self |
| 2006 | The One Show · as Self - Guest |
| 2001 | Lorraine · as Self - Guest |
| 1992 | Soccer AM · as Self |
| 2019 | Timetable · as Executive Producer |
| 2017 | Where the Skin Lies · as Executive Producer |
| 2016 | Emerald City · as Executive Producer |