Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in Queer as Folk (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in The Wire (2004–2008); John Boy in Love/Hate (2010–2011); Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in Game of Thrones (2011–2017), Aberama Gold in Peaky Blinders (2017–2019); as Milo Sunter on Mayor of Kingstown (2021–present); and as Frank Kinsella, in the crime drama Kin (2021–2023). His film roles include CIA operative Bill Wilson in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Janson in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and John Reid in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), and several films directed by Jamie Thraves.
He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, and a Tony Award.
Early life and education
Aiden Gillen was born Aiden Murphy in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, the youngest of six children born to Patricia (née Gillen) and Denis Murphy, in 1967 or 1968.
He was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Dublin's Glasnevin neighbourhood.
Gillen joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of fourteen, and also jointed Dublin Youth Theatre in his teens. His career began when he was 16, with the role of Nick Bottom in the Dublin Youth Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Project Theatre in 1983.
He obtained his Equity card straight after leaving school, and began getting small professional roles at 17. The name Aidan Murphy was already registered so he began using his mother's maiden name as a stage name. He moved to London in 1987 when he was 18 or 19.
Career
Stage
Gillen's first role on a London stage was at the Bush Theatre, in Billy Roche's Wexford Trilogy. Soon afterwards he had a role in Juno and the Paycock at the Royal National Theatre.
In 2005 he played one of three men in a prison cell in Dominic Dromgoole's production of Irish playwright Frank McGuinness's 1992 hostage drama, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me at the New Ambassadors in London.
In 2008 Gillen played Teach in the Dublin Gate Theatre's 2007 production of David Mamet's American Buffalo.
Gillen had his Broadway debut playing Mick, alongside alongside Patrick Stewart and Kyle MacLachlan, in Harold Pinter's play The Caretaker in 2003, directed by David Jones. The New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley called his performance a "smashing Broadway debut".
Screen
During the 1990s Gillen played a number of roles in television dramas and series, including a TV adaptations of the Wexford Trilogy. Gillen played a lead role as Stuart Alan Jones in the 1999 Channel 4 television series Queer as Folk and its sequel.
In 1997, he appeared alongside playwright Harold Pinter in Mojo based on the 1995 play of the same name by Jez Butterworth and directed by Butterworth.
In 2000 he starred in The Low Down, director Jamie Thraves' first feature film. The film was named among the "neglected masterpieces" of film history by The Observer in its rundown of 50 Lost Movie Classics.
In 2003 he played the villain in the Shanghai Noon sequel, Shanghai Knights.
In 2004, having been spotted by producers in The Caretaker, Gillen was cast as Tommy Carcetti in the HBO series The Wire, for which he received an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television.
In 2011, Gillen began playing Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on the HBO series Game of Thrones, for which he received his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination. He appeared in seven seasons, until his character's death in the season 7 finale "The Dragon and the Wolf". He starred as cop killer Barry Weiss in the British crime-thriller Blitz and in the British horror film Wake Wood. Gillen played crime boss John Boy in the acclaimed Irish crime-drama Love/Hate, for which he received his third Irish Film & Television Award nomination and second win.
In 2012, he played CIA operative Bill Wilson (the character's name is from the novelisation; his name is not directly said in the film's script) in The Dark Knight Rises, his first role in a major Hollywood film. Gillen said he enjoyed playing the role, but preferred low-budget lead roles to blockbuster bit-parts. Gillen's character was particularly noted by some Internet circles for his delivery of supposedly awkward dialogue in the film's opening plane scene, especially by users of 4chan's /tv/ board. Thus, he subsequently became the subject of an Internet meme popular among /tv/ users known as "Baneposting", which references the dialogue between Wilson and Tom Hardy's character Bane in said scene. The same year, Gillen also starred in the British spy-drama Shadow Dancer, and was announced as the new host of the music show Other Voices.
He starred in the BBC five-part thriller Mayday in 2013, and the Irish comedy-drama film Calvary the following year. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with the cast of Game of Thrones for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Gillen also starred in the short film Ekki Múkk, created for the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment by Icelandic band Sigur Rós, as well as Janson in the second film, The Scorch Trials, and third film, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, in the Maze Runner trilogy.
Gillen played Queen's manager John Reid in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which was released on 2 November 2018. He starred as Aidan in the short film titled I Didn't...I Wasn't...I Amn't, written and directed by Irish actress Laoisa Sexton.
He starred in The History Channel's two-season series Project Blue Book from 2019 to 2020. Gillen played Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant and underappreciated college professor who is recruited by the U.S. Air Force to spearhead an operation named Project Blue Book. He is joined by his partner Air Force Capt. Michael Quinn as they investigate UFO sightings around the country.
Gillen co-wrote the script of and starred in Jamie Thraves' fourth feature film, Pickups (2017). This was the third collaboration with Thraves.
He plays Frank Kinsella, a member of a prominent Irish crime family in the RTÉ One crime drama Kin (2021–2023).
Personal life
Gillen resides in his native Dublin. He met Olivia O'Flanagan when they were teenagers. They have two children. They married in 2001 and separated in 2005.
As of 2020 Gillen has been in a relationship with singer Camille O'Sullivan since 2014.
Awards and nominations
In 2008 Gillen was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for his portrayal of Teach in the Dublin Gate Theatre's 2007 production of David Mamet's American Buffalo.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Audiobooks
Radio
Video games
Stage
Footnotes
References
External links
- Aidan Gillen at IMDb
- The Guardian profile, 2012
