Iain De Caestecker

Iain De Caestecker ( ; ) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). He is also known for his roles in Coronation Street (2001–2003) as Adam Barlow and the films Shell, In Fear (2013), Not Another Happy Ending (2013), Lost River (2014), and Overlord (2018).

Early life and education Iain De Caestecker was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is of Belgian descent through his paternal grandfather. He has a twin sister and two older brothers. His parents are both medical doctors. his mother, Linda De Caestecker, was Director of Public Health (DPH) for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the largest health board in Scotland. She was also an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow.

De Caestecker went to Hillhead Primary School. He completed an HND in acting and performance at Langside College.

Career

De Caestecker made his professional acting debut in the BBC short film Billy and Zorba at the age of nine. This was followed by a minor role as a bully in the comedy horror film The Little Vampire. The following year he first appeared as Adam Barlow in Coronation Street, appearing in 54 episodes between 2001 and 2003 before the role was recast with an older actor. In 2010, De Caestecker appeared in serial drama Lip Service.

He played the lead in BAFTA-winning BBC series The Fades and Young James Herriot; the latter earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Scotland for Best Actor/Actress – Television.

The psychological horror film In Fear premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. That same year, De Caestecker appeared in Filth ("I'm a big fan of Irvine Welsh and [...] I got to play all my scenes with James McAvoy which meant a lot to me") and Not Another Happy Ending; the latter earned him his second BAFTA Scotland nomination, this time in the Best Actor/Actress – Film category. He also appeared in the music video for Gabrielle Aplin's song Please Don't Say You Love Me.

On his first visit to Los Angeles, De Caestecker landed a series regular role on the Marvel television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). He played scientist Leo Fitz and was a part of the main cast from Seasons 1 through 6. In the seventh and final season, he appeared as a special guest star. He explained his choice not to return fully for the seventh season, saying “Not that I didn’t love it and love everyone involved, but I felt by the end it was time to be done. I had been in a warm country for five years and it didn’t feel like home to me.” His Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character was animated for an episode of Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6, to which the actor lent his voice.

In 2014, De Caestecker played the lead role in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River. The film premiered in competition in the Un certain regard section at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.

In 2018, De Caestecker co-starred in the J. J. Abrams-produced war horror film Overlord. The movie received two nominations at the 2019 Saturn Awards.

In 2020, De Caestecker starred as young Douglas Petersen in BBC One's four-part miniseries Us, based on David Nicholls' novel of the same name. In the same year he also starred opposite Hugh Laurie in the PBS Masterpiece / BBC One political-thriller series Roadkill. He then filmed the horror short Upstairs.

In 2022, De Caestecker led the cast of BBC One's three-part drama The Control Room. In March 2022, it was announced that he would be making a guest appearance on a new podcast show called Conference Call, from French-American podcast network Paradiso Media, along with Jeff Ward, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Clark Gregg.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Billy and Zorba Billy Winner Best International Short - Brooklyn Film Festival, 2000 2000 Nigel 2003 16 Years of Alcohol Frankie (as a boy) All Over Brazil Steven Short film for BBC 2012 Up There Tommy Shell Adam 2013 In Fear Tom Official Sundance selection Not Another Happy Ending Roddy Filth Ocky 2014 Lost River Bones Official Cannes Film Festival selection Liam and Lenka Liam Short film 2018 Overlord Private Morton Chase 2021 Upstairs Tim Short film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2001–2003 Coronation Street Adam Barlow 54 episodes 2001 Monarch of the Glen Angus "Ricky" MacDonald Episode: "Episode #2.8"Credited as Iain Decaestecker 2002 Rockface Dan Episode: "Episode #1.3" 2009 River City Stuart Episode: "Episode #1.607" Taggart Davy Kincaid Episode: "So Long Baby" 2010 Lip Service Darren 4 episodes 2011 Paul Roberts Miniseries; 6 episodes / Winner of Best Drama Series, BAFTA Television Awards, 2012 Young James Herriot James Herriot Miniseries; 3 episodes 2012 Young Percy Judd Miniseries; 3 episodes 2013–2020 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Leo Fitz Main Cast (Seasons 1-6), Special Guest Star (Season 7); 122 episodes 2016 Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6 Voice role; episode: "Lizards" Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy Himself Episode: "Commencement" Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot Agent Leo Fitz Web series; episode: "Progress" 2020 Us Young Douglas Miniseries; 4 episodes Roadkill Duncan Nock Miniseries; 4 episodes 2022 The Control Room Gabe Miniseries; 3 episodes 2023 The Winter King Arthur Pendragon Main cast (Season 1) 2026 TBA TBA Upcoming six-part drama

Video games Year Title Role 2012 Assassin's Creed III Fillan McCarthy (voice)

Music videos Year Title Artist Role 2013 "Please Don't Say You Love Me" Gabrielle Aplin Boyfriend

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2012 BAFTA Scotland Award Best Actor/Actress – Television Young James Herriot 2013 Best Actor/Actress – Film Not Another Happy Ending 2014 SET Awards SET Engineer Award Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2015 TVLine's Performer of the Week Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2017 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TVLine's Performer of the YearAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.2019TVLine's Performer of the Week Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.