Iain Glen

Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil film series (2004–2016) and as Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). Other notable film and television roles include John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon, Larry Winters in Silent Scream (1990) for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, Manfred Powell in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Brother John in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), the title role in Jack Taylor (2010–2016), Sir Richard Carlisle in Downton Abbey (2011), James Willett in Eye in the Sky (2015), Bruce Wayne in Titans (2019–2021), Magnus MacMillan in The Rig (2023–present), and Dr. Pete Nichols in Silo (2023–2025).

An accomplished stage actor, Glen has acted in a wide array of theatre including playing the titular roles in Shakespeare productions including Hamlet, Macbeth and Henry V. He received three Laurence Olivier Award nominations for his performances in the original production of the musical Martin Guerre, the West End production of The Blue Room and the 2006 West End revival of The Crucible, portraying John Proctor.

Early life and education Glen was born on 24 June 1961 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and educated at the Edinburgh Academy, because it was the only drama school holding auditions at that moment. He graduated in 1985 with an Acting (RADA) Diploma,

Career Glen's big screen debut came in the 1988 film Paris by Night, alongside Charlotte Rampling and Michael Gambon. That year he was cast as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, in Tom Stoppard's film adaptation of his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

In 1998, Glen was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Blue Room starring opposite Nicole Kidman.

In 2002, Glen starred with Emilia Fox in the Italian-French-British romance-drama film The Soul Keeper, directed by Roberto Faenza. In 2008, Glen was Samson in the BBC Radio 3 production of Samson Agonistes directed by John Tydeman.

Glen starred as John Fielding in the 2008 British TV mini-series City of Vice. Ian McDiarmid plays Henry Fielding (author of the novel Tom Jones) who along with his brother, John, started London's first professional police force.

In 2009, it was announced that Glen had joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones, starring as Ser Jorah Mormont, a knight in exile from Westeros, who becomes adviser to Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) when she joins the Dothraki.

In 2010, he played the role of Father Octavian, leader of a sect of clerics who were on a mission against the Weeping Angels in "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", a two-episode story which formed part of the fifth season of the revived television series Doctor Who (played by Matt Smith).

From 2010 to 2016, Glen played the title character in the Irish TV crime series Jack Taylor, adapted from the novels by Ken Bruen, and set in Galway, Ireland.

In the 2012 BBC drama series Prisoners' Wives, he plays Paul, the husband of Francesca, whose comfortable life comes crashing down when he is imprisoned for drug trafficking. The same year, he starred in a new four-part BBC Radio 4 adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, and directed by Jeremy Mortimer and Sasha Yevtushenko.

From December 2013 until early January 2014, Glen starred alongside Richard McCabe in Fortune's Fool at the Old Vic, directed by Lucy Bailey. He had been due to appear in the full run until late February 2014, but was forced to withdraw early to recover from illness, with his role taken by his understudy Patrick Cremin and then by William Houston, who joined the cast at around the same time as Glen's departure.

In 2019, it was revealed that Glen would be portraying Bruce Wayne on the DC Universe TV series Titans.

In 2023, Glen starred as Magnus MacMillan, in charge of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig in The Rig, in a cast that included Emily Hampshire, Martin Compston and Mark Addy. The same year, he starred as William Carr in Operation Napoleon, a thriller directed by Óskar Þór Axelsson and based on Arnaldur Indriðason's best selling book of the same name.

Glen plays Leonard in the Belgian film The Last Front, a story about a broken man who takes a stand during the First World War.

Glen has received numerous nominations and awards for his performance in Game of Thrones. Notably, he won the Best Actor award at the 2016 Taormina Film Fest.

Personal life Glen lives in south London with his wife and three children.

He is a keen cricketer, and has played for the Actors XI.

Filmography

+Key Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Television Year Title Role

1986 Taggart Scott Adair Episode: "Knife Edge" 1986–1989 Screen Two Allan Innes / Sailor / Ray 3 episodes 1988 The Fear Carl Galton 5 episodes 1991 Adam Bede Adam Bede Television film

Frankie's House Tim Page 4 episodes Screen One Cmdr Powell Episode: "Black and Blue" 1993 Missus Father Pietro Salviati, Missus Television film 1996 Death of a Salesman Biff Television film 1997 Painted Lady Sebastian Stafford 2 episodes 1998 Trial & Retribution Damon Morton 2 episodes 1999 Wives and Daughters Mr. Preston 4 episodes

Glasgow Kiss Stuart Morrison 6 episodes The Wyvern Mystery Charles Fairfield Television film Anchor Me Nathan Carter Television film 2002 Impact Marcus Hodge Television film 2003 Carla Daniel Television film 2005 Kidnapped Alan Breck 2 episodes

Starting Over Gregor Dewhurst Television film The Relief of Belsen James Johnston Television film 2008 City of Vice John Fielding 5 episodes

The Diary of Anne Frank Otto Frank 5 episodes Law & Order: UK Luke Slade Episode: "Unsafe" Into the Storm King George VI Television film

Doctor Who Father Octavian 2 episodes The Seagull Here King Lear Coriolanus She Stoops to Conquer Hapgood Road Small Engine Repair The Recruiting Officer Love From A Stranger

Awards and nominations