Rory Kinnear

Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode, and for playing the William Shakespeare villain Iago in Othello in 2014.

He played Bill Tanner in four James Bond films: Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021); and in various video games of the franchise. Kinnear also played Dave Fishwick in Bank of Dave (2023) and Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger (2025). His other film roles include Broken (2012), for which he won a British Independent Film Award, The Imitation Game (2014), Men (2022), and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024).

Television roles include Michael Callow in the debut episode of the anthology Black Mirror, "The National Anthem" (2011), Michael Baker in the sitcom Count Arthur Strong (2013–2017), Lord Lucan in the two-part thriller Lucan (2013), the Creature in the horror drama Penny Dreadful (2014–2016), Stephen in the dystopian mini-series Years and Years (2019), and Tom Bombadil in the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024).

Early life Kinnear was born on 17 February 1978, in Hammersmith, London, the son of actor Roy Kinnear and actress Carmel Cryan. He grew up with two older sisters. He is the grandson of Scottish international rugby union and rugby league player Roy Kinnear and the godson of actor Michael Williams. He was educated at Tower House School (leaving in 1991), St Paul's School, London (leaving in 1996), and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied English. He then studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Career Theatre Kinnear performed in Phyllida Lloyd's production of Mary Stuart, and in Trevor Nunn's Hamlet, in which he played Laertes. Later in 2010, he played the title role in Hamlet at the National Theatre. The two portrayals won him the best actor award in the Evening Standard Drama Awards for 2010.

Kinnear appeared in The Last of the Haussmans by Stephen Beresford at the National Theatre during the summer of 2012. It was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme.

He starred as Iago opposite Adrian Lester in the title role of Othello in 2013 at the National Theatre throughout the summer of 2013. Both actors won the Best Actor award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for their roles; It ran at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago beginning 2 April 2015. In October 2017, he appeared in the title role of Young Marx, the premiere production at the Bridge Theatre. He returned to the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre to star in the title role in Macbeth with Anne-Marie Duff from February 2018. In February 2017, he made his directing debut with The Winter's Tale, a new opera written by Ryan Wigglesworth and based on Shakespeare's play, for English National Opera.

Film Kinnear portrayed Bill Tanner in the Daniel Craig–era James Bond film series after taking over from Michael Kitchen. He is the fourth person to play the character. He has appeared in Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). As well as the films, Kinnear also lends his voice and likeness to the Bond video games; GoldenEye 007 (2010), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010) and 007 Legends (2012). In 2014, he played the fictional character, Detective Nock, in The Imitation Game based loosely on the biography Alan Turing:The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. In January 2017, he portrayed Ellmann in the Netflix film iBoy. He played Henry Hunt in Mike Leigh's 2018 film Peterloo. In 2022, he played Geoffrey, as well as most of the other male roles, in Alex Garland's A24 horror film Men.

In 2023 Kinnear starred as Burnley wannabe banker Dave Fishwick in the film Bank of Dave, released on Netflix in January 2023, reprising his role in the sequel Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger in January 2025. He followed this in 2008, with his portrayal of Denis Thatcher in a BBC dramatisation of Margaret Thatcher's political career, The Long Walk to Finchley, He appeared in the lead role of Prime Minister Michael Callow in "The National Anthem", the first episode of the anthology series Black Mirror. In July 2012, Kinnear appeared as Bolingbroke in Richard II, a BBC Two adaptation of the play of the same name, with Ben Whishaw as King Richard and Patrick Stewart as John of Gaunt.

In 2013 Kinnear starred as Michael in the BBC sitcom Count Arthur Strong,

In 2017 he appeared in the British miniseries Guerrilla as a Chief Inspector in the Special Branches. and as Robert Lessing from the early days of English medicine in the BBC Two comedy series Quacks. and the desperate financial advisor Stephen Lyons in the futuristic series Years and Years. and was Edward Williams in the BBC's The Mezzotint.

Since 2023 he plays the fictional character of British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge in the Netflix series The Diplomat alongside Keri Russell. In 2024, Kinnear played Tom Bombadil in the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Radio In 2010 he played Jürgen Rahl in the BBC Radio drama Slipstream as a disaffected German pilot who joins a mission to steal an alien spacecraft harboured by the Nazis.

Personal life Kinnear is engaged to actress Pandora Colin (née Ormsby-Gore), daughter of the 5th Baron Harlech. They have a son born in 2010, and a daughter born in 2014.

In May 2020 Kinnear's sister Karina, who was quadriplegic, died from coronavirus.

Acting credits

Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 Judas Andrew 2008 Quantum of Solace Bill Tanner 2009 Wish 143 Wisham Short film 2010 The First Men in the Moon Julius Bedford Wild Target Gerry Bailey 2012 Skyfall Bill Tanner Broken Bob Oswald 2014 Cuban Fury Gary The Imitation Game Detective Nock 2015 Man Up Sean Spectre Bill Tanner 2016 Trespass Against Us P.C Lovage The Roof Yet Another Fan Short filmDaddy My Father Short film 2017 iBoy Ellman 2018 Peterloo Henry Hunt 2021 No Time to Die Bill Tanner 2022 Men Geoffrey / Various roles 2023 Bank of Dave Dave Fishwick 2024 The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Winston Churchill 2025 Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger Dave Fishwick 2026 TBA Completed TBA TBA Pre-production Harold Laing Post-production

Television

Theatre

Accolades