Who is Robert Carlyle?

British actor Robert Carlyle was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland, on 14 April 1961, making Aries his zodiac sign. He has 67 acting credits, but is perhaps still known best for playing the lead character Gaz in the 1997 comedy movie “The Full Monty”, which also starred Mark Addy and Tom Wilkinson, and was directed by Peter Cattaneo. It follows six unemployed steel workers who become one-time strippers, and the film won 37 of its 72 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score.

Robert’s currently shooting for the upcoming TV series “Cobra” and the movie “The Performance”.

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Education and early life

Robert was raised in Maryhill by his father Joseph Carlyle who was a painter and decorator, and mother Elizabeth who worked at a bus company; Elizabeth abandoned the family when Robert was four, and he was then raised solely by his father.

Robert studied at North Kelvinside Secondary School, but as he wasn’t a big fan of school and wanted to help his father financially, he dropped out aged 16 and started working as a painter alongside him, but took night classes at Cardonald College, and completed his GED tests in 1980.

It was around the same time that Robert became interested in acting; he was 21 when he started honing his skills at the Glasgow Arts Center, while he then enrolled at Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987.

Roles in TV series

Robert’s debut TV series role was playing Spanky Farrell in the 1988 episode “Byrne About Byrne” of the documentary “Arena”, and the year 1990 saw him play Gordon Inglis in three episodes of the popular crime mystery “Taggart”, which starred Blythe Duff and James MacPherson, and was created by Glenn Chandler. It follows a detective as he’s investigating a series of murders, it aired from 1983 through 2010, and won three of its six award nominations.

The following years saw Robert appear in an episode of the crime drama “The Bill”, another crime drama “The Advocates” and the drama “Screenplay”. From 1995 through 1997, he starred as Hamish in all 20 episodes of the crime comedy “Hamish Macbeth”, which also starred Ralph Riach and Brian Pettifer, and follows the work of a police constable; the series won two of its five award nominations. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Robert appear in only a single TV series, starring as John Joe McCann in all four episodes of the crime drama “Looking After Jo Jo”.

What marked the 2000s for Robert was perhaps playing the main character Dr. Nicholas Rush in all 40 episodes of the science fiction “Stargate Universe”, which also starred Louis Ferreira and Brian J. Smith, and was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. It follows a group of civilians and soldiers who’ve found themselves trapped on an ancient spaceship billions of lightyears from Earth, the series aired from 2009 through 2011 and won nine of its 38 award nominations.

From 2011 through 2018, Robert starred as Rumpelstiltskin in the hit romantic fantasy adventure “Once Upon a Time”, which also starred Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin, and was created by Adam Horowitz. It follows a young woman who’s moved to a magical small city in Maine, and the series won 13 of its 108 award nominations.

Robert’s two most recent TV series roles have been in three episodes of the 2019 historical science fiction mini-series “The War of the Worlds” and 12 episodes of the 2021 thriller “Cobra”.

Roles in movies

Robert’s debut film role was playing Big Woodsy in the 1990 biographical crime drama “Silent Scream”, and some of his following roles were in the 1991 comedy “Riff-Raff”, the 1992 romantic drama “Tender Blue Eyes” and the 1994 comedy “Being Human”.

In 1996, he played Begbie in the evergreen drama “Trainspotting”, which starred Ewen Bremner and Ewan McGregor, and was directed by Danny Boyle. It follows the lives of several drug-addicted friends, and the movie won 23 of the 58 awards for which it was nominated, including an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. As well as “The Full Monty”, the remainder of the decade saw Robert appear in the 1997 crime thriller “Face”, the 1999 adventure horror “Ravenous”, and the 1999 action adventure comedy “Punkett & Macleane”.

In 2001, he portrayed Felix DeSouza in the action crime comedy “Formula 51”, which also starred Samuel L. Jackson and was directed by Ronny Yu. It follows an American chemist who’s made a drug deal of a lifetime, and the movie was nominated for only a single award. Some of Robert’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 2004 historical drama “Gunpowder, Treason & Plot”, the 2006 drama “Born Equal” and the 2009 action thriller “The Tournament”.

He reprised his role as Begbie in the 2017 crime comedy “T2 Trainspotting”, which once again starred Ewen Bremner and Ewan McGregor, and was directed by Danny Boyle. Set 20 years after the events in the first film, the movie follows Begbie, Spud and Sick Boy as they’ve reunited in Scotland, and it won six of its 14 award nominations.

Robert’s since appeared in two movies: the 2019 musical fantasy comedy “Yesterday” and the 2022 drama “North of Normal”.

Other credits

Robert directed the 2010 episode “Pathogen” of the science fiction series “Stargate Universe” and the 2015 crime comedy movie “Barney Thomson”.

He’s received special thanks for eight movies, including the 2014 drama “Once Upon a Time: Storybrooke Has Frozen Over”, the 2017 short documentary “T2 Trainspotting: 20 Years in the Making – A Conversation with Danny Boyle and the Cast” and the 2017 short drama “Tomorrow”.

Some of Robert’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “The One Show”, “This Morning” and “Sidewalks Entertainment”.

Awards and nominations

Robert’s won 13 of his 36 award nominations.

Some of his wins include a 1998 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, a 1998 London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actor of the Year and a 1998 BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, all for “The Full Monty”.

He was also nominated for a 2006 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, for his performance in “Human Trafficking”.

Love life and wife

Robert rarely speaks about his love life in public, but has still allowed his fans a glimpse into it.

He and British make-up artist Anastasia Shirley exchanged vows in a private ceremony on 28 December 1997, in front of their closest friends and family members; Anastasia’s worked as a make-up artist on eight movies and TV series, with the most popular amongst these having perhaps been the 1997 crime thriller film “Face”, and she’s also known for being the sister of cameraman Paul Shirley.

Anastasia gave birth to her and Robert’s daughter Ava in 2002, and their son Harvey followed in March 2004; she gave birth to their second son Pearce Joseph in April 2006.

There are no other women whom Robert’s been with, that we know about; he’s married to Anastasia Shirley as of July 2023, and they have three children together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Robert’s a huge fan of soccer, and cheers for Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

He’s a philanthropist and has worked with a number of charity organizations, while and is today a patron of the Romanian non-profit organization School for Life.

In 1999, Robert was appointed to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – OBE.

He’s not a big fan of social media networks and isn’t active on Instagram, however, a fan page of Robert’s today followed by more than 10,000 people, and there are 750 pictures and videos uploaded onto it.

Robert is a ‘character actor’, which means that he often alters his lifestyle and physical appearance to better understand a character that he’s portraying.

Al Pacino is one of Robert’s favorite actors, and some of his favorite movies include “The Devil’s Advocate”, the trilogy “The Godfather” and “Scent of a Woman”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Robert’s age is 62. He has brown hair and eyes, is 5ft 6ins (1.7m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (67kgs).

Robert’s net worth’s been estimated at over $5 million, as of July 2023.

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