Biography

Whether portraying a drunken sociopath, a good-hearted construction worker, a strong-willed multiple sclerosis victim, or a down-on-his-luck steel worker who resorts to shaking his naked groove thing for cash, Scottish actor Robert Carlyle has repeatedly wowed transatlantic audiences with his chameleon-like ability to inhabit a range of roles. Born April 14, 1961, in Glasgow, Carlyle was raised by his father after his mother walked out when the actor was four years old. The elder Carlyle was, according to his son, a disciple of the tune in, turn on, drop out mentality, and he and the younger Carlyle led an itinerant bohemian existence. Carlyle dropped out of school at 16, and according to his own accounts, had a fairly disastrous stay in England before returning to Glasgow. It was there that he enrolled in acting classes at the Glasgow Arts Centre after finding inspiration in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. This led to a stint at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he studied for a term before becoming disenchanted with the institution. He found work in various television and stage productions, winning a coveted Actor's Equity card with his turn as Oberon in the Royal Scottish Orchestra's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Film audiences first became aware of the actor in Ken Loach's Riff Raff (1991), the story of the trials and tribulations of a group of construction workers. Carlyle won favorable notices, which in turn led to more work, first in the 1993 film Safe and then in 1994's Priest, the critically acclaimed and very controversial story of the moral struggles of a gay priest, in which he played the priest's lover. He went on to a very different role in the next year's Go Now, in which he played a man suffering from multiple sclerosis. The same year, he also found a place in the hearts of many a Scottish TV viewer with his portrayal of the title character on Hamish Macbeth. The show, which cast him as a kind-hearted Highlands police constable, made him something of a star in his native country.

Ironically, it was his turn as a character of a completely different stripe that won Carlyle international attention. As the drunken, raving psychotic Begbie in Trainspotting (1996), Carlyle was one of the more disturbing aspects of a relentlessly disturbing film, as he invested in Begbie the type of rage that made many filmgoers unable to separate the character from the actor who gave him life. The film was the object of both critical adulation and controversy, and made a star out of at least one of its actors, the charmingly rough-edged Ewan McGregor.

Carlyle's follow-up feature was a decidedly smaller affair. Collaborating again with Ken Loach, he starred as a bus driver in Carla's Song (1996), a film that met with an art house release but little fanfare. However, it was Carlyle's turn as the down-and-out Gaz in the following year's The Full Monty that brought him fully into the spotlight. Directed by Peter Cattaneo, the film was a sleeper hit, winning both box-office millions and five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. The success of the film made Carlyle one of the more bankable foreign players in Hollywood, something that was reflected in his casting with fellow up-and-comers David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, and Guy Pearce in the disastrous Ravenous (1999). In the same year, Carlyle shared the screen with the likes of Liv Tyler and fellow Trainspotter Jonny Lee Miller in Plunkett & Maclean.

In addition to acting, Carlyle co-founded the Rain Dog Theatre Company in 1991. The company takes its name from the title of one of Carlyle's favorite Tom Waits albums and has received numerous awards. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Light in the Sky (2003)
Stander (2003)
Black and White (2002) .... David O'Sullivan
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) .... Jimmy
Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute (2002) (TV) .... Himself
51st State, The (2001) .... Felix DeSouza
... aka Formula 51 (2002) (USA)
To End All Wars (2001) .... Campbell
World Is Not Enough, The (2000) (VG) (archive footage) .... Victor 'Renard' Zokas
There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (2000) .... Eric Wirral
... aka Jimmy Grimble (2001) (France)
Orange British Academy Film Awards, The (2000) (TV) .... Himself
Beach, The (2000) .... Daffy
James Bond Story, The (2000) (TV) (uncredited) .... Renard
... aka 007: The James Bond Story (2000) (TV) (New Zealand: English title)
Film-Fest DVD: Issue 1 - Sundance (1999) (V) .... Himself
Angela's Ashes (1999) .... Malachy (Dad)
World Is Not Enough, The (1999) .... Renard
... aka Pressure Point (1999) (USA: changed title)
... aka T.W.I.N.E. (1999) (UK: promotional abbreviation)
Ravenous (1999) .... Colonel Ives/F.W. Colhoun
... aka Voraz (1999) (Mexico)
Plunkett & Macleane (1999) .... Plunkett
Looking After Jo Jo (1998) (TV) .... John Joe 'Jo Jo' McCann
Face (1997) .... Ray
Full Monty, The (1997) .... Gary 'Gaz' Schofield
Carla's Song (1996) .... George
... aka Canción de Carla, La (1996) (Spain)
Trainspotting (1996) .... Francis (Franco) Begbie
Go Now (1995) .... Nick Cameron
"Hamish Macbeth" (1995) TV Series .... Hamish Macbeth
Priest (1994) .... Graham
"99-1" (1994) TV Series .... (1993)
Being Human (1993) .... Prehistoric Shamen
Safe (1993) (TV) .... Nosty
Tender Blue Eyes (1992) (V) .... Richard Fascetti
Riff-Raff (1990) .... Steve
Silent Scream (1990) .... Big Woodsy