Michael McElhatton

Michael McElhatton
Born (1963-09-12) 12 September 1963 (age 60)
Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active1987–present

Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series Game of Thrones. He joined the series as a guest star in the second season, and continued to play this role until the sixth season, promoted to a regular cast member from the fifth season onwards.

Life and career

McElhatton was born on 12 September 1963 in Terenure, a suburb in the south of Dublin. He began studying acting at Terenure College, a school known for its drama tradition, and afterward spent eight years in London where he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1987. McElhatton returned to Ireland in the early nineties, where he began his acting career mainly in theatre and television. He appeared in a short film titled The Loser in 1990. In 1996, he was directed by John Carney in the film November Afternoon, in which he plays the main character. In the late nineties and early 2000s, McElhatton appeared in numerous series and TV films in Ireland, working with various film directors, including Paddy Breathnach and Conor McPherson for roles in I Went Down (1997), Saltwater (2000), Blow Dry (2001), and The Actors (2003). Between 2000 and 2002, McElhatton gained fame from appearing in the situation comedies Paths to Freedom and Fergus's Wedding. In addition to acting, he also took on the role of screenwriter, writing the screenplay for all of the episodes. The character of Rats in Paths to Freedom, which he wrote and starred in, became popular with the public and allowed it to be adapted into an entire feature film in 2003 (Spin the Bottle). As his career went on, McElhatton continued playing minor characters in films by directors such as Lenny Abrahamson, John Boorman and Kari Skogland. McElhatton also appeared in Perrier's Bounty (2009) and Death of a Superhero (2011).

He returned to his role as writer in 2010, writing six episodes of the sitcom Your Bad Self. Over the next decade, McElhatton began appearing in much larger roles. In 2011, he had a role in the film Albert Nobbs directed by Rodrigo García, and the following year the short Pentecost, which received a nomination for Best Short Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. That same year he took part in the film Shadow Dancer directed by James Marsh, while also on television in the cast of the miniseries Titanic: Blood and Steel.

In 2012, McElhatton joined the cast of the HBO television series Game of Thrones, beginning in the second season, playing the character of warlord Roose Bolton. From the fifth season on he was promoted to series regular. In 2015, he played one of the protagonists in the horror film The Hallow, which was presented at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. He appeared in the screen adaptation of the true story of World War II drama The Zookeeper's Wife in 2017.

In 2021, McElhatton appeared as Tam al'Thor in the adaptation of The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime Video. His casting was announced on 06 November 2019 through Twitter.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref(s)
1990 The Loser Eddie Keith Boak Short film
1996 November Afternoon John John Carney, Tom Hall
1997 I Went Down Johnner Doyle Paddy Breathnach
All Souls' Day Alan Gilsenan
1998 To the Mountain Jean Pasley Short film
Crush Proof Detective Sergeant Hogan Paul Tickell
1999 Between Dreams Mr. Fitzsimons Ian Fitzgibbon Short filmT
Underworld Jimmy Ronan Gallagher Short film
2000 Saltwater John Traynor Conor McPherson
2001 Blow Dry Robert Paddy Breathnach
Zulu 9 Garda Dispatcher Alan Gilsenan Short film
2002 Ape Dandy Dance Rory Bresnihan Short film, voice only
2003 The Actors Jock Conor McPherson
Intermission Sam John Crowley
Spin the Bottle Rats Ian Fitzgibbon
2004 Waterloo Dentures Captain Rachael Moriarty, Peter Murphy Short film
Mickybo and Me Mechanic Terry Loane
Adam & Paul Martin Lenny Abrahamson Voice only
God's Early Work God Rory Bresnihan Short film, voice only
2005 George Rory Bresnihan, John Butler Short film
English Rory Bresnihan Short film
2006 The Tiger's Tail Dr. Alex Loden John Boorman
2007 The Martyr's Crown Officer Rory Bresnihan Short film
2008 Spacemen Three Dr. Yuri Semyonov Hugh O'Conor Short film
Fifty Dead Men Walking Robbie Kari Skogland
The Man Inside Locksmith Rory Bresnihan Short film
2009 Perrier's Bounty Ivan Ian Fitzgibbon
Happy Ever Afters Detective Norman Ginty Stephen Burke
2010 Parked Frank Darragh Byrne
2011 Pentecost Pat Lynch Peter McDonald Short film
Albert Nobbs Mr. Moore Rodrigo García
Death of a Superhero James Clarke Ian Fitzgibbon
2012 Shadow Dancer Liam Hughes James Marsh
2013 The Food Guide to Love Famine narrator Dominic Harari, Teresa Pelegri Voice only
2014 The Legend of Longwood The Black Knight Lisa Mulcahy Voice only
2015 The Hallow Colm Donnelly Corin Hardy
2016 Norm of the North Laurence Trevor Wall Voice only
Mammal Matt Rebecca Daly
The Autopsy of Jane Doe Sheriff Sheldon André Øvredal
Handsome Devil Walter Curly John Butler
The Siege of Jadotville McEntee Richie Smyth
2017 The Zookeeper's Wife Jerzyk Niki Caro
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Jack's Eye Guy Ritchie
The Foreigner Jim Kavanagh Martin Campbell
Justice League Terrorist Leader Zack Snyder
2019 The Last Right Frank Delaney Aoife Crehan
Arracht Lieutenant Tomás Ó Súilleabháin Irish language
Togo Jafet Lindeberg Ericson Core
2021 The Last Duel Bernard Latour Ridley Scott

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1997 Ballyseedy Comdt. Ed. Breslin Television film
1999 Vicious Circle Garrett Television film
The Ambassador Commander 2 Episode: "Vacant Possession"
Vicious Circle Garrett Television film
2000 Paths to Freedom Raymond 'Rats' Doyle 6 episodes
2001 Rebel Heart Cathal Brugha Mini-series
3 episodes
2002 Fergus's Wedding Fergus Walsh 4 episodes
2006 Hide & Seek Paul Holden 4 episodes
2007 My Boy Jack Leo Amery MP Television film
2010 Your Bad Self 6 episodes
The Santa Incident Ross Television film
2011 Zen Ernesto Heuber Mini-series
Episode: "Ratking"
2012–2016 Game of Thrones Roose Bolton 19 episodes
2013 The Fall Rob Breedlove 4 episodes
Ripper Street Commissioner James Monro 2 episodes
The Ice Cream Girls Brian Mini-series
3 episodes
2014 New Worlds John Hawkins 3 episodes
2015 Strike Back: Legacy Oppenheimer 2 episodes
2016 Mammon Melanie Holly, CIA Agent 2 episodes
2017–2018 Genius Dr. Philipp Lenard / Jonas Salk 4 episodes
2018 Agatha and the Truth of Murder Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Television film
2019 The Rook Lorik 4 episodes
Chernobyl Andrei Stepashin Episode: "Vichnaya Pamyat"
Ant & Dec's DNA Journey Voiceover Television documentary
2020 Das Boot Deputy Inspector Thomas O'Leary 4 episodes
The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Dr. Markoe 6 episodes
2021 The Wheel of Time Tam al'Thor
2023 Jack Ryan Bill Tuttle 6 episodes
The Long Shadow Chief Constable Ronald Gregory

Video games

Year Title Voice role Ref.
2013 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Vance Travers
2019 Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Gaius Baelsar
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

Writing credits

Selected stage career

Awards and nominations


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