Alun Armstrong (actor)

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For other persons of the same name, see Alun Armstrong.
Alun Armstrong

Born July 17, 1946 (1946-07-17) (age 61)
Annfield Plain, Co Durham, England

Alun Armstrong (born July 17, 1946) is an English actor.

Armstrong made his debut in the 1971 film Get Carter, and has since worked regularly in British stage and television productions, such as Granada Television's The Stars Look Down (1975), often playing leading characters. Armstrong has also appeared in several films, although in this medium he has usually played supporting or minor roles. Recently, he has appeared in the films Sleepy Hollow, The Mummy Returns and Van Helsing. On television, Armstrong has played the character Brian Lane in the highly popular BBC drama New Tricks Where he was reunited with James Bolam with whom he appeared in an episode of Whatever Happended To The Likely Lads called "Conduct Unbecoming" and the feature film The Likely Lads where he played Terry's milkman . He also played Austin Donohue in the 1996 BBC drama series Our Friends in the North, a character based on the politician T. Dan Smith, Inspector Bucket in the 2005 BBC adaptation of Bleak House and Mr Evans in Carrie's War.

Armstrong spent nine years with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford upon Avon and London, including the roles of Mr Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby, Petruchio in The Taming of The Shrew and Monsieur Thénardier in the original cast of Les Misérables. In 2006, he returned to the London stage to star in Trevor Nunn's new production of The Royal Hunt of the Sun at the National Theatre. Later in 2006 he starred as Uncle Garrow in the film Eragon. He has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award six times and won in 1994, for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance of Sweeney Todd in the musical of the same name.

Armstrong is perhaps best known for his ingenious[citation needed] performance as Thénardier in the original London production of Les Misérables in October 1985 with Sue Jane Tanner alongside him as Mme. Thénardier, for which he was also nominated for a Laurence Oliver Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised this role in Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert, at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1995. There was evidence from the video that he was admired by most of his fellow co-stars, such as Anthony Crivello, Lea Salonga, Michael Ball and Philip Quast.

In 2003, Armstrong starred alongside his son, Joe Armstrong, in the ITV1 drama Between the Sheets.

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Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
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