Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A twice BAFTA Award nominee, he has been active in television and film, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who (2005), playing Matt Jamison in The Leftovers (2014–2017), and his collaborations with filmmakers Danny Boyle and Michael Winterbottom.
Eccleston made his professional acting debut onstage in a Bristol Old Vic production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He garnered attention for his film roles as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have It (1991) and Our Friends in the North (1996). The latter of which he won a BAFTA award for. Seven years later he won a second BAFTA for playing Stephen Baxter in the drama series The Second Coming (2003).
Eccleston garnered widespread attention and acclaim for his role in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, becoming the first to play the title character since 1996. He departed the role, for which he won a National Television Award and received nominations for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award and BAFTA Cymru Award, after just one series. He won an International Emmy Award for his performance in an episode of the anthology series Accused. On stage, he has played the title roles in productions of Hamlet and Macbeth and starred in productions of Miss Julie, A Doll's House, and Antigone. Since 2017, he has narrated the documentary series Ambulance.
Early life
Eccleston was born on 16 February 1964 into a working-class family in the Langworthy area of Salford, Lancashire, the son of Elsie and Ronnie Eccleston. He has two brothers named Alan and Keith, twins who are eight years older than him. On his religious upbringing, he has said, "My dad's family were Catholic. My mum was very Church of England – still is – but it doesn't work for me." The family lived in a small terraced house on Blodwell Street before moving to Little Hulton when Eccleston was seven months old. He attended Joseph Eastham High School, where he became head boy.
At the age of 19, Eccleston was inspired to pursue acting by such television dramas as Boys from the Blackstuff. He completed a two-year Performance Foundation Course at Salford Tech, then went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He was influenced in his early years by Ken Loach's film Kes and Albert Finney's performance in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the works of William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, and Molière. At the age of 25, he made his professional stage debut in the Bristol Old Vic's production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Underemployed as an actor for some years after graduating from college, he took a variety of odd jobs at a supermarket, on building sites, and as an artist's model.
Career
Early work (1991–2005)
Eccleston first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in the film Let Him Have It (1991), and the Inspector Morse episode "Second Time Around" (1991). In 1992, he played the role of Sean Maddox in the BBC drama miniseries Friday on my Mind. A regular role in the Granada Television production Cracker (1993–94) brought him recognition in the UK; and, after he told TV bosses of his desire to leave the series, they killed off his character in October 1994, making him a victim of the serial killer Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle). At around the same time, Eccleston appeared in the episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" of the Poirot series adapted from mysteries by Agatha Christie.
He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave (1994), in which he co-starred with actor Ewan McGregor. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North, whose broadcast on BBC Two in 1996 helped make him a household name in the UK. Eccleston starred in an ensemble cast that included actors Mark Strong and Gina McKee, as well as Daniel Craig. In 1996, he took the part of Trevor Hicks—a man who lost both of his daughters in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster—in the television drama film Hillsborough, penned by Jimmy McGovern. In real life, he was the best man to Trevor Hicks at his wedding in March 2009.