Biography
Alun Armstrong is an English character actor, born Alan Armstrong on 17 July 1946 in Annfield Plain, County Durham. He made his screen debut as Keith in the 1971 film Get Carter and appeared as Austin Donohue in the 1996 BBC series Our Friends in the North.
Armstrong trained through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school and spent nine years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He originated the role of Thénardier in the original West End production of Les Misérables and won an Olivier Award for the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
On screen he has appeared in six Dickens adaptations and played the eccentric ex-detective Brian Lane in seven series of New Tricks (2003–2015). His other credits include supporting roles in Braveheart (1995), Sleepy Hollow (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001) and Van Helsing (2004).
