--- name: "Paul Kaye" canonical: "https://film.one/person/paul-kaye" fi1m_id: "paul-kaye" imdb_id: "nm0443373" tmdb_id: 71281 wikidata_id: "Q3371571" roles: ["Actor"] born: "15 December 1965" reviewed_on_fi1m: 15 average_fi1m_score: 73 average_as: "actor" average_over: 14 updated: "2026-10-07T19:50:58.743263+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Paul Kaye ## Identity Paul Kaye - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/paul-kaye - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** paul-kaye - **IMDb ID:** nm0443373 - **TMDB ID:** 71281 - **Wikidata ID:** Q3371571 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kaye, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3371571, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443373/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/71281 Actor. Born 15 December 1965 in Clapham, London, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 15 December 1965, Clapham, London, England, UK - **Active:** 1999–present - **Also known as:** 폴 케이, پل کی - **Titles on Fi1m:** 15: 14 acting, 1 other - **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 14 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 86 (1), 2000s 85 (1), 2010s 71 (10), 2020s 75 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 63 across 7 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 9 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 6 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 10, Comedy 8, Crime 4, Mystery 4, Fantasy 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $128m across 1 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kaye, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3371571, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443373/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/71281 ## Streaming the US now - **Peacock:** [*Three Girls*](https://film.one/tv/three-girls.md) (84) - **Apple TV:** [*Friday Night Dinner*](https://film.one/tv/friday-night-dinner.md) (74) - **Netflix:** [*Lilyhammer*](https://film.one/tv/lilyhammer.md) (63) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Paul Kaye > Paul Kaye started by ambushing famous people with a microphone and has spent the years since being cast as the odd, intense man at the edge of the frame. He is good at it, and the parts have slowly got larger. The image that sticks is a man with red hair and a suit too loud for the occasion, holding a microphone under some celebrity's chin and asking the question nobody else would. Dennis Pennis ran on *The Sunday Show* from 1995 to 1997, and the joke was that the famous had to stand there and take it. Kaye has since described the man underneath as "a very insecure, mousy-haired, middle-aged man with a deep fear of authority", which is the best account of the character we have read. The fear is what made it work. He looked as if he might be hit at any moment, and kept asking. He came to acting sideways. A theatre design degree from Trent Polytechnic in 1987 led to graphic design, illustration and punk bands before it led to television, and there is something of the designer in how he builds a part from the outside: the hair first, then the clothes. From the early 2000s he took comedy leads and supporting parts in drama, including the lead, Frankie Wilde, in the mockumentary *It's All Gone Pete Tong* (2005). Then came the stretch that fixed his reputation: Mr Wormwood on stage in *Matilda the Musical* from 2010 to 2012, Thoros of Myr across three seasons of *Game of Thrones* from 2013 to 2017, Jim Winshaw in *Three Girls* (2017), and a recurring part in *Vera* from 2019 to 2023. What he does, put simply, is intensity at the side of a scene. Casting directors reach for him when a part needs to be eccentric, comic or slightly alarming, and he obliges. The risk is plain: a man who is good at being odd gets asked to be odd for a living. Voice work, Vince the fox in *Mongrels* and Cosmos in *The House* (2022), suits him for the same reason, since the voice alone carries the strangeness. We will admit that Pennis still makes us laugh and then feel slightly ashamed of ourselves, because the targets were real people who had not agreed to the game; the reaction to the Steve Martin exchange in *Very Important Pennis* (1996) suggests we were not the only ones. The Mackenzie Crook connection is the one to watch. *Small Prophets* (2026) is their second project together, and Kaye plays Roy in a suburban comedy we scored 84 for finding feeling in folk magic and ordinary friendship. He is not the reason we liked it. The warmth belongs to Pearce Quigley and Lauren Patel, and Kaye fits in without pulling the show towards himself, which for a man who made his name by pulling every room towards himself is a change. Crook writes peculiar people with affection rather than for laughs, and Kaye seems content in that company to be one of several. Whether this is a new phase or a rest between louder ones we cannot yet say. He has called his more than five hundred performances as Mr Wormwood the highlight of his working life, so we would not assume the loud ones are finished. ## Biography Paul Kaye is an English actor and comedian. He was born on 15 December 1965 in Clapham, London. Kaye is known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO series *Game of Thrones* (2013–2017). His other credits include *Shaun of the Dead* (2004), *Match Point* (2005), *Doctor Who* (2005), *Dracula Untold* (2014), *Good Omens* (2019) and *After Life* (2019). He plays Roy in the BBC series *Small Prophets* (2026). Kaye began his career as the shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on *The Sunday Show* and later appeared as Mike Strutter on MTV's *Strutter* (2006–2007) and voiced Vince the fox in *Mongrels* (2010–2011). *Sources: imdb.com, radiotimes.com, tvinsider.com.* ## On Fi1m (15) ### Performed in (14) — the average rests on these - *Small Prophets* (2026), Fi1m 84, as Roy — [page](https://film.one/tv/small-prophets.md) - *Mood* (2022), Fi1m 76, as Kevin — [page](https://film.one/tv/mood.md) - *The House* (2022), Fi1m 65, as Cosmos (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-house.md) - *Wanderlust* (2018), Fi1m 76, as Lawrence Cole — [page](https://film.one/tv/wanderlust.md) - *The Ghoul* (2017), Fi1m 68, as Tommy Parnell — [page](https://film.one/film/the-ghoul.md) - *Three Girls* (2017), Fi1m 84, as Jim Winshaw — [page](https://film.one/tv/three-girls.md) - *Chewing Gum* (2015), Fi1m 78, as Sebastien — [page](https://film.one/tv/chewing-gum.md) - *Humans* (2015), Fi1m 74, as Silas Capek — [page](https://film.one/tv/humans.md) - *Pan* (2015), Fi1m 38, as Mutti Voosht — [page](https://film.one/film/pan.md) - *Inside No. 9* (2014), Fi1m 84, as Richard Two-Shoes — [page](https://film.one/tv/inside-no-9.md) - *Lilyhammer* (2012), Fi1m 63, as Duncan Hammer — [page](https://film.one/tv/lilyhammer.md) - *Friday Night Dinner* (2011), Fi1m 74, as Rabbi — [page](https://film.one/tv/friday-night-dinner.md) - *Vera* (2011), Fi1m 72, as Dr Malcolm Donahue — [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) - *Spaced* (1999), Fi1m 86, as Hoover — [page](https://film.one/tv/spaced.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Shaun of the Dead* (2004), Fi1m 85, as Zombie Behind The Winchester (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/shaun-of-the-dead.md) ## Complete filmography (124) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Trial* (2026), as Lester - *Small Prophets* (2026), series, as Roy — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/small-prophets.md) - *The Woman in Cabin 10* (2025), as Danny Tyler - *The Hack* (2025), series, as Gary Eaton - *That Christmas* (2024), as Yirrell (voice) - *And Mrs.* (2024), as Ian - *Shardlake* (2024), series, as Brother Jerome - *Seize Them!* (2024), as King Ivarr - *The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin* (2024), series, as Ralph Ratclyff - *Sexy Beast* (2024), series, as Stan Higgins - *Black Dog* (2023), as Andre - *Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose* (2023), as Maurice - *The Puppet Asylum* (2023), as The Master - *Bank of Dave* (2023), as Rick Purdey - *Incredible Ant* (2022), series, as King Toad (voice) - *The Offering* (2022), as Heimish - *Catherine Called Birdy* (2022), as Sir John Henry Murgaw aka Shaggy Beard - *Mood* (2022), series, as Kevin — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/mood.md) - *The House* (2022), as Cosmos (voice) — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-house.md) - *The Toll* (2021), as Cliff - *Creation Stories* (2021), as Mitch - *The Watch* (2021), series, as Skimmer - *Petrichor* (2020), as Liam Daniels - *The Third Day: Autumn* (2020), as The Cowboy - *The Third Day* (2020), series, as Cowboy - *Ernie* (2020), as Ernie - *Trying* (2020), series, as Lenny - *The Stranger* (2020), series, as Patrick Katz - *Catherine the Great* (2019), series, as Yemelyan Pugachev - *Tomorrow* (2019), as Milo - *Beforeigners* (2019), series, as John Roberts - *Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman's Butler* (2019), series, as Francis - *I Am...* (2019), series, as Ryan - *Year of the Rabbit* (2019), series, as Detective Inspector Tanner - *Good Omens* (2019), series, as Electricity Board Spokesperson · Thanks - *Sliced* (2019), series, as Richard - *After Life* (2019), series, as Psychiatrist - *Anna and the Apocalypse* (2018), as Arthur Savage - *Deep Clean* (2018), as Uncle Brian - *Wanderlust* (2018), series, as Lawrence Cole — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/wanderlust.md) - *The Ghoul* (2017), as Tommy Parnell — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-ghoul.md) - *Three Girls* (2017), series, as Jim Winshaw — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/three-girls.md) - *Terry Pratchett: Back in Black* (2017), as Sir Terry Pratchett - *Urban Myths* (2017), series, as Shep Gordon, Piano Man - *The Comedian's Guide to Survival* (2016), as Phillip - *Zapped* (2016), series, as Howell - *Fungus The Bogeyman* (2015), Actor - *Fungus the Bogeyman* (2015), series, as The Bogeyhunter - *Chewing Gum* (2015), series, as Sebastien — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/chewing-gum.md) - *Pan* (2015), as Mutti Voosht — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/pan.md) - *Humans* (2015), series, as Silas Capek — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/humans.md) - *The Interceptor* (2015), series, as James Gordon 'Jago' Dalkin, James Gordon 'Jago' Dalkin (archive footage, uncredited) - *SunTrap* (2015), series, as Frederico Mercury - *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* (2015), series, as Vinculus - *The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge* (2015), as Richard Two-Shoes - *Funny Valentines* (2015), series, as Spider (voice) - *The Lady and The Fly* (2015), as Spider (voice) - *Dracula Untold* (2014), as Brother Lucian - *Blackwood* (2014), as Father Patrick - *Inside No. 9* (2014), series, as Richard Two-Shoes — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/inside-no-9.md) - *The Whale* (2013), as Matthew Joy - *Pieces* (2013), as Man - *Ripper Street* (2012), series, as Gabriel Cain — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md) - *Pusher* (2012), as Fitz - *BBC Comedy Feeds* (2012), series, as Lehane - *Playhouse Presents* (2012), series, as Ralph - *8 Minutes Idle* (2012), as Steve - *Lilyhammer* (2012), series, as Duncan Hammer — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/lilyhammer.md) - *Stella* (2012), series, Actor - *Lucky Fred* (2011), series, as Friday - *Vera* (2011), series, as Dr Malcolm Donahue — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) - *Game of Thrones* (2011), series, as Thoros of Myr — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/game-of-thrones.md) - *Candy Cabs* (2011), series, as Dennis Whitehead - *Anuvahood* (2011), as Tony - *Friday Night Dinner* (2011), series, as Rabbi — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/friday-night-dinner.md) - *Mongrels* (2010), series, as Vince (voice) - *The Big I Am* (2010), as Keys - *The Infidel* (2010), as Policeman 1 - *Malice in Wonderland* (2010), as Caterpillar - *A Child's Christmases in Wales* (2009), as Uncle Gorwel - *Gunrush* (2009), as Earl - *Personal Affairs* (2009), series, as Andi Young - *Being Human* (2009), series, as Vincent - *Chop Socky Chooks* (2008), series, as Dr. Wasabi - *Cass* (2008), as C.P. - *Angelo's* (2007), series, as Kevin - *British Film Forever* (2007), series, Actor - *WΔZ* (2007), as Gelb - *Kingdom* (2007), series, as Alan McEwan - *Skins* (2007), series, as Duncan — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/skins.md) - *Pulling* (2006), series, as Billy - *Strutter* (2006), series, as Michael 'Mike' Strutter · Creator - *Not Going Out* (2006), series, as Steve - *Modern Toss* (2006), series, Actor - *Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup* (2006), as Lenny Yeomans - *Match Point* (2005), as Estate Agent - *Pennis from Heaven* (2005), as Dennis Pennis - *Doctor Who* (2005), series, as Prentis — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) - *Short Order* (2005), as Burt Stone - *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, as Dr. Ambrose Burt - *It's All Gone Pete Tong* (2004), as Frankie Wilde - *Spivs* (2004), as O’Brien - *Shaun of the Dead* (2004), as Zombie Behind The Winchester (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/shaun-of-the-dead.md) - *Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London* (2004), as Neville - *Hustle* (2004), series, as Tim Millen - *Shameless* (2004), series, as Kermit — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/shameless.md) - *A Star Is Porn* (2003), as Mike Strutter - *Blackball* (2003), as Cliff Starkey - *Waking the Dead* (2001), series, as Dr. David Carney - *Two Thousand Acres of Sky* (2001), series, Actor - *2000 Acres Of Sky* (2001), series, Actor - *Perfect World* (2000), series, as Bob Slay - *yOORinal* (2000), Actor - *Spaced* (1999), series, as Hoover — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/spaced.md) - *Coming Soon* (1999), as Gunther von Hojdonk - *You Are Here* (1998), as DI Lindsay De Paul · Writer - *Dennis Pennis R.I.P.* (1997), as Dennis Pennis/Mike Strutter/Tony Cream/Brian Munich/Ken Touken/Lloyd Richmond/Labian Quest/Bob Boonah/Kenny Dogleash · Writer - *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Laurence Mann — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md) - *Very Important Pennis: Uncut* (1996), as Dennis Pennis/Mike Strutter/State Trooper Larry Tahato/Ken Touken · Writer - *Anyone for Pennis?* (1995), series, as Creator - *Anyone for Pennis?* (1995), as Dennis Pennis · Writer - *Found*, Actor - *The Present Times*, as Barry Nelson - *Peter*, as Peter ## Gallery - ![Paul Kaye as Mike Strutter Kilburn London (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-c625d22be213.jpg) Paul Kaye as Mike Strutter Kilburn London (2008) — Craig Stronach, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Paul_Kaye.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Paul Kaye as Mike Strutter Kilburn London (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-5d73f56d7016.jpg) Paul Kaye as Mike Strutter Kilburn London (2008) — Craig Stronach, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Paul_Kaye_as_Mike_Strutter_2008_%28cropped-J1%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Paul Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-c92a0ded439d.jpg) Paul Kaye — Malachi108, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Paul_Kaye_in_2018.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Paul Kaye in Blackwood 2013. Uploaded to Vimeo by film director Adam Wimpenny under CC-BY-3.0 Unported license on October 28, 2023.](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-ad5731e44557.jpg) Paul Kaye in Blackwood 2013. Uploaded to Vimeo by film director Adam Wimpenny under CC-BY-3.0 Unported license on October 28, 2023. — Adam Wimpenny, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Paul_Kaye_in_Blackwood_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Paul Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-378b50bd695a.jpg) Paul Kaye — Image via TMDB - ![Paul Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-4da6ff764bc0.jpg) Paul Kaye — Image via TMDB - ![Paul Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/22340/gallery-5c0ea9a10f4d.jpg) Paul Kaye — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/paul-kaye