# Neil Maskell
**Neil Maskell** (born 1976 in London, England) is an English actor, writer, and director whose screen career includes mid-1990s television work and the 2023 release of his first feature as writer-director, *Klokkenluider*[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html) • [2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315). He is best known for the lead role in [Ben Wheatley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-wheatley)'s horror thriller *Kill List* (2011), for the assassin Arby in [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s *Utopia*, and for playing [Winston Churchill](https://www.edgepedia.org/winston-churchill) in *Peaky Blinders*[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell) • [4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull) • [2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, London, England; occupations listed as actor, author, and motion picture producer and director[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html) |
| Training | Anna Scher acting school in Islington from age 11; Miskin Theatre at North West Kent College, 1992–1994 as actor, later returning as a director[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/) • [6](https://miskintheatre.co.uk/team/name-one-2/) |
| Breakthrough | Lead role in *Kill List* (2011); BIFA Best Actor nomination[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/) |
| Signature TV roles | Arby in *Utopia* (2013–2014); Winston Churchill in *Peaky Blinders*; Stuart in *Hijack*[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull) • [2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315) • [7](https://www.42mp.com/talent/neil-maskell) |
| Behind the camera | *Klokkenluider*, first film as writer-director, released in UK cinemas 1 September 2023[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315) • [8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/) |
| Notable late result | *Bull* (2021) reached number one on Netflix UK's Top 10 most-watched movies after its August 2023 pickup[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315) |
## Early life and training
Maskell was born in London in 1976[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html). From the age of 11 he attended the Anna Scher acting school in [Islington](https://www.edgepedia.org/islington), and he later studied at the Miskin Theatre at North West Kent College; the Miskin records him as an actor there from 1992 to 1994, and he subsequently returned to the school as a director[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/) • [6](https://miskintheatre.co.uk/team/name-one-2/). His first theater work came alongside [Danny Dyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-dyer) when he was 18[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia).
## Career beginnings
He began acting as a teenager, making his television debut in *The Bill*, and stage work with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/). His feature film debut came in [Gary Oldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-oldman)'s directorial debut, the kitchen sink drama *Nil by Mouth* (1997)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell).
**Crime and hooligan roles.** Through the 2000s he became known through British crime cinema, playing Danny Dyer's best mate in the 2004 hooligan film *The Football Factory* and a petty villain in the 2007 Essex gangland saga *Rise of the Footsoldier*[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull).
## Breakthrough: Kill List and Ben Wheatley
The turning point came in 2011 with *Kill List*, Ben Wheatley's hallucinogenic hitman horror. The film launched Wheatley into the major leagues and was seen as reviving the long-dormant pagan horror tradition of British cinema[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull). Maskell played the lead, and the film was widely seen in Britain as a return to a scarier, more realistic style of horror, with his performance specifically singled out for its naturalism[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell). In 2011 he was nominated as Best Actor by the British Independent Film Awards for the role[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/).
The Wheatley collaboration predated the film: the two had worked together on the sketch comedy television program *The Wrong Door*[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell). His *Kill List* co-star [Michael Smiley](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-smiley), whom he describes as "like family to me", is part of that circle[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia).
## Television work
**Utopia.** From 2013 to 2014 Maskell played Arby, the emotionally disturbed ex-child soldier and wheezing assassin in a gray pleather jacket, in Channel 4's drama *Utopia*[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia). Arby wanders into a school and calmly murders six children and two teachers; the scene drew 37 complaints to Ofcom and a further 28 to Channel 4[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia).
**Peaky Blinders and later drama.** He played wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in *Peaky Blinders*, the [Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham) gangster series that ended in April 2022, and expressed interest in reprising the role in the then-planned standalone film[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315). His agency credits include Stuart in the Apple TV+ thriller *Hijack*, directed by Jim Field Smith and opposite [Idris Elba](https://www.edgepedia.org/idris-elba), and *Litvinenko*[7](https://www.42mp.com/talent/neil-maskell) • [4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull). The Miskin filmography also lists *Humans* and *C.B. Strike* among his television credits[6](https://miskintheatre.co.uk/team/name-one-2/).
**Comedy.** A parallel comedy career runs alongside the dramatic work: from a 1996 appearance in *The Thin Blue Line* through Police Officer Neil in *Sex Education* Series 2 (2020) and [Ernie Wise](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernie-wise) in *Eric, Ernie And Me* (2017)[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/).
## Film career and Bull
His film credits include *The Mummy* (as Dr. Whemple, [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures), directed by [Alex Kurtzman](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-kurtzman)), and *[King Arthur: Legend of the Sword](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-arthur-legend-of-the-sword)* (Warner Bros, Guy Ritchie)[7](https://www.42mp.com/talent/neil-maskell).
**Bull.** In Paul Andrew Williams's 2021 film *Bull*, Maskell played the vengeful gangster of the title, in a performance the Guardian called part of a "brilliantly brutal" film[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull). Originally released in 2021, the film was picked up by Netflix UK in August 2023 and went straight to number one on the platform's Top 10 most-watched movies list[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315).
## Behind the camera: Klokkenluider
*Klokkenluider*, Maskell's first film as writer-director, hit UK cinemas on 1 September 2023[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315) • [8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/). It is a conspiracy thriller[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315). The move behind the camera sits alongside his listed occupations of author and motion picture producer and director in the Library of Congress authority record[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html).
## Reception and acting style
Critics have characterized Maskell's range across two registers. On one side sit the naturalistic, frightening turns: the singled-out realism of *Kill List* and the disturbing Arby in *Utopia*[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia). On the other sit the tough-guy and villain parts that made his name, from *The Football Factory* and *Rise of the Footsoldier* to the vengeful lead in *Bull* and the air-traffic menace of *Hijack*[4](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull). The comedy credits, from *The Thin Blue Line* in 1996 to *Sex Education* and *Eric, Ernie And Me*, show that breadth extends to sitcom and sketch work[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/).
## By the numbers
His credits include a 1996 *The Thin Blue Line* episode and the 1 September 2023 cinema release of *Klokkenluider*[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/) • [2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315). The documented award recognition is the 2011 British Independent Film Awards Best Actor nomination for *Kill List*[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/). The *Utopia* school scene generated 65 recorded complaints across Ofcom and Channel 4 (37 and 28 respectively)[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia). *Bull* reached the number one position on Netflix UK's Top 10 in August 2023, two years after its original release[2](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315).
## Verifying the filmography
His credits can be checked against several independent records: the 42 [Management](https://www.edgepedia.org/management) & Production agency CV for current roles and directors[7](https://www.42mp.com/talent/neil-maskell), the British Comedy Guide credits database for comedy, writing, and directing work[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/), the Miskin Theatre alumni profile[6](https://miskintheatre.co.uk/team/name-one-2/), and the Library of Congress name authority record for identity and dates[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html).
## References
1. [Maskell, Neil, 1976- , Library of Congress Name Authority Record](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2012126585.html)
2. [Neil Maskell: Klokkenluider and playing Churchill in Peaky Blinders, NME, 1 September 2023](https://www.nme.com/news/film/neil-maskell-klokkenluider-churchill-peaky-blinders-3492315)
3. [Neil Maskell Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/neil-maskell)
4. [Neil Maskell: 'If me and Idris Elba got into a physical altercation, I'd last about a second!', The Guardian, 22 August 2023](http://theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/22/neil-maskell-interview-klokkenluider-kill-list-hijack-bull)
5. [Neil Maskell - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0556453/bio/)
6. [Neil Maskell, Miskin Theatre](https://miskintheatre.co.uk/team/name-one-2/)
7. [Neil Maskell, 42 Management & Production](https://www.42mp.com/talent/neil-maskell)
8. [Neil Maskell, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/neil_maskell/)
9. [Neil Maskell: Searching for Utopia, The Guardian, 11 July 2014](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/neil-maskell-utopia)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames L to Mb*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license