# Nick Blood
**Nick Blood** (born 1982) is a British actor known for playing the mercenary Lance Hunter in the American series *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*, for roles in *Euphoria*, *Slow Horses*, *Andor*, and *The Day of the Jackal*, and for stage work including the West End productions *Backbeat* and *Sting*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) He works across British and American television, film, and theater, and also directs and writes short films.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, London, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) |
| Training | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) |
| Breakthrough role | Lance Hunter in *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* (ABC, from 2014), his American television debut[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) |
| Signature stage role | Stuart Sutcliffe in the West End production of *Backbeat* (2011–2012)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) |
| Awards | 2025 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, shared with the cast of *The Day of the Jackal*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454/awards/) |
| Recent lead role | Leo in *Hit Point* (2026), a six-part crime thriller on U and U&Dave opposite Saffron Hocking[4](https://hungermag.com/art-culture/nick-blood-shows-his-versatility-in-hit-point) |
| Other work | Director of the shorts *A Devil on Each Shoulder* (2014) and *Hero* (2015); co-writer with actor Ben Deery under the name WE.BUY.GOLD[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) |
## Early life and training
Blood was born in London in 1982.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) He became interested in acting at the age of seven after joining a local drama club, where an early experience performing for an audience set him on the path; he has recalled that the audience response "set something off" in him.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [5](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/) Acting was not an obvious career in his family background, and he has said that no one he knew went to drama school; while at university he auditioned for the ITV Television Workshop in Bristol, met people training professionally, and applied for drama school from there.[5](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/)
He trained at the [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art), and his career took off in 2009 with his professional stage debut in *The Priory* at the [Royal Court Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-court-theatre), directed by Jeremy Herrin.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) That same year he made his first television appearance in a two-part episode of the police drama *The Bill*, playing Mick Jones.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [7](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/nick-blood)
## Theatre company and early stage work
In 2009 Blood co-founded his own theater company, WE.BUY.GOLD, with fellow actor Ben Deery, whom he met at LAMDA.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [8](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/nick-blood.html) He co-wrote and starred in the company's first production, *Inches Apart*, staged at Theatre 503, which won the Old Vic New Voices Theatre 503 Award.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/)
His stage career continued alongside television work. He played [Stuart Sutcliffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/stuart-sutcliffe), the original bassist of the Beatles, in the West End production of *Backbeat* at the [Duke of York](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-of-york)'s Theatre from 2011 to 2012, and trained as a bass guitarist for the role.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [8](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/nick-blood.html) Other theater credits include Sordido in *Women Beware Women* at the National Theatre (directed by Marianne Elliot), Antonio in *The Duchess of Malfi* at Royal and Derngate Theatre, Jim in *The Boy on the Swing* at the Arcola, and Mark in Dennis Kelly's *After the End* at Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by Lyndsey Turner.[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) • [9](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Nick-Blood/)
## Television career
**British comedy and drama.** Through the early 2010s Blood built a record of British television comedy and drama roles: Alex in *Material Girl* ([BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one), 2010), Harry Stevens in *Stanley Park* ([BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three)), Kieran in the sitcom *Trollied* (Sky 1, from 2011), and Lee, a former boyfriend who comes between series leads [Sarah Solemani](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-solemani) and Russell Tovey, in *Him & Her* (BBC Three).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/6084/nick-blood) He also appeared in *Misfits* (E4) as Dom, in Danny Boyle's police series *Babylon* (Channel 4) as Officer Warwick, in *The Bletchley Circle* (ITV) as Ben Gladstone, and in the film *Spike Island* (2012) as Dave Famous.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) • [7](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/nick-blood)
**Marvel and American television.** In 2014 Blood made his American television debut as the [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics) character Lance Hunter, a British mercenary recruited to work for the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., in *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* on ABC.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) Hunter and his former wife and partner Bobbi Morse, the superhero [Mockingbird](https://www.edgepedia.org/mockingbird) played by [Adrianne Palicki](https://www.edgepedia.org/adrianne-palicki), proved popular additions to the program and were briefly considered as the leads for a spinoff series, *Marvel's Most Wanted*; that show was ordered to pilot in 2015 but was shelved for an indefinite period, allowing both actors to return to the parent program.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/) He continued as Lance Hunter through later seasons, appearing in seasons 2, 3, and 5.[11](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-574420/filmographie/)
**Later television roles.** Blood's subsequent credits span British and American productions: Gus, father of [Sydney Sweeney](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-sweeney)'s character Cassie, in HBO's *Euphoria* (2019–2022); Thomas in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) and Viaplay miniseries *Close to Me* (2021); Sturges in the third season of Apple TV's BAFTA-nominated *Slow Horses* (2022); Corporal Kimzi in *Andor* (Disney+, 2022); Mason in *Rain Dogs* (BBC/HBO, 2023); Michael Strachan in *The Chemistry of Death* (Paramount+, 2023); and Jimmy Knight in *Strike* (BBC/Cinemax).[5](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/) • [6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) In 2024 he played Gary in the ITVX series *Joan* and Vince Pyne in six episodes of *The Day of the Jackal*, the Carnival-produced thriller starring [Eddie Redmayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-redmayne) and Lashana Lynch.[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) • [10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/6084/nick-blood) The *Jackal* cast received a 2025 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454/awards/)
## Recent work, 2025–2026
In 2025 Blood appeared as Dr. Balthas in the Channel 4 miniseries *Beth* and in the short *Seen But Not Heard*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) On stage he played Benedick in Michael Longhurst's Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of *Much Ado About Nothing* at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2025.[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) • [9](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Nick-Blood/)
In 2026 he took on two contrasting screen roles and a stage lead. He plays Phil Plank in *[Twenty Twenty Six](https://www.edgepedia.org/twenty-twenty-six)*, a six-part football mockumentary for BBC One and iPlayer from the team behind *W1A* and *Twenty Twelve*, directed by John Morton.[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/) • [12](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/artist/nick-blood) He stars as detective Leo opposite Saffron Hocking's Bella in *Hit Point*, StudioCanal's six-part crime thriller set in [West London](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-london), from the creators of *Misfits*, airing on U and U&Dave; the series follows the detective duo as an armed robbery case draws their personal lives into a will-they-won't-they romance.[4](https://hungermag.com/art-culture/nick-blood-shows-his-versatility-in-hit-point) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454/news/) On stage he plays Dom in the world premiere of *Sting*, a new play by Sophie Swithinbank directed by Nancy Medina at the Young Vic's Maria Studio, alongside Adelle Leonce and Phoebe Ladenburg.[9](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Nick-Blood/)
## Directing and writing
Beyond acting, Blood has directed two short films, *A Devil on Each Shoulder* (2014) and *Hero* (2015), and is attached as director and writer of the short *A Means to an Ending*, in post-production, in which he also plays Joe.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) He writes alongside Ben Deery under the name WE.BUY.GOLD, and in interviews around 2021 he described developing both a short film and a television series.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454) • [14](https://www.therakishgent.co.uk/pages/spotlight-mr-nick-blood)
## Approach to roles
Blood has described variety as what keeps him interested, moving between comedy and drama and between stage and screen.[15](https://modmagazine.com/nick-blood-unscripted-a-candid-conversation-with-the-hit-point-star/) He has said that roles with stronger intentions and more extremes to play are the most accessible to him as an actor, and that playing the vicious, tightly wound Gary in *Joan* was satisfying precisely because it was a role he would not ordinarily be seen for.[5](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/) He has also noted his professional luck: from about six months out of drama school he has not had to work any other job.[5](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/)
## References
1. [Nick Blood, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454)
2. [Nick Blood, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nick-blood/)
3. [Nick Blood, Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454/awards/)
4. [Nick Blood is right on target in Hit Point, Hunger](https://hungermag.com/art-culture/nick-blood-shows-his-versatility-in-hit-point)
5. [Exclusive Interview: Nick Blood, Fabric Magazine](https://fabricmagazine.co.uk/people/exclusive-interview-nick-blood/)
6. [Nick Blood, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/nick-blood/)
7. [Nick Blood Movies and TV Shows, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/nick-blood)
8. [Nick Blood, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/nick-blood.html)
9. [Nick Blood, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Nick-Blood/)
10. [Nick Blood, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/6084/nick-blood)
11. [Nick Blood : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-574420/filmographie/)
12. [Nick Blood, Sue Terry Voices](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/artist/nick-blood)
13. [Nick Blood, News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435454/news/)
14. [Spotlight: Mr Nick Blood, The Rakish Gent](https://www.therakishgent.co.uk/pages/spotlight-mr-nick-blood)
15. [Nick Blood, Unscripted, MOD Magazine](https://modmagazine.com/nick-blood-unscripted-a-candid-conversation-with-the-hit-point-star/)
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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 Be to B*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license