# Paddy Considine
**Paddy Considine** (born 1973, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English actor, screenwriter, director, and musician known for intense character work in British film and television, for the BAFTA-winning short *Dog Altogether* and feature *Tyrannosaur*, and for playing King Viserys Targaryen in HBO's *House of the Dragon*.[1](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paddy_considine) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) His career total stands at 17 wins and 35 nominations.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) Sources disagree on his birth year: Rotten Tomatoes and TV Insider give 5 September 1973, while the University of Brighton and Cineuropa give 1974.[1](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paddy_considine) • [3](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/) • [4](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England (some sources give 1974)[1](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paddy_considine) • [3](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/) |
| Training | Photography at the University of Brighton; met Shane Meadows on a performing arts course at Burton College[3](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/03/paddy-considine-red-riding) |
| Screen debut | Morell in Shane Meadows' *A Room for Romeo Brass* (1999)[4](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/) |
| Directing debut | Short *Dog Altogether* (2007), BAFTA Best Short Film 2008; feature *Tyrannosaur* (2011), BAFTA Outstanding Debut 2012[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) |
| Signature acting roles | *Dead Man's Shoes* (2004), *In America* (2002), *Hot Fuzz* (2007), *Pride* (2014), King Viserys in *House of the Dragon* (2022)[6](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867) |
| Awards total | 17 wins and 35 nominations[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) |
| Music | Lead singer of the rock band Riding the Low; album *The Death of Gobshite Rambo* (2022)[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/12/paddy-considine-interview-music-is-what-i-love) |
## Early life and route into acting
Considine grew up in a working-class household in the Winshill suburb of Burton-on-Trent, one of seven children.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paddy-considine/) He studied a performing arts course at Burton College, where he met the future director [Shane Meadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/shane-meadows), and did not complete his studies; he went on to take a photography degree at the University of Brighton, earning a first-class degree, and worked as a professional photographer until the late 1990s, publishing portrait essays in newspapers including *The Guardian*.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paddy-considine/) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/03/paddy-considine-red-riding) • [3](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/)
Meadows cast his untrained friend in his first screen role, the disturbed Morell in *A Room for Romeo Brass* (1999), a performance that marked him out immediately.[4](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/) • [6](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867) Pawel Pawlikowski then cast him as the lovestruck misfit Alfie in *Last Resort* (2000), for which he won the Thessaloniki Film Festival Best Actor prize, tied with Misel Maticevic for *Lost Killers*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/)
## Acting career
**Breakthrough roles.** Considine built a reputation on morally or mentally troubled characters. He appeared in [Michael Winterbottom](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-winterbottom)'s *24 Hour Party People* (2002) and played an Irish immigrant struggling in New York in [Jim Sheridan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-sheridan)'s *In America* (2002), a role that brought a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama.[1](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paddy_considine) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) *[Dead Man's Shoes](https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-mans-shoes-2004-film)* (2004), the revenge drama he co-wrote with Meadows, became his calling card: he won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor and the Empire Award for Best British Actor for it.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/07/paddy-considine-actor-i-was-portrayed-angry-i-was-just-ill) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/)
**Range.** He moved between studio supporting parts, including *Cinderella Man* (2005) and an ill-fated Guardian reporter in *The Bourne Ultimatum* (2007), and comedy, notably as Detective Andy Wainwright in [Edgar Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-wright) and [Simon Pegg](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-pegg)'s *Hot Fuzz* (2007) and *The World's End* (2013), and as a pretentious mystic in [Richard Ayoade](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-ayoade)'s *Submarine* (2010).[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/07/paddy-considine-actor-i-was-portrayed-angry-i-was-just-ill) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/30/paddy-considine-i-never-wanted-to-sell-my-soul-for-this) On television he played the title detective in ITV's *The Suspicions of Mr Whicher* (2011–2014) and led Channel 4's *Red Riding: 1980* (2009) under director James Marsh.[6](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/03/paddy-considine-red-riding) Later film work includes the union activist Dai Donovan in *Pride* (2014) and roles in *The Death of Stalin* (2017) and *The Girl with All the Gifts* (2016).[6](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867) • [4](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/)
**House of the Dragon.** In 2022 Considine took his most high-profile television role, King Viserys Targaryen in HBO's *Game of Thrones* prequel *House of the Dragon*, and won the IGN Award for Best Dramatic TV Performance for it.[6](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) He subsequently appeared in the crime series *MobLand* (2025), earning a 2026 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Supporting Actor.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) In July 2026, filming began on Ronan Bennett's six-part [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) and Studiocanal series *Army of Shadows*, inspired by [Jean-Pierre Melville](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-pierre-melville)'s 1969 film, with Considine leading a cast that includes [America Ferrera](https://www.edgepedia.org/america-ferrera), Alex Hassell, and Kit Harington.[11](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/paddy-considine-america-ferrera-alex-hassell-and-kit-harington-lead-ronan-bennetts-army)
## Writing and directing
Considine's directing career began with the short film *Dog Altogether* (2007), which won the BAFTA for Best Short Film in 2008 (shared with producer Diarmid Scrimshaw) and the Corto Cortissimo Award for Best Short Film at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/) • [4](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/) He transferred its characters into his feature debut *Tyrannosaur* (2011), a social-realist study of a self-destructive man offered redemption through a Christian charity shop worker played by [Olivia Colman](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-colman).[3](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/) The film won him the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer (shared with [Scrimshaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/scrimshaw)), the Sundance World Cinema Directing Award, the BIFA Douglas Hickox Award, and festival prizes at Munich, Nantucket, Stockholm, and Mar del Plata.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/)
His second feature, *Journeyman* (2017), follows a middleweight boxer, Matty Burton, whose career is upended by a serious head injury; Considine wrote, directed, and starred, directing himself for the first time.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/journeyman_2018) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/30/paddy-considine-i-never-wanted-to-sell-my-soul-for-this) Critics praised the performances while noting the familiar recovery-arc structure; the film holds an 85% Tomatometer rating.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/journeyman_2018)
## Health, music, and working style
Considine was diagnosed with [Asperger syndrome](https://www.edgepedia.org/asperger-syndrome) in 2010, and a specialist subsequently identified a severe case of Irlen Syndrome, a perceptual condition in which the brain struggles to process full-spectrum light; he has worn tinted contact lenses since. He has said the diagnosis explained years of difficulty with eye contact, hypersensitivity to light, and a public reputation for being angry and difficult that he attributes to being unwell rather than hostile.[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/light-relief-how-the-volatile-actor-paddy-considine-came-to-terms-with-an-unusual-ailment-8599846.html) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/30/paddy-considine-i-never-wanted-to-sell-my-soul-for-this)
Music is his first and enduring passion. He sings in the rock band Riding the Low, formed with childhood friends, and the band released the album *The Death of Gobshite Rambo* in 2022, the year he was also starring in *House of the Dragon*.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/12/paddy-considine-interview-music-is-what-i-love) • [14](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/paddy-considine-interview-album-b2047450.html) He has said he still feels like an impostor as an actor and has remained loyal to [Burton upon Trent](https://www.edgepedia.org/burton-upon-trent), declining to pursue Hollywood work and refusing to audition for roles he has not been offered directly.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/12/paddy-considine-interview-music-is-what-i-love) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/03/paddy-considine-red-riding)
## References
1. [Paddy Considine, Rotten Tomatoes celebrity page](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paddy_considine)
2. [Paddy Considine – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175916/awards/)
3. [Paddy Considine, actor and director, University of Brighton arts history](https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/artsbrighton/the-history-of-arts-education-in-brighton/paddy-considine/)
4. [Paddy Considine filmography, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/filmography/115571/)
5. [Dark star, The Guardian (2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/03/paddy-considine-red-riding)
6. [10 Roles That Made Us Appreciate Paddy Considine, BBC America](https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/10-roles-that-made-us-appreciate-paddy-considine--1057867)
7. [Paddy Considine: 'I feel like an impostor acting', The Guardian (2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/12/paddy-considine-interview-music-is-what-i-love)
8. [Paddy Considine, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paddy-considine/)
9. [Paddy Considine: 'I was always portrayed as angry, but I was just ill', The Guardian (2014)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/07/paddy-considine-actor-i-was-portrayed-angry-i-was-just-ill)
10. [Paddy Considine: 'I never wanted to sell my soul for this', The Guardian (2018)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/30/paddy-considine-i-never-wanted-to-sell-my-soul-for-this)
11. [Paddy Considine and cast lead Army of Shadows, Channel 4 press release (2026)](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/paddy-considine-america-ferrera-alex-hassell-and-kit-harington-lead-ronan-bennetts-army)
12. [Journeyman, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/journeyman_2018)
13. [Light relief: How the volatile actor Paddy Considine came to terms with an unusual ailment, The Independent (2013)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/light-relief-how-the-volatile-actor-paddy-considine-came-to-terms-with-an-unusual-ailment-8599846.html)
14. [Paddy Considine: 'Hollywood destroys people's lives', The Independent (2022)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/paddy-considine-interview-album-b2047450.html)
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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 C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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