- Born
- Nickname
- Chris
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Christopher Eccleston trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have It (1991). However, it was a regular role in the television series Cracker (1993) that made him a recognizable figure in the United Kingdom. He appeared in the low-budget thriller Shallow Grave (1994), and in the same year, won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North (1996). It was the transmission of the latter series on BBC Two that really made him into a household name in the United Kingdom. In his film career, he has starred as a leading man alongside a number of major actresses, such as Renée Zellweger in A Price Above Rubies (1998), Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth (1998), and Cameron Diaz and Jordana Brewster in The Invisible Circus (2001), and Nicole Kidman in The Others (2001).
In addition to his successful film career, he has continued to work in television, appearing in some of the most challenging and thought-provoking British dramas. These have included Clocking Off (2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1996), the Iago character in a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello", and the religious epic The Second Coming (2003), playing Steve Baxter, the son of God. His stage career, while not as extensive as his screen credits, has nevertheless shown him to be a formidable actor. He has given intense, focused performances in such plays as "Hamlet", "Electricity" and "Miss Julie", for which he received excellent reviews.
A very highly regarded actor, Eccleston has twice been nominated in the Best Actor category at the BAFTA Television Awards, the British premiere television awards ceremony. His first nomination came in 1997 for Our Friends in the North (1996). Although he didn't win those awards, however, he did triumph in the Best Actor categories at the 1997 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the Royal Television Society Awards, winning for Our Friends in the North (1996). He won the RTS Best Actor award for a second time in 2003, this time for his performance in "Flesh and Blood". In 2005, he received the Most Popular Actor award in the National Television Awards for starring in Russell T. Davies's re-imagining of Doctor Who (2005).- IMDb Mini Biography By: northern7
- SpouseMischka(November 2011 - December 15, 2015) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenChildChild
- ParentsElsie EcclestonRonnie Eccleston
- His distinctive Lancashire accent
- He often plays intense, edgy and dangerous characters
- He emailed his old friend, the writer and producer Russell T. Davies, and asked to be put on the list of possibles for the title role in the revival of Doctor Who (2005) series. He has claimed in interviews that he was not a fan of the original Doctor Who (1963) and was really attracted to take the part because of his admiration for Davies as a writer.
- In 2015, he reprised his role as The Ninth Doctor to record special message for a 14 year old fan in hospital and another for a newly engaged couple.
- Eccleston married in 2010, and became a father to his first child, Albert, in February 2012. His wife's name has never been made public, but Eccleston spoke movingly about her and his son at a talk at the National Theatre in July 2012, comparing her to his own beloved mother.
- The reasons as to why he left Doctor Who (2005) after one season are vague. He implied that he didn't enjoy the environment that the cast and crew had to work in and didn't get along with some of the higher-ups. He also objected to the mistreatment of some of the non-actor personnel by one of the directors. Russell T. Davies stated that Eccleston was only given a one-series contract, because the BBC had no idea if the new series would be successful.
- Prior to being cast as The Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who (2005), he was offered the role of The Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who (1996).
- I wasn't always such a great fan of Shakespeare, mind you. I can guess we all at one time had it rammed down our necks at school, which tends to take the edge off it.
- A year later, and I'm average again.
- Any horror element is as much psychological as special effects.
- Culturally, we've always felt it important to express the life of the country, and working class comes into that.
- I came out of school in '79 when unemployment was really starting to bite, went back and redid my O-levels, there was a play going on and I was corralled into it.
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