Ian Beattie

Born in Belfast in 1965, Ian Beattie attended Methodist College Belfast, and then went to law school at Queens University. He qualified to become a Barrister, but the stage was his true calling, so, Beattie went back to school: this time, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. His acting career began on stage in his native city with early roles in "The Taming of the Shrew" (Lyric Theater, Belfast, 1993) and "Pinocchio" (Arts Theater, Belfast, 1994) before making his first on screen appearance in 2 episodes of the Irish Potato Famine min-series, "The Hanging Gale" (RTE, 1995). Once he had broken in, Beattie maintained a consistent presence both on stage and screen. His first international exposure came in "Alexander" (2004). Beattie played Antigonus in director Oliver Stone's epic, starring Colin Farrell. Beattie was frequently cast as Irish characters, as in the TV movie "Mo" (Channel 4, 2010) when he played Irish politician Michael Stone in the biopic of Northern Ireland Secretary of State Mo Mowlam, played by Julie Walters. Beattie found wide exposure when he was cast in a supporting role in the hugely popular "Game of Thrones" (HBO, 2011- ). As Ser Meryn Trant, he played one of the few characters to survive for multiple seasons on the notoriously bloody series. Beattie also played a supporting role in the well received "Starred Up" (2013), then a recurring role on series two of "Line of Duty" (BBC2, 2014), before landing his first leading series role in the Irish political comedy "Number 2's" (BBC, 2015-).