Shaun Evans

Cool and cerebral British actor Shaun Evans played numerous figures on both sides of the legal fence before finding his star-making role as a younger version of John Thaw's dogged Inspector Morse on "Endeavour" (ITV, 2013- ). Born Shaun Francis Evans to working class Irish parents in Liverpool, England on March 6, 1980, he was an avid reader as a young man, which helped him earn a scholarship to St. Edward's College, a prestigious Catholic school in his hometown. There, he began acting in school productions and decided to pursue a career in performing. At the age of 18, he moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Stage work preceded his first television work, including his breakout role as a gay educator on the comedy-drama "Teachers" (Channel 4, 2001-04), and appearances in films like the period stage drama "Being Julia" (2004), with Annette Bening. More features soon followed, including the offbeat "Cashback" (2006) and lead roles in the thriller "Gone" (2006) and the comedy "Sparkle" (2007), but television continued to provide Evans with his most popular showcase. After playing the Earl of Southampton in "The Virgin Queen" (BBC, 2006), he was a mainstay of UK crime projects, including "The Take" (Sky 1, 2009) as the cousin of sociopathic gangster Tom Hardy, and "Ashes to Ashes" (BBC, 2009-2010), the follow-up to the popular science fiction/police procedural "Life on Mars" (BBC One, 2006-07), and the thriller series "The Last Weekend" (ITV, 2012). In 2013, Evans was cast as the lead in "Endeavour," a prequel to the much-loved "Inspector Morse" (ITV, 1987-2000) series with John Thaw as the eponymous and indefatigable police detective. Evans played Morse as a young detective constable in the 1960s, navigating department politics in Oxford while also solving cases. In 2015, he was cast in "The Scandalous Lady W" (BBC) as the spouse of Seymour Worsley (Natalie Dormer), the controversial and independent-minded 18th century lady of means. Between assignments like these and his regular work on "Endeavour" - which he also began producing in 2017 - Evans also found time to make his directorial debut with a 2017 episode of the long-running medical drama "Casualty" (BBC, 1986- ).