Andrew Tiernan


Andrew James Tiernan is a British actor and director.

Early life

Tiernan spent his childhood in Ladywood, Birmingham. He began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre, and worked at the Midlands Art Centre, before moving to London in 1984 to take a three-year diploma studying acting, at the Drama Centre London.

Career

Theatre

His theatre work has included Joe Penhall's The Bullet at the Donmar Warehouse, and a long-term collaboration with the Tony-nominated director Wilson Milam, including Ché Walker's Flesh Wound at the Royal Court Theatre and two critically acclaimed productions of Sam Shepard's plays: A Lie of the Mind at the Donmar Warehouse,. and True West at the Bristol Old Vic. In 2008, Tiernan returned to the theatre in Dorota Maslowska's A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians co-starring with Andrea Riseborough at the Soho Theatre.

Film

Tiernan played Piers Gaveston in Derek Jarman's controversial film of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, after appearing in Lynda La Plante's award-winning drama Prime Suspect, alongside Helen Mirren. In the same year, he went on to star as Orlando and Oliver in Christine Edzard's version of Shakespeare's As You Like It playing alongside actors James Fox and Cyril Cusack. He then went on to star in the Paul Sarossy directed thriller, Mr In-Between.
He played Szalas in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist. He worked with Antonia Bird on a number of improvisational film productions, including Safe, Face, Rehab and Interview with the Vampire.
Tiernan starred in Zack Snyder's 300, an adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel, in which he portrayed Ephialtes of Trachis. Filming took place from October 2005 to January 2006 in Montreal. To portray Ephialtes, Tiernan dressed in full body prosthetics which took 10 hours each day to complete. He portrayed the character again in the sequel 300: Rise of an Empire.
He appeared as Captain Martin Stone in Marko Mäkilaakso's Stone's War.

TV

In 1993, Tiernan appeared in the series Cracker, in the episode "To Say I Love You". In 1997 played Banquo in the Shakespeare adaptation for BBC alongside James Frain and Susan Vidler. In 1998, in the British TV series Hornblower, he played Bunting in the second episode, "The Examination For Lieutenant". Other credits in television include Victor Carroon in The Quatermass Experiment, Kim Trent in Life on Mars and Lenny Spearfish in the BBC TV series Jonathan Creek, in "The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish". In 2005, he played Ben Jonson in A Waste of Shame, a William Shakespeare biopic presented as part of the BBC's ShakespeaRe-Told series. He appeared in an episode of crime drama Midsomer Murders, as Steve Bright, a photography enthusiast who is strangled with his own camera strap and in Dalziel & Pascoe as a lottery winner in the two-part episodes "Fallen Angel". In 2012, he appeared as DS Hunter in the BBC drama Prisoners' Wives.

Directing

In 2015, Tiernan made his directorial debut with the feature film Dragonfly, followed in 2017 by UK18, and in 2019 by Break Clause.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Edward IIPiers Gaveston
1991Prime SuspectDC Rosper
1992The GuiltyLeo
1992As you like itOrlando/Oliver
1992Prime Suspect 2DC Rosper
1993CrackerSean Kerrigan
1993The TrialBerthold
1994MiddlemarchDagley
1994Being HumanCyprion's Man
1994Interview with the VampireParis Vampire
1995TaggartJohn CampbellEpisode: "Black Orchid"
1995Two DeathsCaptain Jorgu
1996The SculptressGary O'Brien
1996EllingtonEddie GilmourEpisode: "Man of Honour"
1997Snow White: A Tale of TerrorScar
1997FaceChris
1997Playing GodCyril
1997Macbeth on The EstateBanquoBBC TV film
1998The Scarlet TunicMuller
1998HornblowerBunting
1999The CriminalHarris
1999Four FathersJohnny Starkie
1999Jonathan CreekLenny Spearfish -Episode: "The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish"
2000Small Time ObsessionMr Page
2000HeartbeatRay NixonEpisode: "The Seven Year Itch"
2001Left TurnJohnShort
2001In a Land of PlentyGary
2001HawkFreddieTV movie
2001Mr In-BetweenAndy
2001The BunkerLCpl Schenke
2002The PianistSzalas
2002The Red SirenKoesler
2003RehabDeanTV movie
2004Whose Baby?Dave
2004Waking the DeadDon KeechEpisode: "Anger Management"
2005The Quatermass ExperimentVictor Carroon
2005The Rotters' ClubRoy Slater
2005SpooksForster
2005A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and his SonnetsBen JonsonTV movie
2006Snuff-MovieConstable Fred
2006Life on MarsKim Trent
2006Dalziel and PascoeJake McNallyEpisode: "Fallen Angel"
2006300Ephialtes
2007Midsomer MurdersSteve BrightEpisode: "Picture of Innocence"
2008Heroes and VillainsCrixusEpisode: "Spartacus"
2008Stone's WarCaptain Stone
2008New TricksSgt Major SharrattEpisode: "Mad Dogs"
2008SurvivorsGavin
2009CasualtyO'NeillTV series
2009HarvestBlue
2009MurderlandWhitaker
2009The BillCraig Middleton
2010Mr NiceAlan Marcuson
2010LutherRichard Henley
2010Whitechapel IISteven Dukes
2011Doctor WhoPurcellEpisode: "Night Terrors"
2011InjusticeMichael Bankes
2012Prisoners' WivesDS Hunter
2012MerlinOsgar
2013Foyle's WarGeoffrey HelliwellEpisode: "Sunflowers"
2013DragonflyDS Blake
2014300: Rise of an EmpireEphialtes
2014Dark Souls IIChancellor Wellager Video game
2014CommonPete O'Shea
2014AutómataManager
2014The Great FireVincent
2014The MessengerDad
2015Silent WitnessDCI John McLeodEpisode: "Falling Angels"
2015Code of a KillerGeoff Taylor
2015No OffenceMichael Docherty
2016Moving OnRob
2017Safe HouseRoger Lane
2017Us and ThemTommy
2017Bounty HuntersSmith
2018Marcella Nigel Stafford
2019Death in Paradise Paul Raynor
2019Burning MenMad Dad
20212003PhilShort film
2021Innocent John Taylor
2021Code of SilencePeter Brodie