64 Facts About Christopher Eccleston

Christopher Eccleston garnered attention for his film roles as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have It and David Stevens in Shallow Grave, and for his television performances in Cracker and Hillsborough.

Christopher Eccleston garnered widespread attention and acclaim for his role in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, becoming the first to play the title character since 1996.

Christopher Eccleston departed the role after just one series, for which he won a National Television Award and received nominations for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award and BAFTA Cymru Award.

Christopher Eccleston won an International Emmy Award for his performance in an episode of the anthology series Accused.

Christopher Eccleston was born on 16 February 1964 into a working-class family in the Langworthy area of Salford, Lancashire, the son of Elsie and Ronnie Christopher Eccleston.

Christopher Eccleston has two brothers named Alan and Keith, twins who are eight years older than him.

Christopher Eccleston attended Joseph Eastham High School, where he became head boy.

At the age of 19, Christopher Eccleston was inspired to pursue acting by such television dramas as Boys from the Blackstuff.

Christopher Eccleston completed a two-year Performance Foundation Course at Salford Tech, then went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Christopher Eccleston was influenced in his early years by Ken Loach's film Kes and Albert Finney's performance in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the works of William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, and Moliere.

Christopher Eccleston first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in the film Let Him Have It, and the Inspector Morse episode "Second Time Around".

At around the same time, Christopher Eccleston appeared in the episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" of the Poirot series adapted from mysteries by Agatha Christie.

Christopher Eccleston appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave, in which he co-starred with actor Ewan McGregor.

Christopher Eccleston starred in an ensemble cast that included actors Mark Strong and Gina McKee, as well as Daniel Craig.

Christopher Eccleston played a major role as the protagonist of the 2002 Revengers Tragedy, adapted from Thomas Middleton's play of the same name.

Christopher Eccleston starred in the independent films A Price Above Rubies and The Invisible Circus.

Christopher Eccleston appeared in the car-heist film Gone in 60 Seconds, but did not take his driving test until January 2004.

Christopher Eccleston said on BBC's Top Gear that his licence restricts him to vehicles with automatic transmission.

Christopher Eccleston has appeared in a variety of television roles, especially in British dramas.

Christopher Eccleston has made guest appearances in episodes of the comedy-drama Linda Green and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen.

Christopher Eccleston appeared in a stage role in Hamlet in the 2002 production at Leeds's West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Christopher Eccleston has been twice nominated in the Best Actor category at the British Academy Television Awards.

Christopher Eccleston was nominated in 2004 for The Second Coming; Bill Nighy won for State of Play.

Christopher Eccleston won the Best Actor category at the 1997 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for Our Friends in the North.

On 2 April 2004, it was announced that Christopher Eccleston was to play the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the revival of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Christopher Eccleston was the first actor to play the role who was born after the series began.

Christopher Eccleston later stated that he left the show because he "didn't enjoy the environment or the culture that the cast and crew had to work in", but that he was proud of having played the role.

On 7 November 2008, at the National Theatre to promote his book The Writer's Tale, Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies said that Christopher Eccleston's contract was for a single year because it was uncertain whether the show would continue beyond a single revival series.

Christopher Eccleston was voted "Most Popular Actor" at the 2005 National Television Awards for his portrayal of the Doctor.

In July 2012, Christopher Eccleston spoke positively of his time on Doctor Who during a talk at the National Theatre.

However, after discussions with executive producer Steven Moffat, Christopher Eccleston declined his role.

Christopher Eccleston began appearing as a guest at Doctor Who conventions for the first time in 2018.

Christopher Eccleston had previously expressed his reluctance to appear at conventions, saying in 2017 that he preferred to "just earn [his] living by acting".

Christopher Eccleston has since said that his experience of meeting fans at conventions "healed something in [him]" and made him re-evaluate his relationship to the series.

Christopher Eccleston was later confirmed to appear in a further four boxsets, releasing in 2022 and 2023.

On 30 October 2005, Christopher Eccleston appeared on stage at The Old Vic theatre in London in the one-night play Night Sky alongside Navin Chowdhry, Bruno Langley, David Warner, Saffron Burrows and David Baddiel.

Christopher Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005.

In December 2005, Christopher Eccleston travelled to Indonesia's Aceh province for the BBC Breakfast news programme, examining how survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami were rebuilding their lives.

In March 2006, Christopher Eccleston appeared in the ITV documentary special Best Ever Muppet Moments as a commentator.

Christopher Eccleston joined the cast of the NBC TV series Heroes in the episode "Godsend", which was broadcast on 22 January 2007.

Christopher Eccleston played a character named Claude who has the power of invisibility, and helps Peter Petrelli with his powers.

Christopher Eccleston appeared as the Rider in a film adaptation of Susan Cooper's novel The Dark Is Rising, which opened in the USA on 5 October 2007.

Christopher Eccleston appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth with Jonathan Ross and Archie Panjabi.

In 2009, Christopher Eccleston starred opposite Archie Panjabi in a short film called The Happiness Salesman.

Christopher Eccleston agreed to do the film because of Panjabi and the fact that it was a winner of the British Short Screenplay Competition.

That same year, Christopher Eccleston appeared in an episode of The Sarah Silverman Program and starred in the film Amelia as Fred Noonan alongside Richard Gere, Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor.

Christopher Eccleston was cast as John Lennon in a BBC production called Lennon Naked which aired in the UK on 23 June 2010, with Christopher Eccleston playing the title role, and Naoko Mori, who had previously appeared with him in Doctor Who, as Yoko Ono.

In November 2010, Christopher Eccleston starred in the first episode of BBC One anthology drama Accused.

Christopher Eccleston won an International Emmy Award for his role.

On 31 December 2011, Christopher Eccleston played the role of Pod Clock in an adaptation of Mary Norton's children's novel The Borrowers on BBC One.

In September 2012, Christopher Eccleston starred in the film Song for Marion, known as Unfinished Song with Terence Stamp.

In 2013, Christopher Eccleston portrayed the villainous Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, the sequel to Thor and the eighth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

From 2014 to 2017, Christopher Eccleston starred as Reverend Matt Jamison on the HBO drama series The Leftovers and earned consistent acclaim for his performance across all three seasons.

In 2015, Christopher Eccleston starred in the television series Fortitude as a scientist based in Arctic Norway alongside Stanley Tucci and Michael Gambon before he and Marsha Thomason played a married couple who own a guest house in the Lake District in the series Safe House.

Later in 2015, Christopher Eccleston starred as Leonard "Nipper" Read in Legend, a film about the Kray twins, opposite Tom Hardy.

In 2016, Christopher Eccleston began appearing as Maurice Scott in the BBC drama The A Word.

Christopher Eccleston played the lead role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth in 2018.

Also in 2018, Christopher Eccleston starred in two films; opposite Tom Wilkinson as crime boss Harvey in Dead in a Week or Your Money Back and as a Nazi officer Heinz in Where Hands Touch.

In 2021, Christopher Eccleston starred in the six-part television mini-series Close to Me.

Christopher Eccleston is a lifelong supporter of Manchester United, and was a regular marathon runner until 2000.

Christopher Eccleston became a Mencap charity ambassador on 28 April 2005, and is a supporter of the British Red Cross.

In politics, Christopher Eccleston has criticised the Conservative Party and expressed concern at opportunities for actors from his background to achieve his level of success in the future.

Christopher Eccleston endorsed Labour Party incumbent Andy Burnham in the 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election.

Christopher Eccleston is a British republican who supports the abolition of the British monarchy.