Neil Maskell
Maskell in 2022
Born	1976 (age 47–48) London, England
Alma mater	North West Kent College
Occupations	Actor writer director
Years active	1991–present

Neil Maskell (born 1976)^[1] is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films. His credits include Nil by Mouth (1997), The Football Factory (2004), Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), Doghouse (2009), Bonded by Blood (2010), Kill List (2011), Wild Bill (2011), St George's Day and Piggy (both 2012), The Great Train Robbery (2013), Raised by Wolves (2015), The Mummy (2017), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), Peaky Blinders (2019), Bull (2021), Litvinenko (2022), and Hijack (2023).

Early life

Maskell was born in London. As a youth, he played football for Long Lane JFC as a full back. He first trained in acting at the Anna Scher Theatre in Islington, London, where he attended classes from the age of 11,^[2] and studied at the Miskin Theatre, Dartford at North West Kent College from 1992. He later worked as a director at the Miskin Theatre.^[3]

Career

Film

Maskell's film career began in 1997 with an appearance as Schmuddie in Gary Oldman's directorial debut Nil by Mouth which was Nominated for a Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for best film at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.^[4] In 2004, he appeared as Rod, best friend and sidekick of Tommy, (played by Danny Dyer), in the British hooligan film The Football Factory, which also starred Tamer Hassan, Frank Harper, and Roland Manookian.^[5]

In 2007, he was in the British gangster movie Rise of the Footsoldier, also starring Craig Fairbrass and Terry Stone.^[6] In 2009, he appeared as Banksy in the comedy zombie film Doghouse, alongside Stephen Graham and Danny Dyer.^[7]

His leading role in the 2011 thriller Kill List (2011),^[8] attracted positive reviews from critics earning many nominations for the Best Actor, including at the British Independent Film Awards.^[9] In 2011, he also starred in Wild Bill, in a cast which included Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Leo Gregory, Liz White, Iwan Rheon, Olivia Williams, Jaime Winstone, Andy Serkis, and Sean Pertwee. The film received positive reviews.^[10]

In 2021, Maskell played the titular and lead character in British gangster revenge film Bull, with Tamzin Outhwaite.^[11]

Television

Maskell's first television appearance was in 1991 in the ITV police drama The Bill.^[6] Between 1992 and 2002, he made a further five appearances on the show, portraying a different character each time. He has had one-off roles in a number of other popular British serial dramas such as Casualty, London's Burning, Soldier Soldier.^[6] His most regular television roles have been in the 2005 comedy series Mike Bassett: Manager, in the comedy sketch show The Wrong Door, and in the 2013–2014 thriller drama action series Utopia. Since 2015, he has been a series regular in sci-fi thriller Humans. In 2019 Maskell played prime minister Winston Churchill in the series finale of Peaky Blinders.^[6]

Between 2018 and 2020 he played the recurring character Winkle in the BBC One sitcom King Gary, friend and employee of the titular character played by Tom Davis. Maskell has previously worked with Davis in Murder in Successville (where he played Frankie Boyle in one episode),^[12]The Warm-Up Guy^[13] and The Morgana Show.^[14]

In 2022, Maskell played Detective Inspector Brent Hyatt in the ITV drama, Litvinenko, detailing the final days and subsequent murder investigation into the death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko.^[6]

In 2023, Maskell played a terrorist in the Apple TV+ aircraft thriller series Hijack, alongside Idris Elba and Eve Myles.^[15]

Personal life

Maskell is a supporter of Arsenal.^[16]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations