Biografie

He took the part of the Master in Doctor Who (2005) because his kids were very big fans of the series.

Sang the acoustic version of New Order's "Blue Monday" in 24 Hour Party People (2002) during the split-screen scene.

Voted Best Guest Actor by readers of Doctor Who Magazine for his roles as Harold Saxon and the Master in the 2007 Season of Doctor Who (2005).

After Roger Delgado, Peter Pratt, Geoffrey Beevers, Anthony Ainley, Gordon Tipple, Eric Roberts, and Sir Derek Jacobi, he is the eighth actor to play the Master, the Doctor's childhood friend and one of the major recurring villains in the series. He played the role in Utopia (2007), The Sound of Drums (2007), Last of the Time Lords (2007), The End of Time: Part One (2009), and The End of Time: Part Two (2010). Michelle Gomez, the first female incarnation of the Master, has succeeded him in the role.

Trained at Drama Centre, London. He was one of the younger members of Group 28, training between 1989 and 1992.

I think I can be closed in. I can close this outer shell, cut myself off and be quite cold. I can cut other people off if I need to. I don't think I'm angry, though... Maybe my wife would disagree.

I love Manchester. I always have, ever since I was a kid, and I go back as much as I can. Manchester's my spiritual home. I've been in London for 22 years now but Manchester's the only other place, I think, in the country that I could live.

I can't watch shows like The X Factor (2004), for instance. I just squirm for the people involved, for the way they're being used. It's the cruellest, most ridiculous show on television. It's ruined music, ruined everything.

You never undertake a project because you think other people will like it - because that way lies madness - but rather because you believe in it.

Success, however you judge what that even means, brings with it certain pressures.