Christopher Eccleston (born 16 February 1964) is an English actor known for his roles in big Hollywood movies, independent films, TV dramas, Shakespearean plays, and science fiction. He is famous for playing the ninth Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who in 2005. He also starred as Matt Jamison in The Leftovers (2014-2017) and often worked with directors Danny Boyle and Michael Winterbottom.
Eccleston gained a lot of praise for being the first new Doctor Who in almost ten years. He won a National Television Award and got nominations for other awards before leaving the role after one season. He won an International Emmy Award for his role in Accused (2010). On stage, he has played leading roles in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth, and starred in other classic plays. Since 2017, he has narrated the documentary series Ambulance.
He first became well-known for playing Derek Bentley in the 1991 film Let Him Have It. His TV role in Our Friends in the North (1996) earned him his first BAFTA Award nomination. He got a second BAFTA nomination for The Second Coming (2003).
Eccleston was born on 16 February 1964 in Salford, Lancashire, into a working-class family. His parents were Elsie and Ronnie Eccleston, and he has older twin brothers, Alan and Keith. Raised in a mixed-religion household, he found that religion did not work for him personally.
The family lived in a small house in Salford before moving to Little Hulton when he was seven months old. Eccleston attended Joseph Eastham High School, where he became head boy. At 19, inspired by TV dramas, he decided to pursue acting. He studied at Salford Tech and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Influenced by films like Kes and performances by actors such as Albert Finney, he started performing classic works by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Molière.
At 25, he made his professional stage debut in A Streetcar Named Desire. During the early years of his career, he worked various odd jobs to support himself.
Eccleston gained attention in 1991 for his role as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have It and a guest appearance in Inspector Morse. He played Sean Maddox in the 1992 BBC miniseries Friday on my Mind and gained recognition for his role in the crime drama Cracker (1993-1994). He co-starred in Danny Boyle’s film Shallow Grave (1994) and gained household name status in the UK with the 1996 BBC Two series Our Friends in the North.
Eccleston appeared in numerous films and TV shows during this period, including eXistenZ (1999), Jude (1996), 24 Hour Party People (2002), 28 Days Later (2002), and Elizabeth (1998). He also starred in various British dramas and Shakespearean plays. He received two BAFTA nominations and won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1997 and the Royal Television Society Best Actor award in 2003.
In 2005, Eccleston played the ninth Doctor in Doctor Who, winning a National Television Award. He left after one series due to disagreements with the production environment. He later spoke positively about his time on the show and appeared at conventions starting in 2018. He reprised his role as the Doctor in audio dramas starting in 2020.
Eccleston continued to work in various films and TV shows, including Heroes (2007), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and The A Word (2016). He played John Lennon in Lennon Naked (2010) and starred in the HBO series The Leftovers (2014-2017).
Eccleston married Mischka, a copywriter, in 2011 and had two children before divorcing in 2015. He supports Manchester United and various charities. Eccleston has been open about his struggles with anorexia, body dysmorphia, and depression, and was hospitalized in 2016 for severe clinical depression. He is an atheist and a supporter of the Labour Party, as well as a critic of the Conservative Party and the British monarchy.
In summary, Christopher Eccleston is a versatile and acclaimed actor known for his wide-ranging roles in film, TV, and theater, and for his candidness about his personal struggles and political views.