Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish theater, film and television actor. In the United Kingdom, he became famous thanks to his many roles. In 1995, he was awarded the prestigious theater award, the Laurence Olivier Award as "Best Actor" for his play in the performance of Broken Glass, which took place on the stage of the Royal National Theater. The actor is known to the modern audience for the role of the gnome Balin in the trilogy of the films “The Hobbit”.
Ken Stott Biography
Stott was born on October 19, 1954 in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, in the family of Scottish teacher David Stott, and a Sicilian lecturer, the daughter of a priest, Antonia, nee Sansika. Ken received secondary education at George Heriot's school, where his father worked. Then he graduated from the Mountview Academy of Theater Arts in London. At a young age, for three years he played in a group called Keyhole (Keyhole), whose members subsequently became the founders of the commercially successful Scottish rock band Bay City Rollers.
Carier start
Having received his education, Ken Stott got a job at the Royal Shakespeare Theater, but in the early years his income from acting was minimal, and Ken was forced to support himself while working as a seller of double-glazed windows. At the beginning of his career, Stott was focused on the theater, he played the leading role of Dominic Behan’s dramatic play on the problems of Northern Ireland “People’s Singer” on the stage of the Belfast Lyric Theater.
In 1977, Ken began acting on television, appearing in several small roles for the Air Force series: The Secret Army, King Lear and The Singing Detective. Then starred in the guise of a fireman in a public information film on the issue of drunk driving.
Filmography Ken Stott
In the end, by the mid-nineties, Stott began to get major roles in television projects, among which the most notable were:
- hospital radio DJ, former alcoholic and double-glazed window salesman, Eddie McKenn in the six-part television drama Welcome to the Asylum, starring the young David Tennant;
- Red Metcalf in the BBC crime series The Messiah;
- Detective Inspector Pat Chappel in the police drama Vise;
- alcoholic Mike, dreaming of redemption, joining the Salvation Army in the TV movie "Raised to Glory";
- Adolf Hitler in the television movie "Uncle Adolf";
- invented by Richard Curtis, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Air Force TV drama "Girl in a Cafe"
- Inspector Rebus in the detective television series Rebus, based on novels by Scottish writer Jan Rankin.
The brilliant performance of comedian Tony Hancock in the biographical television film “Hancock and Joan” about his relationship with his third wife, brought actor Ken Stott a Scottish BAFTA nomination in 2008.
Ken's work on the big screen was most often played in supporting roles, such as Detective Inspector McCall in the crime thriller Shallow Grave, director Ted in the romantic film Passion. As well as Marius Honorius in the adventure historical action movie King Arthur, the Israeli arms dealer Zvi Rafia in the tragicomedy War of Charlie Wilson, a badger loyal to his prince in the fantasy action movie Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Nevertheless, Ken Stott sometimes played major roles in a big movie, for example, Gary Kelty in the 1999 thriller “Debt Collectors” and the thief general in the historical action movie “Plunkett and MacLane” of the same year.
One of the actor’s last works, which has received critical acclaim and approval from the audience, is the play of the gnome Balin, brother Dvalin and reliable companion Torin Duboshchit, in the film adaptation of The Hobbit.
Work on stage
The theater remained an important part of Ken's work throughout his career. In 1997, his performance in Yasmin Reza's play “Art”, in which Albert Finney and Tom Courtney also participated, was awarded the Laurence Olivier nomination in the category “Best Actor”. In 2008, Ken appeared in the London Gilgood Theater in another Reza play, this time The God of the Massacre, along with Tamsin Greig, Janet MacTyr and Ralph Fiennes, playing the role of Michael, which he repeated on Broadway in New York a year later. At the beginning of 2009, in the Duke of York Theater, Stott played a major role in the revival of Arthur Miller's “View from the Bridge”. In 2016, he returned to this theater to play with Rhys Shirsmith in Ronald Harwood's Dresser.