Priest

Background:

British actor Linus Roache, son of actors William Roache and Anna Cropper, started his professional acting career when he was only 11 years old in “Coronation Street,” where he played the son of his father. Nineteen years later, the magnetic sandy-haired performer was put into the spotlight as the gay Catholic clergyman on a controversial film by director Antonia Bird, “Priest,” and for playing Bob Longman on the popular British series “Seaforth” (both 1994). The former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company has since landed roles in Hollywood productions like “The Wings of the Dove” (1997), “Hart's War” (2002), “Beyond Borders” (2003), “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004),“The Forgotten” (2004), “Batman Begins” (2005) and “Find Me Guilty” (2006), and also gained praise for his work in the British film “Pandaemonium” (2000, won an Evening Standard British Film Award) and “Blind Flight” (2003, nabbed a BAFTA nomination). On the small screen, Roache scored it big with his Golden Globe-nominated turn as Robert F. Kennedy on the FX film “RFK” (2002) and picked up a Golden Satellite Award for his work in “The Gathering Storm” (also 2002). He has enjoyed significant boost with his current role on the NBC series “Law & Order” (2008-?), playing Executive A.D.A. Michael Cutter.

The 5' 10,” handsome performer has been married to actress Rosalind Bennett since 2003. He is a vegetarian.

Son of Actors

Childhood and Family:

Linus William Roache was born on February 1, 1964, in Manchester, England. His father is William Roache of British soap “Coronation Street” fame and his mother is the late British beauty Anna Cropper (born in 1938, died in 2007). They divorced in 1974, when Linus was 10 years old, and his father later remarried. Linus has a younger sister named Vanya Roache (born in 1967) and three half-siblings, one of whom died in 1984 at the age of 2. He was trained at a drama school in London.

In 1989, Linus met fellow British performer Rosalind Bennett (born in May 1966) in the stage production of “Juno and the Paycock,” where they played siblings. They were married fourteen years later in January 2003.

RFK

Career:

Born to celebrity parents, Linus Roache started his career as a child actor in father William Roache's long-running soap, “Coronation Street,”in which he had a two-week appearance as a young Barlow in the 1975 season. He followed it up in the next year with a guest turn as a boy in the BBC adventure series “The Onedin Line,” starring Peter Gilmore. After attending a drama school, Roache emerged as a stage performer with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985 and spent the next four years performing classics with the celebrated troupe. It was also in 1985 that he had his first taste in front of the film camera playing ulster boy in the comedy “No Surrender,” which was released in the United States in 1986. He went on to appear in the horror/thriller “Link” (1986), starring Elisabeth Shue and Terence Stamp, and in an episode of the short-lived TV series “Saracen” (1989), as Daniel McAvaddy. During this period, Roache's main intention was working on stage. In 1989, he joined the National Theatre for six months, during which he was teamed with future wife Rosalind Bennett to play siblings in Sean O'Casey's “Juno and the Paycock.”

During the 1990s, Roache still worked primarily on stage, although he managed to sporadically return to film or TV. In 1994, he worked with Coin Farrell, Lia Williams and Mark Spalding and others for the British miniseries “How High the Moon,” directed by Peter Smith, but it was his subsequent role, as con man and stealer named Bob Longman, on the well-liked BBC wartime drama “Seaforth” (also 1994) that brought the actor his first real notice. His screen career rose even higher when he was tapped to star as Greg Pilkington, a clergyman conflicting with his occupation and his homosexuality, in his first feature, “Priest,” a critically acclaimed, but controversial drama premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1994 before its British and American theatrical release in March 1995. Under the direction of Antonia Bird, who discovered the actor in drama school and taught he was a perfect cast for the titular role, Roache delivered a strong performance and won acknowledgment for his work in the film. He was nominated for a 1996 Chlotrudis Award in the category of Best Actor.

Criticized as being an anti-Catholic by Cardinal John O'Connor of New York for his role in “Priest,” Roache took some time off from acting and stayed in India for 18 months. There, he found spiritual meditation. The gifted actor did not make his return to the cinematic industry until 1997, when he had the stellar role as a journalist named Merton Densher on the Iain Softley adaptation of the classic Henry James book, “The Wings of the Dove,” opposite Helena Bonham Carter and Allison Elliott. He spent the rest of the decade playing roles in a HBO telepic called “Shot Through the Heart” (1998) and the 1999 movies “Siam Sunset” and “The Venice Project,” which cast him in the dual role of a 17th-century Italian count and a part of the 20th-century California art world.

Entering the new millennium, Roache had a supporting role in the based-on-true-story “Best” (2000), starring John Lynch as the ex-Manchester United football legend, and graduated to a starring role in the British film “Pandaemonium” (2000), from which he won an Evening Standard British Film for his portrayal of poet Samuel Coleridge. The same year, he also acted along side Ralph Fiennes in the plays “Coriolanus” and “Richard II.” Two years later, he joined Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard in the box-office failure “Hart's War,” playing Capt. Peter A. Ross. He picked up a Golden Satellite for his costarring role opposite Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave and Jim Broadbent in the TV film “The Gathering Storm” and a Golden Globe nomination as Robert F. Kennedy on the FX biopic “RFK” (both 2002).

Back to film, Roache netted a BAFTA Scotland nomination for Best Actor in a Scottish Film for playing John McCarthy in “Blind Flight” (2003) before working with Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen for Martin Campbell's “Beyond Borders” (2003) and supporting Vin Diesel in the disappointing installment “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004), as Purifier. His subsequent film work include the Julianne Moore thriller “The Forgotten” (2004), the Christian Bale starring vehicle “Batman Begins” (2005, as Thomas Wayne), “Twelve and Holding” (2005), Sidney Lumet's “Find Me Guilty” (2006, reunited with Vin Diesel) and the British movies “Broken Thread,” starring as Ram, and “Before the Rains” (both 2007). Meanwhile on the small screen, he appeared as Aaron on the Emmy nominated biopic “The Ten Commandments” (2006) and starred as Andy Archer on the short-lived crime/drama series “Kidnapped” (2006-2007), along side Jeremy Sisto, Carmen Ejogo and Delroy Lindo.

“I saw in all the DA's that I got to meet, there's this kind of living for the job. I think you have to in these kinds of roles. In real life these people really are living for their work because it's beyond just doing a job. You are totally dedicated and connected to doing the right thing, where there's a kind of drive there in my character.” Linus Roache on his role in “Law & Order”

Currently, Roache plays the regular of Executive A.D.A. Michael Cutter on the NBC long-running series “Law & Order” (2008-?). He is set to portray Teddy on the upcoming film “Yonkers Joe” (2008), directed and penned by Robert Celestino. Among his costars in the drama are Chazz Palminteri, Christine Lahti, Tom Guiry and Michael Lerner.

Awards:

• Golden Satellite: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television, “The Gathering Storm,” 2003

• Evening Standard British Film: Best Actor, “Pandaemonium,” 2002