Aidan Gillen

Aidan Gillen, born Aidan Murphy on April 24, 1968, in Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland, is a distinguished Irish actor. He adopted his mother’s maiden name, Gillen, as his stage name after discovering another actor named Aidan Murphy was already registered. Gillen’s career commenced at the age of 16, participating in the Dublin Youth Theatre’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in 1983. He quickly obtained his Equity card after leaving school, securing professional roles by the age of 17. His early career saw him move to London in 1987, where he began to establish his presence in the theater.

Gillen’s dramatic range quickly earned him critical acclaim and a significant presence in high-profile productions. He played a pivotal role as Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series ‘Queer as Folk’ (1999–2000), which garnered widespread attention. His Broadway debut in Harold Pinter’s ‘The Caretaker’ in 2003 earned him a Tony Award nomination. This led to his casting as Thomas J. “Tommy” Carcetti in the HBO series ‘The Wire’ (2004–2008), a role for which he received an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television. Further cementing his international recognition, Gillen portrayed Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011–2017), a role that earned him his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination.

His filmography further expanded with significant roles such as CIA operative Bill Wilson in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012) and Janson in the ‘Maze Runner’ trilogy (‘The Scorch Trials’ in 2015 and ‘The Death Cure’ in 2018). Gillen also appeared as Aberama Gold in the fourth and fifth seasons of ‘Peaky Blinders’ (2017-2019) and Dr. J. Allen Hynek in ‘Project Blue Book’ (2019–2020). He continued his work in television with roles as Frank Kinsella in ‘Kin’ (2021–2023) and Milo Sunter in ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ (2021–2024), showcasing a consistent career progression marked by diverse and impactful roles across various genres.