ian mcelhinney
“I'm disappointed, But I think you have to accept that the demands of TV are different than the demand of book writing. With TV there’s a pressure to create a number of high points. They've got to keep that up because people expect that. You can’t predict anything but what you can predict is that there will be surprises.”
ALSO KNOWN FOR
Derry Girls (2021)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Michael Collins (1996)
Krypton (2018)
Ian McElhinney is a Northern Irish actor and director, born on the 19th of August 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the son of a Church of Ireland (Anglican) clergyman and teacher. He studied International affairs at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Ian worked as a teacher at Goole Grammar School, now known as Goole Academy in Yorkshire, England, for several years before becoming an actor. He is married to playwright/actress Marie Jones; the couple started their own company, Rathmore Productions Ltd. They live in Belfast and have three sons.
Ian started acting professionally at the age of thirty, playing Bill Sykes in a theatre production of Oliver!. He has appeared in many television series in a career spanning more than forty years; notable appearances include Taggart, Hornblower, Cold Feet, and The Tudors. Recently, his best known roles are as Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones, General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Morgan Monroe in The Fall and Granda Joe in Derry Girls.
Announced in 2010, McElhinney was confirmed in the role of Ser Barristan Selmy in the long running HBO fantasy series, Game of Thrones. As a knight who had served in the Kingsguard for almost forty years, the character was one of the more honorable men in the Seven Kingdoms. Having read the books, McElhinney mentions that he was pleased with how show runners had used the character, however was disappointed with how and when he met his demise. In 2012, McElhinney was a nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work in Game of Thrones. In 2014 and 2015, he again was nominated along with his co-stars for the title Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2020, the cast and creators were the winning recipient of the CinEuphoria Award for the title Merit- Honorary Award. In recent appearances, Ian has portrayed General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a role that was initially donned by Alex McCrindle. Following this, in 2018 and 2019, he appeared as Val-El in two seasons of Syfy’s Superman prequel series Krypton. Ian’s most recent television credits include Channel 4’s British teen sitcom Derry Girls, BBC One’s long-running science fiction series Doctor Who, BBC One’s British legal drama The Split, BBC One’s police procedural Bloodlands and BBC One’s crime thriller comedy series, The Outlaws.
DERRY GIRLS
BLOODLANDS
KRYPTON
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
MOONFLEET
HORNBLOWER
MICHAEL COLLINS
HIDDEN AGENDA
LAMB
FILMOGRAPHY
2021-2022 The Outlaws (TV Series)
John Halloran Snr. (10 episodes)
2018-2022 Derry Girls (TV Series)
Joe McCool (19 episodes)
2020-2022 The Split (TV Series)
Prof Ronnier (12 episodes)
2022 Suspicion (TV Series)
Grandad (1 episode)
2021 Bloodlands (TV Series)
Adam Corry (3 episodes)
2020 The Deceived (TV Series)
Hugh Callaghan (3 episodes)
2020 Doctor Who (TV Series)
Ko Sharmus (2 episodes)
2018-2019 Krypton (TV Series)
Val-El (20 episodes)
2019 Silent Witness (TV Series)
Pat Walsh (2 episodes)
2018 Mrs. Wilson (TV Mini Series)
Father Timoth
2018 Dave Allen at Peace (TV Movie)
Priest
2017 The Frankenstein Chronicles (TV Series)
Doctor Lennox (2 episodes)
2017 Zoo
Mr. Shawcross
2017 Redwater (TV Mini Series)
Lance Byrne
2017 Redemption Road (TV Movie)
Williiam
2017 Bad Day for the Cut
Eamon
2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
General Dodonna
2011 The Journey
Rory O'Suaird
2016 Sacrifice
D.I. McKie
2013-2016 Ripper Street (TV Series)
Theodore Swift (4 episodes)
2016 The Truth Commissioner
James Fenton
2016 Rebellion (TV Mini Series)
Edward Butler
2015 A Patch of Fog
Freddie Clarke
2011-2015 Game of Thrones (TV Series)
Barristan Selmy (25 episodes)
2014 Play Next Door (TV Series)
Connie (1 episode)
2014 Babylon (TV Mini Series)
Maher
2013-2014 The Fall (TV Series)
Morgan Monroe (5 episodes)
2014 Quirke (TV Mini Series)
Bill Latimer
2013 Moonfleet (TV Mini Series)
Parson Glennie
2013 Wodehouse In Exile (TV Movie)
Major Cussen
2012 Titanic: Blood and Steel (TV Mini Series)
Sir Henry Carlton
2011 Brendan Smyth: Betrayal of Trust (TV Movie)
Abbot Smith
2007-2010 Brilliant! (TV Mini Series)
Carson
2010 Three Wise Women (TV Movie)
David
2010 An Old Fashioned Christmas (TV Movie)
Sean
2010 New Tricks (TV Series)
Fintan MacEntee (1 episode)
2010 Cup Cake
Rusty Rafferty
2010 Leap Year
Priest
2009 Scapegoat (TV Movie)
H. A. McVeigh QC
2009 A Shine of Rainbows
Father Doyle
2009 Triage
Ivan
2009 Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne
Skip
2008 Little Dorrit (TV Series)
Mr. Clennam (2 episodes)
2008 Raw (TV Series)
Phillip (1 episode)
2008 City of Ember
Builder
2008 Last Man Hanging (TV Movie)
Narrator
2008 Clay (TV Movie)
Father O'Mahoney
2008 Fairy Tales (TV Mini Series)
Vice Chancellor Ralph Graham
2007-2008 Single-Handed (TV Series)
Sergeant Gerry Driscoll (5 episodes)
2007 Closing the Ring
Cathal Thomas
2007 Casualty (TV Series)
Robert Finch (1 episode)
2007 The Tudors (TV Series)
Pope Clement VII (1 episode)
2007 Rough Diamond (TV Series)
Tim Regan (2 episodes)
2006 The Front Line
Mikey
1993-2005 Taggart (TV Series)
Archie Rae / Sean O'Donnell (2 episodes)
2005 Pure Mule (TV Series)
Harry Kilroy (1 episode)
2005 Coronation Street (TV Series)
Father Thomas (2 episodes)
2004 Omagh (TV Movie)
Stanley McCombe
2003 The Clinic (TV Series)
Joseph McGarry (5 episodes)
2003 Murphy's Law (TV Series)
Fulton (1 episode)
2003 Holby City (TV Series)
Brian Chapman (1 episode)
2003 Cold Feet (TV Series)
Bill Williams (2 episodes)
2003 Hornblower: Loyalty (TV Movie)
Captain Hammond
2002 No Tears (TV Mini Series)
Padraig McFadden
2001 Mapmaker
Sergeant Devlin
2001 Horatio Hornblower: Retribution (TV Movie)
Captain Hammond
2000 In Defence (TV Series)
DCS David Dillne (1 episode)
2000 Borstal Boy
Verreker
1999-2000 Queer as Folk (TV Series)
Clive Jones (2 episodes)
1998-1999 Maisie Raine (TV Series)
C.S. Jack Freeman (12 episodes)
1999 A Love Divided
Reverend Hamilton
1999 Durango (TV Movie)
Vestor McCarthy
1998 Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (TV Movie)
Captain Hammond
1998 Touch and Go (TV Movie)
Clive Bevan
1998 Divorcing Jack
Alfie Stewart
1997 This Is the Sea
Da Stokes
1997 Wokenwell (TV Series)
Sgt Duncan Bonney (6 episodes)
1997 The Boxer
Reggie Bell
1996 Safe and Sound (TV Series)
Higgins (1 episode)
1996 Hamlet
Barnardo
1996 The Boy from Mercury
Brother Dowdall
1996 Michael Collins
Belfast Detective
1995 Beyond Reason (TV Movie)
Smythe QC
1995 Small Faces
Uncle Andrew
1995 Hearts and Minds (TV Series)
Alex (4 episodes)
1994 Blind Justice (TV Movie)
Father Malone
1993 A Woman's Guide to Adultery (TV Series)
Martin (3 episodes)
1993 Between the Lines (TV Series)
Chief Supt. Trevor Dunne (1 episode)
1993 Circle of Deceit (TV Movie)
Father Fergal
1993 Lovejoy (TV Series)
Ceiran Stow (1 episode)
1993 Spender (TV Series)
Flynn (1 episode)
1992 The Bill (TV Series)
Mickey Felcher (1 episode)
1992 The Playboys
Joe Cassidy
1991 Children of the North (TV Series)
O'Hare (3 episodes)
1990 The Lilac Bus (TV Movie)
Billy
1990 Shoot to Kill (TV Movie)
Assistant Chief Constable Trevor Forbes
1990 Who Bombed Birmingham? (TV Movie)
Sinn Fein leader
1990 Hidden Agenda
Jack Cunningham
1990 Fools of Fortune
Stranger
1988 Wipe Out (TV Mini Series)
Max Raines
1988 Reefer and the Model
Reefer
1988 The Grasscutter (TV Movie)
Brian Devlin
1987 Lapsed Catholics (TV Movie)
Derek O'Gorman
1987 The Rockingham Shoot (TV Movie)
John Reilly
1987 First Sight (TV Series)
Joe (1 episode)
1987 Brond (TV Series)
Kennedy (3 episodes)
1987 A Prayer for the Dying
Lodger
1987 Dead Entry (TV Series)
Martin Galbraith (3 episodes)
1986 The End of the World Man
Architecht
1985 Ties of Blood (TV Mini Series)
Maj. Watson
1985 Lamb
Maguire
1984 A Woman Calling (TV Movie)
Mr. Burke
1984 Anne Devlin
Maj Sirr
1984 Fire at Magilligan (TV Movie)
Loyalist Leader
1984 After You've Gone (TV Movie)
Mike
1983 Acceptable Levels
Andy
1982 Angel
Groom
