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Andrew Tiernan

Andrew Tiernan is a British actor whose career has moved between film, television and theatre, often finding him in physically demanding roles or stories with a dark, volatile edge. Born in Ladywood, Birmingham, on 30 November 1965, he spent his childhood in the area and began acting with Birmingham Youth Theatre. After working at the Midlands Arts Centre, he moved to London in 1984 to study acting for three years at Drama Centre London. An appearance in Prime Suspect preceded Tiernan’s role as Piers Gaveston in Derek Jarman’s Edward II, released in 1991. That same year, he played both Orlando and Oliver in Christine Edzard’s adaptation of As You Like It. His later film work included Szalas in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist and Ephialtes of Trachis in Zack Snyder’s 300. The latter performance required Tiernan to wear full-body prosthetics that took ten hours each day to complete. He returned to the character in 300: Rise of an Empire and also appeared as Captain Martin Stone in Stone’s War. Tiernan’s television roles show a similar willingness to step into distinctive supporting parts. He appeared in Cracker, played Banquo in the BBC adaptation MacBeth on the Estate and took the role of Bunting in Hornblower. Other credits include The Quatermass Experiment, Life on Mars, Jonathan Creek, A Waste of Shame, Midsomer Murders, Dalziel & Pascoe and Prisoners’ Wives. His stage career has included Joe Penhall’s The Bullet at the Donmar Warehouse, Ché Walker’s Flesh Wound at the Royal Court Theatre, and productions of Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind and True West. In 2008, he appeared opposite Andrea Riseborough in A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians at the Soho Theatre. Tiernan later expanded his work behind the camera, making his feature directorial debut with Dragonfly in 2015, followed by UK18 in 2017 and Break Clause in 2019.