Kevin McNally

Kevin McNally was born on April 27 1956 in Bristol England He grew up in Birmingham where he attended Redhill and Mapledene Junior schools and Central Grammar School for Boys At the age of 16 he got his first job at Birmingham Repertory Theatre A year later he received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art In 1975 he won the Best Actor Bancroft Gold Medal for his stage performance McNallys most notable stage performances in Londons West End include his appearance as Alan Bennett opposite Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van and opposite Juliette Binoche in Naked He also starred as Richard in Terry Johnsons Dead Funny at the Savoy Theatre Since 1976 McNally has been involved in numerous TV productions beginning with his portrayal of the Roman ruler Castor son of Tiberius in the acclaimed BBC history series I Claudius 1976 and his portrayal of Drake Carne in the popular series Poldark 1975 His career on television ascended after his work in Masada 1981 and in the cult TV series Doctor Who The Twin Dilemma 1984 During the 1980s and 1990s McNally established himself as a reputable and versatile actor on both the British and American TV He played a broad variety of leading and supporting characters ranging from the Soviet politician Kirov in Stalin 1992 to homicide detective Jack Taylor in Chiller 1995 and from an insecure son Alan Hook in TV series Dad 1997 to a convicted murderer James Hopkin in Bloodlines 2005 His portrayal of Frank Worsley in Shackleton 2002 as well as the role of Harry Woolf in Life on Mars 2006 are among his best known works for television Between 2011 2012 he appeared in three episodes of Downton Abbey as Horrace Bryant In 1977 McNally made his big screen debut as HMS Ranger Crewman in the James Bond adventure The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 After having played bit parts in more than twenty feature films McNally shot to international fame as pirate Joshamee Gibbs his best known film role in Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 and the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest 2006 He returned in the role Joshamee Gibbs in the third installment of the Pirates franchise Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End 2007 Kevin McNally has been enjoying a happy family life with Scottish actress Phyllis Logan and his two children He resides with his family in Chiswick London England