Sean Pertwee was born into a famous British theatrical family. He is the son of Jon Pertwee, who was mainly a comedy actor and was known for his starring roles in Doctor Who (1963), Worzel Gummidge (1979), the radio comedy series “The Navy Lark”” and appearances in several “”Carry On”” films. His uncle, Michael Pertwee, and grandfather, Roland Pertwee, were prolific screenwriters and playwrights, and his father’s cousin, Bill Pertwee, was a regular cast member of one of Britain’s most popular sitcoms, Dad’s Army (1968). His sister, Dariel Pertwee, is an actress with several screen roles.After training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Pertwee began his acting career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, most notably starring in Titus Andronicus directed by Deborah Warner. After touring for three years, Pertwee continued his classical training by playing Julius Caesar for the BBC and Macbeth for Michael Bogdanov’s production for C4 films. Since then, he has become instantly recognizable for both his film and television work.On film, Pertwee began on the Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears (1987), then went on to appear in Paul W.S. Anderson’s Shopping (1994), playing opposite Jude Law, followed by performances in Event Horizon (1997), Soldier (1998), Doomsday (2008), Love, Honor and Obey (2000) and the lead role in Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers (2002). Other notable film credits include Screen Two: Deadly Voyage (1996); Wild Bill (2011); Blue Juice (1995), in which Pertwee played opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ewan McGregor; and Formula 51 (2001) with Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle. Pertwee played opposite Steve Coogan in Alan Partridge (2013).Pertwee’s extensive TV work saw him play the iconic role of Lestrade in the CBS show Elementary (2012) with Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes. He has also starred in The Musketeers (2014), Poirot (1989), the award-winning Luther (2010), and had a recurring role in the hugely popular Cold Feet (1997) with James Nesbitt. His other TV credits include Skins (2007), Bodyguards (1996), Jo (2013) with Jean Reno, Chancer (1990), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992), Clarissa (1991) with Sean Bean, and Camelot (2011) with Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green.Pertwee appeared as Alfred Pennyworth, the unflappable butler, in the Warner Bros. series Gotham (2014), which follows the story behind Commissioner James Gordon’s rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years before Batman’s arrival. He is a popular voiceover artist and can frequently be heard voicing documentaries, animated films, commercials, TV series, and video games, including Fable, Killzone and Assassin’s Creed.”
Sean Pertwee
Movies
Soldier
In a futuristic society, some people are selected at birth to become soldiers, and trained in such a manner that they become inhuman killing machines. One of the most succesfull and older of these soldiers (Russell) is pitted against a new breed of soldiers, and after the confrontation is believed…
Fun Facts
He is from a very successful theatrical family. He is the son of Jon Pertwee, the first cousin, once removed, of Bill Pertwee, the younger brother of Dariel Pertwee, the nephew of Michael Pertwee and the grandson of Roland Pertwee.
He is a popular voice-over artist.
Unlike his father, who was mostly known as a comic actor on stage, radio and in films, Pertwee took a different route into the profession and trained as a classical actor.
Pertwee's first role was in Prick Up Your Ears (1987) starring Gary Oldman. Oldman played Jim Gordon in the Dark Knight Trilogy. Pertwee plays a role next to a new Jim Gordon in Gotham (2014).
He has appeared twice in Poirot (1989) opposite David Suchet. In the episode 'The King of Clubs', Sean played the brother of Niamh Cusack. Years later he played in 'Dead Man's Folly' the son of 'Sinead Cusack'.
Quotes
[on Peter Capaldi] My father was very fond of Peter and Peter is an extremely lovely gentleman. He was very kind to my family when my father passed away, he was big fan of my dad's actually. So personally the Pertwee household were absolutely delighted when he got the role of The Doctor. I think he's going to bring some real gravitas and weight, which only comes with age. Taking nothing away from Matt [Matt Smith], who I thought was great, I just think he's going to stupendous. He's going to have a completely different look. He's such a phenomenal actor anyway I think he'll be absolutely brilliant. I'm delighted he's doing it.