Owen Teale

Owen Teale is a Welsh actor born on 20 May 1961 in North Cornelly, south Wales, to Roy and Louise Teale. He attended Cynffig Comprehensive School in Kenfig Hill, where a teacher named Mr. Davis is credited with sparking his interest in acting, despite Teale having been suspended from the school for disciplinary offences. He subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting.

Teale made his television debut in 1984 in The Mimosa Boys, a film about the Falklands War, and his film debut followed in 1989 with War Requiem. Early screen appearances included Knights of God, Great Expectations, The Fifteen Streets, and Boon, all in 1989 and 1990. In 1985, he appeared in the Doctor Who serial Vengeance on Varos as the guard Maldak. He went on to take the role of Will Scarlet in the 1991 film Robin Hood, followed by The Hawk in 1993. Television work during the 1990s included The Thin Blue Line in 1995 and Ballykissangel in 1999. That same year he appeared as Lophakin in an adaptation of The Cherry Orchard alongside Charlotte Rampling and Alan Bates.

His Broadway career brought significant recognition when he appeared in the 1997 production of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, playing Torvald opposite Janet McTeer. That performance earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1997.

Teale's screen career continued to expand in the 2000s. He played the Nazi judge Roland Freisler in Conspiracy and appeared in King Arthur in 2004. In 2005 he took a lead role in Marian, Again, portraying the abusive husband of the title character. He appeared in the Torchwood episode Countrycide in 2006, the same year he had a role in the HBO television film Tsunami: The Aftermath. His 2007 film The Last Legion, shot in Morocco, Tunisia, and Slovakia, starred him alongside Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth.

Teale became widely recognized internationally through his role as Ser Alliser Thorne in the HBO series Game of Thrones, which he joined in 2011, stepping in at short notice to replace Derek Halligan. He reprised the role in Seasons 4, 5, and 6, with the series running through 2016 and based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. In 2012, he appeared in the comedy-drama Stella as Dai, played Chief Constable Osborne in the BBC police drama Line of Duty, and portrayed fictional UK Foreign Secretary Robert Holland in Kidnap and Ransom. From 2018 to 2022, he played Peter Knox in A Discovery of Witches, adapted from Deborah Harkness's novel. In 2020 he starred alongside Toni Collette and Damian Lewis in the Welsh sports comedy-drama Dream Horse. His film credits also include Tolkien, released in 2019. In 2023 he starred as Lars Hutton in The Rig, alongside Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire, Mark Addy, and Martin Compston. He is additionally set to appear in Sandokan in 2025. Teale has also worked as a voiceover artist for television advertisements and provided narration for BBC farm documentary series.

In his personal life, Teale married actress Dilys Watling in 1986; the couple have a son, Ion, and divorced in the mid-1990s. In 2001 he married actress Sylvestra Le Touzel, with whom he has two daughters, Eliza and Grace. He is an honorary member of the Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club.