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Stephen Walters, nominated for Best Actor by the Royal Television Society (RTS), was born on 22 May 1975 in Merseyside, England, where he grew up. He has been a familiar face on British television and film for many years, portraying a diverse array of characters in both drama and comedy. He is best known for playing unpredictable, complex roles that showcase a wide range of dialects, including American, RP, Scottish, Irish, Eastern European, Cockney, Mancunian, and more. Walters has worked with a variety of directors such as Matthew Vaughan, Danny Boyle, Ronny Yu, Guy Ritchie, Peter Webber, Sam Miller, Rowan Joffe, and the late Antonia Bird.
After completing a BTEC in Performing Arts at Southport College (1990-1992), Walters earned a place at the esteemed Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (1994-1996). In 1994, he starred as Joey Jackson, a poetic soul seeking life's meaning, in Jim Morris' "Blood on the Dole," part of Channel 4's "Alan Bleasdale Presents" series. This role earned critical praise and, encouraged by Bleasdale’s personal advice, Walters decided to pursue drama school training. Reflecting on this, he said, "I owe everything to Alan Bleasdale... he made me realize for the first time that I was an actor... Bleasdale opened the door for me... literally and metaphorically."
In 1989, while still attending Saint Wilfrid’s secondary school, Walters landed his first TV role through an agency run by fellow Liverpudlian actor Ricky Tomlinson, with whom he later collaborated on five projects. He appeared as Corporal Tomkins in an episode of ITV’s "Dramarama" titled "Ghost Story," directed by Julian Jarrold, who he would work with again on ITV’s "Touching Evil." Walters played lead guest Jack McCaffrey, a slick Cockney, in this two-part drama written by Paul Abbott.
In an interesting twist of fate, in spring 2013, Walters portrayed Ricky Tomlinson himself in "Ragged," a one-off drama for Sky Arts directed by comedian Johnny Vegas. The role depicted Tomlinson’s imprisonment during the 1970s builders' strike. Walters earned an RTS Best Actor nomination alongside Derek Jacobi for this performance.
After drama school, Walters appeared as Ian Glover in Jimmy McGovern’s acclaimed "Hillsborough," which won a BAFTA for Best Drama. He then played Jamie Spencer in ITV’s "Springhill" (1996) but did not return for the second series due to creative differences.
Between 1998 and 2000, Walters delivered memorable guest roles in shows like BBC’s "Pie In the Sky" alongside the late Richard Griffiths, Jimmy McGovern’s "Liverpool 1" as Mikey Sullivan, HBO's "Band of Brothers" as Private John McGrath, and "Nice Guy Eddie" as Scot. He also appeared as Kick Box Stevie in the feature film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" directed by Stuart Suggs.
In 2001, Walters reached a wider audience with three notable roles. He starred in the BBC’s production of Jim Cartwright’s "Strumpet," directed by Oscar-winning Danny Boyle and co-starring Christopher Eccleston. Walters described the role of Knockoff as "an actor’s dream," marking a departure from his previous intense characters to a comedic role. He credited Danny Boyle for taking a chance on him, saying, "It took someone like Danny to take a chance on me... working with Danny Boyle, Christopher Eccleston and Jim Cartwright was a real learning curve."
That year, he also appeared as Nitro, a bomb expert, in Matthew Vaughn’s remake of "Mean Machine" (2001) opposite Vinny Jones, and as Nazi skinhead Blowfish in Ronny Yu’s "51st State" (also known as "Formula 51") alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle. Walters had earlier worked with Carlyle in his debut feature "Plunkett and McCleane," directed by Jake Scott, where he played Denis. Carlyle has been an important influence on Walters’ career.
These roles paved the way for Walters to play prison psychiatrist Nick Vaughn, alongside Lenny James, in Channel 4’s eight-part drama "Buried" (2002), produced by Tony Garner. The series won a BAFTA for Best Drama, and Walters received critical acclaim for his performance.
In 2003, he guest-starred as Dylan Forbes in two episodes of ITV’s "Murder City," directed by Sam Miller. The following year, he appeared as Shanks opposite Daniel Craig in Matthew Vaughn’s "Layer Cake" (2004). Vaughn, who had produced "Mean Machine," offered him the role.
Continuing his diverse career, Walters played Irish Joe opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie's "Revolver" (2005). That year, he also made a cameo as the Arkham Lunatic in Christopher Nolan’s "Batman Begins" and portrayed Lord Gilbert Gifford in the BBC’s "Virgin Queen."
After a self-imposed hiatus in 2007, Walters appeared in the feature film "Hannibal Rising," the final installment exploring Hannibal Lecter’s origins, playing Zigmas Milko, an Eastern European victim, alongside Rhys Ifans. Director Peter Webber cited the death scene of Zigmas Milko as a favorite. Walters also starred as Splodge, a Mancunian rogue, in BBC Three’s prison-set comedy "The Visit," and played Maddison Twatter (Mad Twatter) in three episodes of E4’s cult hit "Skins."
In 2008, Walters appeared in "Franklyn," directed by Gerald McMorrow, premiering at the London Film Festival, playing dual roles Bill Wasnik and Wormsnakes opposite Bernard Hill and Ryan Philippe. He also featured as serial killer James Williams in a two-part episode of "Wire in the Blood," reuniting with director Philip John, who would later direct him in "Outlander" (2014-2016).
In 2010, Walters took on dual roles as brothers Vincent and Gavin in the horror film "Splintered," a challenging performance that earned recognition.
In 2011, he starred as Johnny Winegums, manager of an aspiring pop group, in "Powder," based on Kevin Sampson’s novel, which included scenes filmed before a 50,000-strong live audience at the V Festival—an experience he cherished. That year he also appeared in "Age of Heroes" with Sean Bean, portraying Private Syd Brightling in the WWII drama about Ian Fleming’s commandos infiltrating Nazi-occupied Norway. Walters later reunited with Bean in 2013's "The Accused," written by Jimmy McGovern.
In 2012, Walters played gangster Callum Rose opposite Stephen Graham in BBC’s "Good Cop," written by Stephen Butchard. Despite running for only one series, the show won the RTS Best Drama award, directed by Sam Miller. Walters also starred as Gaz in Niall Griffiths’ "Kelly + Victor," which won a BAFTA for Best Debut Feature and received critical acclaim for director Kieran Evans.
2013 saw Walters in two leading TV roles showcasing his versatility: the lovable but simple Daz Taylor in Jimmy Mulville’s comedy "Great Night Out," and the sadistic Derbyshire teacher Crispin Ingram in "The Village," directed by Antonia Bird. He was deeply affected by Bird’s sudden passing after filming. Gillies MacKinnon, another director he worked with on "The Village," had previously directed Jimmy McGovern's "Needle" (1990), Walters’ second professional project about Liverpool’s heroin epidemic. Though "The Village" was renewed for a second series, Walters could not return due to scheduling conflicts with "Outlander" (2014-2016).
In 2014, Walters collaborated extensively with director Brian Kelly, filming three episodes of NBC’s "Dracula" as Hungarian detective Hackett, shot in Budapest. Kelly also cast him as Simon the Sorcerer in NBC’s "AD the Bible" (2015), filmed in Morocco.
From 2014-2016, Walters portrayed Angus Mhor opposite Caitriona Balfe and Graham McTavish in Starz/Sony’s adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s "Outlander," executive produced by Ronald D. Moore. The series was renewed for a third and fourth season.
Between "Outlander" seasons one and two, Walters appeared in two distinct BBC series in 2015: "Dickensian," opposite Stephen Rea, and "Musketeers," filmed in Prague, where he played Borel to strong acclaim.
Early in 2016, Walters completed filming Rowan Joffe’s "Tin Star" for Sky Atlantic in Canada, described as a contemporary western, starring Tim Roth and Christina Hendricks. Walters played failed rock star Johnny.
That summer, he filmed two episodes of "Into the Badlands," portraying The Engineer, an American warlord, opposite Daniel Wu and Nick Frost. He is currently shooting "Little Boy Blue," written by Jeff Pope for ITV, alongside Stephen Graham.
Beyond acting, Walters is an accomplished writer and director, having completed several short films. His award-winning debut short "Danny Boy" is an intense drama about a man confronting his mother’s Alzheimer’s. Another recent film, "I’m Not Here," explores Charles Manson, with Walters in the lead role. He also has numerous original scripts at various development stages.
