Biography
With his varied and nuanced slate of roles, Alistair Petrie proved himself to be one of the top character actors of his generation. The North Yorkshire, England native began his career, and learned the versatility that would continue to serve him, working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He began garnering small roles in British TV productions such as "Jonathan Creek" (BBC One, 1997-2016), "All Quiet on the Preston Front" (BBC One, 1994-97), and the television adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" (1996). His work earned him a larger role in the miniseries "The Forsyte Saga" (ITV, 2002), a remake of the popular British '60s serial based on James Galsworthy's novels. Petrie played George Forsyte opposite Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. After a stint with London's National Theatre, the actor's screen presence took a leap forward when he appeared in director Marc Munden's Iraq War drama "The Mark of Cain" (2007), as well as on Dame Judi Dench's acclaimed series "Cranford" (BBC One, 2007-10). He earned another high-profile turn when he joined the cast of Jason Statham's crime yarn "The Bank Job" (2008). Roles in Keira Knightley's historical drama "The Duchess" (2008) and the Burt Reynolds comedy "A Bunch of Amateurs" followed. Petrie returned to television with a recurring role on the short-lived comedy "Mutual Friends" (BBC One, 2008). More television roles followed, notably in the TV movie "The Taking of Prince Harry" (Channel 4, 2010) and the TV dramas "Strike Back" (Cinemax, 2010-18) and "Whitechapel" (ITV, 2009-13). His adaptability was put to the test when he was cast in the Wachowski Siblings' sci-fi opus "Cloud Atlas" (2012). Petrie was part of the ensemble that, like stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, portrayed multiple characters in the film. After starring in the TV series "Utopia" (Channel 4, 2013-14) and appearing in Max Landis's "Victor Frankenstein" (2015), he earned one of his defining roles in the critically acclaimed series "The Night Manager" (AMC, 2016-). Working opposite Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, Petrie portrayed Lord Sandy Langbourne, an ally of Laurie's arms dealer, in the Golden Globe winner. The actor then joined the "Star Wars" universe when he played Rebel leader General Draven in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016). His career firmly established, Petrie returned again to television with prominent roles on "Genius" (National Geographic, 2017-) and "The Terror" (AMC, 2018-). His subsequent performance as shady former MI6 operative George White on the espionage thriller "Deep State" (Epix, 2018-) won the actor some of the best reviews of his career. His film career continued as well as he joined the cast of Neil Marshall's updated take on the comic book anti-hero "Hellboy" (2019).
