Stanley Townsend
Known for: Acting
Stanley Townsend (born August 1961) is an Irish actor. Townsend was born and brought up in Dublin. After attending Wesley College, Dublin, he studied mathematics and civil engineering at Trinity College. While there he joined the Dublin University Players, the college's Amateur Dramatic Society. He later co-founded co-operative theatre company Rough Magic with writer/director Declan Hughes and theatre director Lynne Parker, performing in numerous productions including The Country Wife, Nightshade, and Sexual Perversity in Chicago. He subsequently went on to perform in several productions at The Gate and The Abbey Theatres in Dublin. In London, he has worked with such directors as Sam Mendes in The Plough and the Stars, Richard Eyre in Guys and Dolls and Rufus Norris in Under the Blue Sky. Theatre appearances at the Royal Court include The Alice Trilogy directed by Ian Rickson and Shining City directed by Conor McPherson, for which he won an Irish Theatre Award and was nominated for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor in 2004. Townsend's television work began on a number of shows for RTÉ in Dublin. Since moving to London, television appearances have included Spooks, The Commander, Hustle, Waking the Dead, and Omagh Bombing. ilm credits include Mike Newell's Into the West, Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father with Daniel Day-Lewis, The Van by Stephen Frears, Peter Greenaway's The Tulse Luper Suitcases, The Libertine with Johnny Depp, Paul Morrison's Wondrous Oblivion with Delroy Lindo, John Boorman's The Tiger's Tale and Michael Radford's Flawless. He currently lives in London.
Filmography
Series
Sherlock
Angelo
2010
Series
24
Anatol Stolnavich
2001
Series
Call the Midwife
Father Joe
2012
Series
The Gentlemen
Pat Gallagher
2024
Series
Heartbeat
Igor Saukas
1992
Series
Spooks
Roy Woodring
2002
Series
Peak Practice
Keith Johnson
1993
Series
Andor
Commandant Jayhold Beehaz
2022
Film
The Uprising
Chief Justice Bealknap
2026
Series
Waking the Dead
DI Bailey
2001
Series
Hustle
Johnny Keyes
2004
Series
Foyle's War
Jose De Perez
2002
Series
Ripper Street
Aiden Galvin
2012
Film
Cars 2
Victor Hugo / Vladimir Trunkov / Ivan the Tow Truck (voice)
2011
Series
Jonathan Creek
Det. Inspector Barrison
1997
Series
Ashes to Ashes
Sacks
2008
Series
Ballykissangel
Micky Keeler
1996
Series
Wire in the Blood
2002
Series
The Regime
Emil Bartos
2024
Series
KAOS
President Minos
2024
Series
Fresh Meat
John Frobisher
2011
Series
The Hollow Crown
Warwick
2012
Series
Coming Up
Yevgeny Sukhov
2003
Series
The Spy
General Ad-Din
2019
Series
Galavant
King of Valencia
2015
Series
Toast of London
2013
Series
Titanic: Blood and Steel
Rex Riley
2012
Series
The Commander
2003
Film
In the Name of the Father
Hooker's Driver
1993
Film
What a Girl Wants
Bride's Father
2003
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Constable
1951
Series
Blackshore
Bill McGuire
2024
Series
Becoming Elizabeth
Anthony Denny
2022
Series
Murder City
2004
Film
The Physician
Bar Kappara
2013
Series
Traitors
Henry
2019
Film
Jay Kelly
First Voice (voice)
2025
Series
Quirke
Inspector Hackett
2014
Series
Resistance
Senator Daniel Shea
2019
Film
The Current War
Franklin Pope
2018
Film
The Voices
Sheriff Weinbacher
2014
Series
Fleming
Colonel William Donovan
2014
Series
Zen
Moscati
2011
Film
Flawless
Henry
2007
Series
New Worlds
Colonel Blood
2014
Film
The Libertine
Keown
2004
Film
Florence Foster Jenkins
Phineas Stark
2016
Film
Happy-Go-Lucky
Tramp
2008
Film
One Chance
Luciano Pavarotti
2013
Series
Der Medicus
Bar Kappara
2014
Series
The Ambassador
1998
Film
Once Upon a Time in a Cinema
Harry Conway
2026
Film
The Song of Names
Gilbert
2019
Film
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar
Sir Constance
2019
Film
The Nativity Story
Zechariah
2006
Film
Inside I'm Dancing
Interview Panelist
2004
Film
National Theatre Live: Golden Boy
Mr. Bonaparte
2026
Parnell & the Englishwoman
Thomas Sexton
1991
Film
Rat
Newsreader
2000
Film
National Theatre Live: All About Eve
Addison Dewett
2019
Series
Jake's Progress
Consultant
1995
Film
The Snapper
Anaesthetist
1993
Series
Whistleblower
Michael Neary
2008
Film
The Teacher
Simon Cohen
2024
Best of Both Worlds
Paddy
2001
Film
Holy Water
Inspector Brian Hogan
2009
Film
Taffin
Les
1988
Film
Fallen
Mara
2004
Film
Burton and Taylor
Milton Katselas
2013
Film
National Theatre Live: King Lear
The Earl of Kent
2014
Film
Isolation
Garda Hourigan
2005
Film
The Van
Des, Health Inspector
1996
Film
My Friend Joe
Mr. Doyle
1996
Film
Killing Bono
Danny Machin
2011
Film
Psychomanteum
Narrator
2018
Film
Byron
Turkish Governor
2003
Film
National Theatre Live: Phèdre
Theseus
2009
Film
Monsieur N.
Dr. O'Meara
2003
Film
Station Jim
Matapan
2001
Film
Omagh
Sam Pollock
2005
Film
A Girl from Mogadishu
Joe Costello
2019
Film
Standby
Paul
2014
Film
Dot.Kill
Capt. Tommy Byrnes
2005
Film
Hilde
David O. Selznick
2009
Film
National Theatre Live: Retrograde
Mr Parks
2025
Film
The Miracle
Washington, Destry Rides Again
1991
Film
Mystics
Mickey Mac
2003
Film
Wondrous Oblivion
Victor
2004
Another Turn of the Screw
Henry James
Film
Phil Lynott: The Long Goodbye
Narrator
2022
The Life of Reilly
Film
Kinked
2023
Film
The Pizza Miracle
Gianni
2010
Film
Thin Lizzy: Outlawed - The Real Phil Lynott
Narrator
2006
Film
Saddam's Tribe
Saddam
2007
Film
Beyond Reason
John Horan
1995
Film
Lovely Louise
Bill
2013
Altmann's Tongue
Narrator
2000
Film
Ink
1988