Robert Carlyle OBE (born April 14, 1961) is a Scottish movie actor. He is known for his roles as Gaz, the leader of the striptease dancers in The Full Monty, and as Begbie, the volatile thug in Trainspotting.
Carlyle was born in Glasgow. He was raised by his father, Joseph Carlyle, after his mother left the family when he was four years old. His father worked as a painter and decorator. Inspired by Arthur Miller's The Crucible, he enrolled in acting class at the Glasgow Arts Centre at the age of 21.
In 1991, he and four friends founded an acting company and guest starred in The Bill. He first came to the attention of the public as a psychotic murderer in an episode of Cracker (in which he killed the character, DCI David Bilborough, played by Christopher Eccleston amongst others), but was soon playing a more sympathetic role, that of Highland policeman, Hamish Macbeth, in the eponymous BBC comedy-drama.
As well as his roles in The Full Monty and Trainspotting, other memorable roles include the senior Malachy McCourt (father of author Frank McCourt) in the 1999 film adaptation of McCourt's first memoir, "Angela's Ashes," the villain Renard in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough, a cannibalistic Mexican-American War soldier in Ravenous, the gay lover of Father Greg in Priest and Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil. Most recently, Robert has played the part of Don, one of the main characters in 28 Weeks Later.
Known for his commitment to roles, he has:
In 1997, Carlyle married make-up artist Anastasia Shirley. In 2002, she gave birth to their first child, daughter Ava. In 2004, their second child, Harvey, was born. The Carlyles' third child, Pearce Joseph, was born in 2006.
Robert Carlyle is the Patron of School for life, Charity No.1062953. http://schoolforliferomania.org/
