Brendan Coyle

Brendan Coyle born 2 December 1962 is a BritishIrish actor He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for The Weir in 1999 He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries North South Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford and more recently Mr Bates the valet in Downton Abbey which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor Brendan Coyle was born David Coyle in Corby Northamptonshire on 2 December 1962 the son of a Patrick B Coyle and Bedelia M B Anderson He has an older brother named Shaun Due to his British birth and Irish heritage he holds both British and Irish citizenship He is the greatnephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 1983 Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPhersons The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production In 2001 Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama True Dare Kiss and Nicholas Higgins in North South for the BBC From 2008 he played Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels written by Flora Thompson In 2010 he began playing John Bates valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowess period drama series Downton Abbey Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle and it won him nominations for a BAFTA and IFTA as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012 He also won three Screen Actors Guild Awards 201316 Coyle also played the character of Terry Starling in the shortlived Sky comedy series Starlings