Christian McKay

Christian Stuart McKay (born 30 December 1973^[2]) is an English stage and screen actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Orson Welles in the 2008 film Me and Orson Welles, for which he was nominated for over two dozen awards including the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in movies such as Florence Foster Jenkins, The Theory of Everything, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Rush.

Christian McKay
Christian McKay in 2013
Born	Christian Stuart McKay[1] (1973-12-30) 30 December 1973 (age 51)[2] Bury, Lancashire, England, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Emily Allen (m. 2006)
Children	2

Early life

McKay was born in Bury, Lancashire. He has a sister, Karen. His mother, Lynn, worked as a hairdresser, and his father, Stuart, was a railway worker.^[3] He studied piano as a youth,^[4] and performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 at age 21.^[3] McKay subsequently halted his concert career^[5] and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to study acting.

Career

McKay's television appearances include portraying conductor Pierre Monteux in the BBC TV production Riot at the Rite (2005).^[6] His first film appearance was in Abraham's Point (2008).

After seeing a performance of Rosebud at the 2007 "Brits Off Broadway" festival, Richard Linklater cast McKay as Welles in his film Me and Orson Welles, retaining McKay over the subsequent producer objections to his casting.^[7] In this, his second film and first lead role, McKay received critical praise for his performance as Orson Welles.^{[8][9][10][11]}

McKay has recently been seen in the biographical drama Rush, alongside Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, the BAFTA-nominated music film Northern Soul, and the Oscar-winning biographical drama The Theory of Everything, alongside Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. All of these were met with critical acclaim, with The Theory of Everything receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Theatre

McKay has portrayed Orson Welles in the one-man play Rosebud: The Lives of Orson Welles at a number of venues, including the Edinburgh Festival^[12] and King's Head (London).^[13] He subsequently reprised the role in the US at the 2007 "Brits Off Broadway" festival.^[14]

In 2013, McKay played Gerard in Strangers on a Train^[15] at London's Gielgud Theatre.^[16]

Personal life

McKay was married to Emily Allen. They divorced in 2021.^[4] He has two children, Maximilian Sidney McKay, born 2011 and Aniela Rita Lynn McKay, born 2015.

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Abraham's Point	Robert
2009	Me and Orson Welles	Orson Welles	Austin Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Performer Nominated — Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor Nominated — Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Nominated — International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actor [17] Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year Nominated — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor (3rd place) Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (2nd place) Nominated — San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated — Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
2010	You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger	Poker Friend
	Mr. Nice	Hamilton McMillan
2011	I Melt With You	Tim
	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	Mackelvore
2013	Rush	Alexander Hesketh
	The Devil's Violinist	John Watson
2014	Closer to the Moon	Iorgu
	Northern Soul	Dad
	The Theory of Everything	Roger Penrose
2015	Creditors	Grant Pierce	Nominated — Blow-Up International Arthouse Film Festival for Best Actor [18]
2016	The Young Messiah	Cleopas
	ChickLit	David Rose
	Florence Foster Jenkins	Earl Wilson
2017	The Leisure Seeker	Will Spencer
	Crooked House	Roger Leonides
	Provenance	John
2018	The Talent Agent	Jeff Rogers	Short film
2019	The Second Hearing		Short film
2022	Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris	Giles Newcombe

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Doctors	Neville Gordon	Episode: "Pardon"
2005	Riot at the Rite	Pierre Monteux	TV film
2008	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Jefferson Cope	Episode: "Appointment with Death"
2009	A Short Stay in Switzerland	Carsten	TV film
	Margaret	John Whittingdale
2010	The Road to Coronation Street	Harry Elton
2011–2013	Borgia	Cardinal Sforza
2012	Getting On	Dr. Nigel Hoskins	Episode #3.3
2015	Jekyll and Hyde	Maxwell Utterson
2016	Churchill's Secret	Christopher Soames	TV film
	Frontier	Father James Coffin
2019	Grantchester	Anthony Hobbs	4 episodes
2019–2020	Warrior	Mayor Samuel Blake
2023	FDR	President Franklin D. Roosevelt
2024	Strike	Inigo Upcott	Episode 2
2024	Churchill at War	Winston Churchill