Paul Anderson

Biography

Paul Anderson is a British TV & Movie, Stage actor. He is known for playing Arthur Shelby in Peaky Blinders, Anderson in The Revenant(2015), Sebastian Moran in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows(2011), Leslie Lewis in '71 (2014), Albert Donoghue in Legend (2015) among others

Childhood - Family

Paul Anderson was born on 12th February 1978 in London, England, United Kingdom. His mother worked in a pub as a barmaid. [3]

He has a sister named Vicki Anderson & a Nephew in Jacob Anderson (actor who played "Grey worm" in Game of Thrones).

He has an older brother whom he looks up to, he says "My older brother has a big say in what I do and what is good and what is not. Sometimes he has too much of a say in it". Paul sends his scripts to his brother for approval. [2]

Education

• School: Paul left school very young, he was about 14-15 when he left school. Going to drama school was like goign to school again. [3]
• Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art: Paul got enrolled in the institution thus officially switching careers. He was sitting around eating at the table where one of the friends was an actor, Paul was reciting lines from his favorite movie 'The Warriors', the meeting inspired Paul to apply for drama schools, he got selected both at Guildhall & Webber Douglas.

Interesting Facts & Trivia

• Loves Pets: He loves pets and has a puppy named Ray/ Bear.
• Early Life: He grew up in a council estate. His mother had worked as a barmaid in a pub.
• Ticket Scalping: He spent most part of his early youth (before 2000s) as a ticket reseller.
• Musician & Artist: He found his interest in acting in 2000s, he has tried his hand in music as well.
• Friendship: Gregory Burke (Scottish playwright) was a friend of Paul's, the friendship lead to Paul getting chances early in the career
• London Accent: He has a thick South London accent
• Tottenham Hotspur: Paul is a football fan. He supports the English football club named- Tottenham Hotspur
• Paul is a Legend: For his role in Legend, Paul based the voice of his role 'Albert Donoghue' on a friend of his who sells tickets. It sounded like an old man, but it was an interesting experiment. His friend had found that out through Paul's brother. He was very flattered. He is a big supporter of Paul. [3]

Tattoo

He has many tattoos on the front side of his body. A Cross on his chest. Letters below his left chest, A diagram on his right chest.

[ Paul Anderson Tattoos ]

Career

• Stage & TV: After the drama school, Paul ventured into London stage, he quickly found himself promoted to TV screen.
• Singing: Paul is passionate about singing, in fact it was singing that brought him to acting, he says "I always wanted to be a front man in a band, Not a footballer, not an actor, not a policeman nor a fireman" about singing. [3]

Peaky Blinders

Paul plays- 'Arthur Shelby'- the man in charge, the leader of the pack in Peaky blinders. He runs pubs and gambling rackets.

Paul was attracted towards the character because of the script. He is a fan of the writer Steven Knight. Otto Bathurst, the director first 3 episodes had created a good impression on him, which helped Paul take up the role of Arthur. 

[ Paul Anderson in Peaky Blinders ]

Filmography

Movies List

TV Series List

Short movies List

Stage

• Tartuffe: In 2018 he appeared in the play written by famous French playwright Molière & directed by Gérald Garutti , it was at the Theater Royal Haymarket
• The Firm
• Piggy
• The Sweeney

Quotes

• I like playing the bad guys, you know it is fun.
• Canada was freezing cold, up in the mountains, if you were cold you just had to sit there and bear it.
• When I watch the film I want to ring my phone and share that experience, I want people to get the feel when they see my movies, the urge to see great movies.
• I have few options, it is a nice place to be as an actor
• When I first heard the title "Peaky Blinder" I thought it was a musical. It is great how people took it.
• I don't gonna lie, when I read the script (of peaky blinder) I cried a little.
• Haircut is a hard thing to wear
• I left school when I was about 14, so there was a large gap in my education. Going to drama school was like university that I never had.  
• [About Ticket Scalping] I loved it. A wealth of experience. Artistically, there was nothing in it for me, I always wanted to do something else.
• I knew a lot of 60s gangster. It wasn't hard for me to replicate the vernacular and the vocabulary on screen.
• You always have that insecurity as an actor
• Brutal & Violent characters are the most interesting roles to play, there is so much scope in playing those roles.
• It was a pleasure to play Arthur Shelby. Much better than playing the nice guy.
• I do play a lot of darker characters, I am drawn to them
• I'm an actor, I don't dig roads for a living—it's a luxury [3]

Sources

1. Paul Anderson Wiki
2. Paul Anderson BBC Interview- Arthur Shelby
3. Interview Magazine- Peaky Blinders interview
4.