Andrew Scott

Scott first came to prominence portraying James Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock (2010–17), for which he won the BAFTA Television Award. His role as the priest in the second series of Fleabag (2019) earned him the Critics' Choice Television Award. He was Emmy-nominated for playing of a grief-stricken rideshare driver in Black Mirror: Smithereens (2019) and Tom Ripley in the Netflix thriller series Ripley (2024).

On film, he made his acting debut in the drama Korea (1995). He was Golden Globe Award-nominated for his starring role as a lonely screenwriter in the romantic drama film All of Us Strangers (2023). He is also known for his roles in films such as Pride (2014), Spectre (2015), Denial (2016), 1917 (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), Blue Moon (2025), Wake Up Dead Man (2025), and Pressure (2026).

On stage, Scott earned Laurence Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for his role as a witty camera man in A Girl in a Car with a Man (2005) and Best Actor for playing Garry Essendine in a revival of Nöel Coward's Present Laughter (2019). He was Olivier-nominated for his roles in Hamlet (2018) and Vanya (2024). He made his Broadway debut in the David Hare play The Vertical Hour (2006).

Andrew Scott was born on 21 October 1976 in Dublin, the son of Nora and Jim Scott. His mother was an art teacher, while his father worked at an employment agency. He is the second of three children; he has an older sister, Sarah, and a younger sister, Hannah. Scott was raised as a Catholic, but no longer practices.

He attended Gonzaga College while taking weekend classes at Ann Kavanagh's Young People's Theatre in Rathfarnham, and appeared in two ads on Irish television. At 17, Scott was chosen for a starring role in his first film Korea. He won a bursary to art school, but elected to study drama at Trinity College Dublin, leaving after six months to join Dublin's Abbey Theatre and then moving to London when he was 22. He once stated to the London Evening Standard that he always had a "healthy obsession" with acting.

In 1992 he portrayed Stan in the Neil Simon play Brighton Beach Memoirs at Andrews Lane Theatre in Dublin. Scott made his film acting debut in the Irish drama Korea (1995), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Scott worked with film and theatre director Karel Reisz in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, production of Long Day's Journey into Night (1998), playing the role of Edmund Tyrone, the younger son, in Eugene O'Neill's play about a wealthy but tortured Irish family living in Connecticut in 1912. He won Actor of the Year at the Sunday Independent Spirit of Life Arts Awards in 1998 and received an Irish Times Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Scott had a small role as Michael Bodkin in the film Nora, and another small role in a television adaptation of Henry James's The American, before making his London theatre debut in Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol at the Royal Court Theatre. He appeared briefly in the BAFTA-winning drama Longitude (2000) opposite Sir Michael Gambon, whom he called "a brilliant actor" and "the best actor in England". He also acted in Steven Spielberg's World War II miniseries Band of Brothers (2001).

In 2004, he was named one of European Film Promotions' "Shooting Stars". After starring in My Life in Film for the BBC, he received his first Laurence Olivier Award for his role in A Girl in a Car with a Man at The Royal Court, and he was nominated for a Theatregoers' Choice Award for his performance in the Royal National Theatre's Aristocrats. He also originated the roles of the twin brothers in the Royal Court's world premiere production of Christopher Shinn's Dying City, which was later nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

In 2006, he made his Broadway debut in the Music Box Theater production of The Vertical Hour written by David Hare and directed by Sam Mendes. Scott starred alongside Bill Nighy and Julianne Moore. He was nominated for a Drama League Award for this performance.

Scott appeared as William Stephens Smith in the historical miniseries John Adams. In 2009, he appeared in Sea Wall, a one-man show written especially for him by playwright Simon Stephens. Later that year, he starred in a sold-out run of Cock at the Royal Court, which won an Olivier Award in 2010. His role in an episode of Foyle's War, in which he plays a prisoner determined to allow himself to hang for a crime he may not have committed, was described in Slant as a "standout performance". His film appearances include a role in Chasing Cotards (a short film made for IMAX); a role in the short film, Silent Things; and the role of Paul McCartney in the BBC film Lennon Naked.

He also stars in the critically acclaimed 2010 film The Duel.

He gained prominence for his role as Sherlock Holmes' nemesis Jim Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the drama series Sherlock, which he played from 2010 to 2017. For his performance, he received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. In an interview with The Independent, Scott stated "Sherlock has changed all our careers, and I'm really pleased about that. It gives you the benefit of the doubt because executives like to see recognisable faces ... It was overwhelming to be on a TV show that is quite so popular. That took me totally by surprise. People had an instant affection for it from the first episode. The reaction was extraordinary".

He had a guest role in the second series of Garrow's Law playing a gay man on trial for sodomy. In 2010, he appeared in the Old Vic production of Noël Coward's Design for Living directed by Anthony Page. In 2011, he played the lead role of Julian in Ben Power's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's epic Emperor and Galilean at the Royal National Theatre in London. He had a part in the drama The Hour as Adam Le Ray, a failed actor. The series starred Dominic West and Romola Garai.

In addition to his stage and TV work, Scott is known for his voice acting in radio plays and audiobooks, such as the roles of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's Ulysses.

In November 2013, Scott took part in the Royal National Theatre's 50 Years on Stage, a theatrical event which consisted of excerpts from many plays over the National's fifty-year run and was broadcast live on television. Alongside Dominic Cooper, Scott performed a scene from Tony Kushner's epic play Angels in America about the AIDS crisis in New York City.

In 2014 Scott took to the stage in Birdland, written by Simon Stephens and directed by Carrie Cracknell at the Royal Court Theatre, playing the central character of Paul, a rock star on the verge of a breakdown. Scott received positive reviews for the performance, with comments such as "beautifully played" and [he] "pulls off the brilliant trick of being totally dead behind the eyes and fascinating at the same time, an appalling creature who's both totem and symptom".

In 2015, he appeared in the James Bond film Spectre as Max Denbigh, a member of the British government intent on shutting down the Double-0 section. Of the experience, Scott stated, "I was thrilled to be asked. I found it difficult to be in that film. I think I could've just been a bit better. I think I allowed myself to be a little intimidated by the budget and the history of the franchise, and I don't think I attempted enough to be original". The following year he appeared in the romantic drama film This Beautiful Fantastic (2016), directed and written by Simon Aboud.

Also in 2016, he portrayed solicitor Anthony Julius in the film Denial alongside Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall and Tom Wilkinson.

In 2017, Scott's performance in the title role of Hamlet won critical acclaim and earned him the nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. The play was directed by Robert Icke and first produced at the Almeida Theatre. Michael Billington of The Guardian praised Scott's performance, writing, "Scott's Hamlet is most memorable for his charm, self-mockery and ability to speak directly to the audience." The production was filmed and broadcast on BBC Two at Easter 2018. Scott also voiced Obake in Big Hero 6: The Series (2017).

Scott portrayed Edgar in the television adaptation of William Shakespeare's King Lear (2018). Scott starred alongside Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and Florence Pugh. The following year, he portrayed The Priest in series two of the comedy-drama Fleabag (2019), created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. For his performance, he received acclaim and nominations for a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, and won a Critics' Choice Television Award.

In 2019, he appeared in the anthology series Black Mirror, as the lead character Chris in the Season 5 episode "Smithereens" for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Also in 2019, he acted in the Sam Mendes drama 1917, which received acclaim as well as an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination.

In June to August 2019, Scott starred as the matinee idol Garry Essendine in Matthew Warchus's revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter at the Old Vic in London. He received acclaim for the role as well as the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. He portrayed Colonel John Parry/Jopari/Stanislaus Grumman in an adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials from 2019 to 2022. He played Lord Merlin in the miniseries The Pursuit of Love (2021). Also that year, he portrayed Terje Rød-Larsen in the film Oslo (2021). The following year, he acted in the comedy Catherine Called Birdy (2022).

In 2023, Scott starred opposite Paul Mescal in the romantic drama All of Us Strangers. His performance earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. He also starred in Vanya, a one-man production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, which earned him acclaim.

Scott next starred as Tom Ripley in Ripley, a television series adapted from Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels. For the role, he received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

In June 2025, Scott was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Later that year, he starred as part of an ensemble cast in the murder mystery Wake Up Dead Man, the third film in the Knives Out series.

Scott publicly came out as gay in an interview with The Independent in November 2013. Scott was ranked at No. 22 on The Independent's Rainbow List 2014, and No. 4 on the newspaper's Pride List for 2024. In 2023, he said that when he first started out as an actor, people had encouraged him not to disclose his sexual orientation.

Scott worked with the charity IdeasTap, mentoring young actors and helping them to start their careers, until the charity closed in June 2015.