Biography
British actor Joe Dempsie rose to fame as the strangely likeable party animal Chris in generation-defining teen drama "Skins" (E4 2007-2013) before making an effortless leap into more adult-oriented fare in the likes of "Murder: Joint Enterprise" (BBC2 2012), "Southcliffe" (Channel 4 2013), and perhaps most notably "Game Of Thrones" (HBO 2011-). Born in Liverpool in 1987, Dempsie honed his acting skills while attending the Central Junior Television Workshop in Nottingham and made his first-on screen appearance in hit drama "Peak Practice" (ITV1 1993-2002), aged thirteen. Following small parts in bittersweet road movie "Heartlands" (2002) and rehab-based comedy "One For The Road" (2003), and one-off appearances in medical drama "Sweet Medicine" (ITV1 2003) and gentle nostalgic series "Born & Bred" (BBC1 2002-05), Dempsie achieved his big break when he was cast as Chris Miles, arguably the most multi-layered and ultimately tragic character to grace the first two seasons of controversial teen phenomenon "Skins" (E4 2007-2013). Fresh from his departure from the show, Dempsie guested as soldier Cline on "Doctor Who" (BBC1 1963- ) and as the titular character's old friend William in "Merlin" (BBC1 2008-2012). He next portrayed Leeds United striker Duncan McKenzie in the Brian Clough biopic "The Damned United" (2009), followed by dopey moped gang member Higgy in Shane Meadows' gritty mini-series "This Is England '86" (Channel 4 2010). Dempsie then garnered his first leading film role as one of six lost souls who find solace at a seaside hotel in indie drama "Edge" (2010), and also appeared as PC Theo Nelson in the Jason Statham thriller "Blitz" (2011). Returning to television, Dempsie played the villainous leader John in the BAFTA-winning paranormal drama "The Fades" (BBC3 2011), and worked with acclaimed directors Jimmy McGovern and Birger Larsen, delivering well-received performance as a threatening gang member in the former's legal drama "Accused" (BBC1 2012) and an ex-soldier accused of homicide in the latter's "Murder: Joint Enterprise" (BBC2 2012). Having cropped up as Gendry, the skilled blacksmith bastard son of King Robert Baratheon, several times during the first two seasons of fantasy hit "Game of Thrones" (HBO 2011- ), Dempsie was promoted to series regular for its third. After landing the role of Chris Cooper, a young soldier returning from Afghanistan whose brutal behavior kickstarts a small-town tragedy in harrowing drama "Southcliffe" (Channel 4 2013), Dempsie was cast as Frankie in the sequel to Gareth Edwards' low-budget hit, "Monsters: Dark Continent" (2014) and returned to the costume drama genre as Ned Hawkins in 1680s epic "New Worlds" (Channel 4, 2014).
