Biography
Who is Christopher Eccleston?
Early life and education
Christopher Eccleston was born on February 16, 1964, in Langworthy, Salford. His father, Ronnie, worked as a forklift truck driver and later a foreman. His mother, Elsie, was a cleaner at a launderette. He had identical twin brothers named Alan and Keith. The family moved to a council estate in Little Hulton when he was seven months old.
Christopher attended Bridgewater County Primary School. He then went to Joseph Eastham High School where he served as head boy. In 1979, he left school to resit O-Levels at Eccles Sixth Form College. A drama teacher there invited him to perform in Lock Up Your Daughters.
How Christopher became famous
After college, Christopher worked several odd jobs. These included roles at a supermarket and on building sites. He also worked as a nude life model at the Slade School of Art. In 1989, he joined the stage crew at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. He made his professional stage debut as Pablo Gonzalez in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Bristol Old Vic.
His first screen role appeared in the 1990 BBC serial Blood Rights. He broke through in the 1991 film Let Him Have It as Derek Bentley. He played DCI Bilborough in the series Cracker from 1993 to 1994.
TV and film career
Christopher Eccleston is well known for playing the ninth Doctor in Doctor Who in 2005. He returned to this role in audio dramas by Big Finish Productions in 2021. He played Matt Jamison in the HBO series The Leftovers from 2014 to 2017. He also appeared as Maurice Scott in The A Word and Fagin in Dodger.
He won an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his work in Accused in 2010. He received a BAFTA nomination for The Second Coming in 2003. He also won a Royal Television Society award for Flesh and Blood in 2003.
Stage work and influences
On stage, Christopher played the title roles in Hamlet in 2002 and Macbeth in 2018. He appeared in Miss Julie in 2000 and A Doll's House in 2009. He also performed in the Greek tragedy Antigone in 2012.
He was inspired by the actor Albert Finney. He liked kitchen sink dramas such as Kes and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. He also admired social realist television shows like Boys from the Blackstuff and Play for Today: The Spongers.
Birthday and age
Christopher Eccleston was born on February 16, 1964, which makes Christopher 62 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aquarius sign. Christopher shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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