Toby Kebbell
☼ Born on 9 December 1982, in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, UK
Biography
Toby Kebbell was born in 1982 in Pontefract, Yorkshire. He then moved to Nottinghamshire, where he grew up. Aged 17 he joined the Central Television Workshop in Nottingham.
Toby's breakthrough came when Shane Meadows saw him at the Central Television Workshop and cast him in the role of Anthony in the film Dead Man's Shoes opposite Paddy Considine. He only had three days to prepare for the film but his sensitive, moving portrayal of a youngster with learning difficulties saw him earn a nomination for the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the British Independent Film Awards. It was followed by appearances in Oliver Stone's Alexander and Match Point, which Woody Allen cast him in without audition after watching him in Dead Man's Shoes.
Kebbell's most critically acclaimed role came in the 2007 biopic of Ian Curtis, Control. He played Rob Gretton, the manager of Joy Division under direction by Anton Corbijn, and won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the British Independent Film Awards, beating off challenges by Cate Blanchett, Colin Firth and Control co-star Samantha Morton. He was also nominated for the London Critics' Circle Best Supporting Actor Award alongside Albert Finney and Tom Wilkinson.
In 2008 Toby played the title role in Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, with Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton and Mark Strong. He provided the standout performance as the crack-addicted musician, Johnny Quid. Kebbell lost 1 and a half stones in a matter of a few weeks to play the
(click to expand)
emaciated rocker. The Sun subsequently awarded Toby their 2008 Best Actor nod for the performance and noted he was "a star of the future".
Kebbell has finished filming for Cheri, directed by Stephen Frears and to be released in 2009, in which he takes a small role alongside Michelle Pfeiffer. He is filming in Morocco and London with Jake Gyllenhall and Sir Ben Kingsley for the new Jerry Bruckheimer epic Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
His TV work includes playing the lead 'Paul' in a heart-wrenching episode of Jimmy McGovern's BAFTA winning BBC series The Street, and a modern retelling of Macbeth alongside James McAvoy. Toby's theatre credits include spells at the Almeida in David Hare's rework of Maxim Gorky's "Enemies" Directed by Michael Attenborough. And at the Playhouse, under David Grindleys direction of R.C. Sherriff's classic, "Journey's End".
In the role of actor
Bloodshot (02/08/2020)
A slain soldier is brought back as a near-invincible killing machine in Bloodshot. Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) is a US marine, who finds himself and his wife Gina (Talulah Riley) kidnapped by a group of mercenaries lead by Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell), who ends up killing them both. However, Ray later wakes up in the […]
The Wrath (26/07/2019)
A wealthy Korean family is tormented by a vengeful spirit in The Wrath. The heirs of the family of Madame Shin are being killed off on their wedding way by the vengeful spirit of a woman. Ok-bun is a young beggar, who is married off to Shin’s youngest son, in a last-ditch effort to break […]
War for the Planet of the Apes (17/07/2017)
The sentient apes prepare for a last stand against the remaining humans in War for the Planet of the Apes. It has now been fifteen years since the apes lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis) gained intelligence and began a life for themselves in the Muir Woods outside of San Francisco. Thanks to the previous actions of […]
Kong: Skull Island (12/03/2017)
A group of explorers travel to and island ruled by a giant ape in Kong: Skull Island. Bill Randa (John Goodman) is a government official, who is made in charge of an expedition to the uncharted skull island. The expedition is escorted by a platoon of soldiers fresh out of the Vietnam War, lead by Lieutenant […]
Warcraft (12/06/2016)
The orchish Horde goes to war against the human Alliance in Warcraft. With their homeworld Draenor dying, the many orc clans, including the Frostwolves lead by Durotan (Toby Kebbell), seek the help of the shaman Gul’dan (Daniel Wu), who uses the dark magic fel to open the Dark Portal and travel to the world of Azeroth. […]
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (13/07/2014)
The stakes are raised in the second film of this rebooted Planet of the Apes series. In the decade since the first film, the drug that has made apes smarter has also resulted in a global pandemic that killed half the world’s human population. Caesar (Andy Serkis) has been living a peaceful existence with the […]
The East (08/06/2013)
Writer/actress Brit Marling (Another Earth, Sound of My Voice) reteams with Sound of My Voice writer/director Zal Batmanglij for the thriller The East. The film stars Marling as Sarah, who is an operative for an elite private intelligence firm. Sarah is sent undercover to infiltrate an eco-terrorist organization named The East, who use an “eye […]
Wrath of the Titans (30/03/2012)
I don’t know where to begin when it comes to Wrath of the Titans. I actually somewhat enjoyed the previous film Clash of the Titans (even though I decided to give it half a point less in my rating). That film still ended up being somewhat watchable, despite being one of the first (of many) victims of […]
War Horse (01/01/2012)
It’s definitely been a busy holiday season for Steven Speilberg, with War Horse being the second film of two simultaneous films directed by him to be released this season. The film is adaptation of the novel and stage play (which actually opens in Toronto next month). The film tells the story of a horse named […]
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (25/07/2010)
You would never expect Disney to make a live action film based on a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon, but then again you could probably say the same thing about films based on their theme park rides. Other than scene that pays homage, this film is really related to the cartoon in name only. It instead […]
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (30/05/2010)
I am currently on a trip in Scotland, so I don’t have easy access to films (especially since the release schedule is different). However, I manage to see one film that had a worldwide release: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Video game adaptations have a bit of a bad reputation and despite being […]
RocknRolla (09/10/2008)
Since, the release of Snatch in 2000, Guy Ritchie found difficulty in moving away from the formula the made him famous. 2002 saw the Madonna-staring Swept Away, which loathed by pretty much everyone. Then came Revolver 2005, which took the crime films Ritchie was associated with, removed the comedy, and added a cerebral element that […]