Actor who gained great fame for his role as Littlefinger Baelish in "Game of Thrones": Who is Aidan Gillen?

His real name is Aidan Murphy, he was born on 24 April 1968 in the Drumcondra area of Dublin. He was born as the youngest of six children to his mother, Patricia Gillen, and father, Denis Murphy. Gillen, who studied at St.Vincent's CBS in the Glasnevin district, started his acting career at a young age.

Gillen, who joined the National Youth Theater at the age of fourteen, played Nick Bottom in William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which was screened at the Project Arts Center two years later. Since his birth name was already registered, Aidan began using his mother's maiden name "Gillen" as his stage name and moved to London in 1987.

In 1995, Gillen starred as Aidan Lynch in the movie "Circle of Friends" directed by Pat O'Connor and based on the novel of the same name. The film was successful both critically and at the box office. From 1999 to 2000, Gillen was one of the leading roles as Stuart Alan Jones in the television series "Queer as Folk", about the lives of three gay men, written by Russell T Davies. The series, which received various criticisms from different views at the time, was still on the "50 Best TV Series of All Time" list. Gillen earned a nomination for Best Actor at the 2000 British Academy Television Awards for his performance.

In 2003, Gillen appeared as Mick in the drama play "The Caretaker" by Harold Pinter, directed by David Jones and screened at the Roundabout Theater Company. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. The following year, when his talent was recognized, he was cast in the main cast as Tommy Carcetti in the crime drama television series "The Wire" aired by HBO. He won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Television for his performance.

That same year, Gillen starred alongside Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson as Lord Nelson Rathbone in the martial arts action comedy "Shanghai Knights", a sequel to the series directed by David Dobkin. The film, which performed well at the box office, garnered mixed reviews.

He later received an Irish Times Theater Award nomination for his portrayal of Teach in David Mamet's play "American Buffalo", which was shown at the Dublin Gate Theatre in 2007. The following year, he was hailed as an "Irish cult hero" by the Sunday Tribune. He then got a lead role as Miles Jackson in the action movie "12 Rounds" directed by Renny Harlin. The film, which received mostly negative reviews from critics, was a minor commercial success at the box office.

In 2009, he starred as Gus in the television movie "Freefall" written and directed by Dominic Savage. In 2010, Gillen was cast as Phil Hendricks in the crime drama television series "Thorne", based on the novels and airing on Sky One. The following year, Gillen was cast as Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the fantasy drama television series "Game of Thrones" created for HBO by David Benioff and DB Weiss. The series, which has a large and international fan base, has been subject to frequent criticism since its broadcast. Despite this, the series earned 59 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most awards by a drama series. After performing for seven seasons, Gillen was again nominated for the Irish Film and Television Award. Additionally, he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award nomination along with the cast.

That same year, he took the lead role as Patrick Daley in the supernatural horror film "Wake Wood" directed by David Keating. The film was able to receive high critical acclaim. He later appeared as "John Boy" Power in the dramatic television series "Love/Hate" on RTÉ Television. For his performance, he once again won the Irish Film and Television Award. Meanwhile, Gillen appeared as Barry "Blitz" Weiss in the action thriller "Blitz" directed by Elliott Lester. Released on May 20, 2011, the film garnered mixed reviews from critics and grossed close to $16 million at the box office.

In 2012, he appeared as agent Bill Wilson in the superhero movie "The Dark Knight Rises", a sequel directed by Christopher Nolan. Released on July 20, 2012, the movie became the highest-grossing Batman movie to date. Although he liked his role in the movie, Gillen said that he prefers low-budget productions in which he takes the lead. Later, he appeared as Gerry McVeigh in the drama film "Shadow Dancer" directed by James Marsh. The film, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, was critically acclaimed for the most part.

In addition, Gillen hosted the music series "Other Voices", festival and tourism event between 2011 and 2014. Meanwhile, Gillen appeared as Everett in the drama thriller television series "Mayday", which aired on BBC One. In 2014, he appeared as Dr. Frank Harte in the drama film "Calvary" written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. Released in August 2014, the film garnered positive reviews from critics.

That same year, he starred as Tom Carver in the drama film "Still", written and directed by Simon Blake and based on the play, which received generally positive reviews from critics. Additionally, Gillen appeared in the short film "Ekki Múkk" created by Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós for the Mystery Film Experiment of the album 'Valtari'.

In 2015, he starred as Janson in the dystopian science fiction film "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials", a sequel to the series based on a novel directed by Wes Ball. Upon its release, the film was met with mixed reviews critically. In addition, the film was a commercial success, grossing at the box office against its production budget. He earned a nomination for Best Movie Villain at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards for his performance.

Also that year, he starred as Robert in the comedy-drama musical film "Sing Street" written and directed by John Carney. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016, garnered positive reviews from critics and was considered a minor box office success. In 2017, Gillen appeared as Goosefat Bill in the epic fantasy action-adventure movie "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" directed by Guy Ritchie. The film resulted in both critically mixed reviews and a bombshell at the box office.

In 2018, he reprized the same role in the dystopian science fiction film "Maze Runner: The Death Cure", the sequel to the series directed by Wes Ball. The film, which was released on January 26, 2018, received mixed reactions, receiving positive comments on some subjects and negative comments on others. It also resulted in a financial gain at the box office. That same year, Gillen appeared as Queen's first manager, John Reid, in a biographical musical drama film "Bohemian Rhapsody" based on the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock band Queen. Released on November 2, 2018, the film was well received by audiences, with mixed reviews from critics. Additionally, the film became the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2018 worldwide, grossing at the box office.

The following year, the actress played Aidan in the short film "I didn't...I wasn't...I Amn't" written and directed by Laoisa Sexton. Between 2019 and 2020, Gillen took on one of the main characters in the historical drama television series "Project Blue Book" as Dr.J.Allen Hynek. The series, which aired for two seasons, gathered mixed and average reviews.

In 2021, Gillen starred as Jack in the action thriller "Those Who Wish Me Dead" directed by Taylor Sheridan and based on the novel of the same name. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $23 million at the box office. In the same year, he appeared in the main cast as Frank Kinsella in the television crime drama series "Kin" aired on RTÉ. Later, Gillen hosted the documentary science television series "Killers of the Cosmos" broadcast by the Science Channel as the Gumshoe Detective.

He later appeared in the main cast as Russian gangster Milo Sunter in the detective thriller television series "Mayor of Kingstown" created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon. In 2020, he reunited with Dominic Cooper and Travis Fimmel in the television series "That Dirty Black Bag". In 2023, he took the lead role in the movie "Barber" directed by Fintan Connolly. Premiering at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival, the film garnered mixed critically.

Finally, he is slated to star as James Joyce in the biopic "Dance First", directed by James Marsh and about playwright Samuel Beckett. The film is expected to premiere in 2023.

Private life

While young, Gillen met Olivia O'Flanagan. The couple has two children named Berry, born in March 1997, and Joe, born in October 2000. The couple married in 2001 and decided to separate in 2015. Since 2017, Gillen has been in a relationship with singer Camille O'Sullivan. Giilen currently resides in Dublin.