Iain De Caestecker (/də ˈkæskər/ KAS-kər;[1] born 29 December 1987)[2][3] is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). He is also known for his roles in Coronation Street (2001–2003) as Adam Barlow and the films Shell (2012), In Fear (2013), Not Another Happy Ending (2013), Lost River (2014), and Overlord (2018).

Iain De Caestecker
De Caestecker in 2019
Born (1987-12-29) 29 December 1987 (age 36)
Glasgow, Scotland
EducationLangside College
OccupationActor
Years active1996–present
PartnerAnn Skelly (2021–present)

Early life

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De Caestecker was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is of Belgian descent through his paternal grandfather.[4] He has a twin sister and two older brothers. His parents are both medical doctors.[5] His mother, Dr Linda De Caestecker, is Director of Public Health (DPH) for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the largest health board in Scotland. She is an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow.[6]

Iain De Caestecker went to Hillhead Primary School.[7] He completed an HND in Acting and Performance at Langside College.[8] He is in a relationship with Irish actress Ann Skelly.

Acting was always just something I knew I wanted to do, which I feel very fortunate for. And yes, my mum was always very supportive. But she— I think basically when I got to 16, I think she basically said, look, "Spend a year," because I was acting at that point and she said, "Spend a year. Please concentrate hard in school and try and get the grades to do medicine. And if you do and you still want to do it, I'll support you all the way." And so I did. And I got the grades to do medicine. And still after that I said, look, I'd really like to pursue acting.

— Iain De Caestecker, Masterpiece Studio Podcast [9]

Career

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De Caestecker at PaleyFest 2014

De Caestecker made his professional acting debut in the BBC short film Billy and Zorba at the age of nine.[10] This was followed by a minor role as a bully in the comedy horror film The Little Vampire. The following year he first appeared as Adam Barlow in Coronation Street, the UK's longest-running and most-watched TV soap opera. He would appear in 54 episodes between 2001 and 2003 before the role was recast with an older actor. In 2010, De Caestecker appeared in serial drama Lip Service.

He played the lead in BAFTA-winning BBC series The Fades and Young James Herriot; the latter earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Scotland for Best Actor/Actress – Television.[11]

The psychological horror film In Fear premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. That same year, De Caestecker appeared in Filth ("I'm a big fan of Irvine Welsh and [...] I got to play all my scenes with James McAvoy which meant a lot to me")[12] and Not Another Happy Ending; the latter earned him his second BAFTA Scotland nomination, this time in the Best Actor/Actress – Film category. He also appeared in the music video for Gabrielle Aplin's song Please Don't Say You Love Me.

On his first visit to Los Angeles, De Caestecker landed a series regular role on the Marvel television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020).[13] He played scientist Leo Fitz and was a part of the main cast from Seasons 1 through 6. In the seventh and final season, he appeared as a special guest star[14] due to having "been in a warm country for five years and it didn't feel like home to me."[15] His Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character was animated for an episode of Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6, to which the actor lent his voice.[16]

In 2014, De Caestecker played the lead role in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River.[17] The film premiered in competition in the Un certain regard section at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.[18]

In 2018, De Caestecker co-starred in the J. J. Abrams-produced war horror film Overlord. The movie received two nominations at the 2019 Saturn Awards.[19]

In 2020, De Caestecker starred as young Douglas Petersen in BBC One's four-part miniseries Us, based on David Nicholls' novel of the same name.[20] In the same year he also starred opposite Hugh Laurie in the PBS Masterpiece/BBC One political-thriller series Roadkill.[21] Fresh from wrapping up work on Roadkill, De Caestecker filmed horror short Upstairs.[22] The film was played on the festival circuit around the world.

In 2022, De Caestecker led the cast of BBC One's three-part drama The Control Room.[23] And he will make guest appearances on prestige podcast shows from French-American podcast network Paradiso Media Conference Call, along with Jeff Ward, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Clark Gregg.[24]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1999 Billy and Zorba Billy Short film for BBC | Winner Best International Short - Brooklyn Film Festival, 2000[25]
2000 The Little Vampire Nigel
2003 16 Years of Alcohol Frankie (as a boy)
All Over Brazil Steven Short film for BBC[26]
2012 Up There Tommy
Shell Adam
2013 In Fear Tom Official Sundance selection
Not Another Happy Ending Roddy
Filth Ocky
2014 Lost River Bones Official Cannes Film Festival selection
Liam and Lenka Liam Short film
2018 Overlord Private Morton Chase
2021 Upstairs Tim Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2001–2003 Coronation Street Adam Barlow 54 episodes
2001 Monarch of the Glen Angus "Ricky" MacDonald Episode: "Episode #2.8"
Credited as Iain Decaestecker
2002 Rockface Dan Episode: "Episode #1.3"
2009 River City Stuart Episode: "Episode #1.607"
Taggart Davy Kincaid Episode: "So Long Baby"
2010 Lip Service Darren 4 episodes
2011 The Fades Paul Roberts Miniseries; 6 episodes / Winner of Best Drama Series, BAFTA Television Awards, 2012
Young James Herriot James Herriot Miniseries; 3 episodes
2012 The Secret of Crickley Hall Young Percy Judd Miniseries; 3 episodes
2013–2020 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Leo Fitz Main Cast (Seasons 1-6), Special Guest Star (Season 7); 122 episodes
2016 Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6 Voice role; episode: "Lizards"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy Himself Episode: "Commencement"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot Agent Leo Fitz Web series; episode: "Progress"
2020 Us Young Douglas Miniseries; 4 episodes
Roadkill Duncan Nock Miniseries; 4 episodes
2022 The Control Room Gabe Miniseries; 3 episodes
2023 The Winter King Arthur Pendragon Season 1

Video games

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Year Title Role
2012 Assassin's Creed III Fillan McCarthy (voice)

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role
2013 "Please Don't Say You Love Me" Gabrielle Aplin Boyfriend

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2012 BAFTA Scotland Award Best Actor/Actress – Television Young James Herriot Nominated
2013 Best Actor/Actress – Film Not Another Happy Ending Nominated
2014 SET Awards SET Engineer Award Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Won
2015 TVLine's Performer of the Week Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (episode: "Laws of Nature") Won
2017 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (episode: "Self Control"; shared with Elizabeth Henstridge) Nominated
TVLine's Performer of the Year Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated
2019 TVLine's Performer of the Week Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (episode: "Inescapable"; shared with Elizabeth Henstridge) Won

References

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  1. ^ Dobbins, Amanda (12 September 2013). "HAIM, Llewyn Davis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor: Your Fall 2013 Pronunciation Guide". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  2. ^ Henstridge, Elizabeth [@Lil_Henstridge] (29 December 2013). "Haaaaappy Birthday Mr @IdeCaestecker !! Watch out Scotland! xx" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 April 2014 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Dalton, Brett [@IMBrettDalton] (29 December 2013). "@AgentsofSHIELD happy birthday to @IdeCaestecker the coolest scientist in the world who also happens to be my best friend #wardfitz4ever" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 April 2014 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Watson, Keith (26 September 2013). "Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Iain de Caestecker is a man on a Marvel mission". Metro. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  5. ^ Williams, Andrew (18 March 2014). "LA-based British actor Iain De Caestecker: 'I miss the rain quite a lot'". Metro. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ "The hunt is on to find the Queen of Scots who makes real difference to the lives of others". Evening Times. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. ^ "BBC - Interview with Iain de Caestecker - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  8. ^ Galkin, Alexandra (21 November 2011). "Discovery: Iain De Caestecker". Interview Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Iain de Caestecker Will Let You Decide If Duncan Knock Is Good". Masterpiece Studio. 8 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Iain De Caestecker: show your bones". Dazed. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Young James Herriot Nominated for BAFTA Scotland Best Director & Best Actor 2012". Shed Productions. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  12. ^ Northmore, Henry (23 January 2014). "Interview: Iain De Caestecker". The List. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (13 November 2012). "Joss Whedon's 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Pilot Adds Two Agents (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  14. ^ Schick, Michal (13 August 2020). "The 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' team reflects on that [SPOILER] final scene". Hypable. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  15. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie (11 September 2022). "An ambulance dispatcher breaks bad in taut new thriller The Control Room". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  16. ^ Nilles, Billy (25 February 2016). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s FitzSimmons are getting their very own Marvel crossover". E!Online. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  17. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (17 June 2013). "Iain DeCaestecker Gets Lead in Ryan Gosling-Directed 'How To Catch A Monster'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  18. ^ "2014 Official Selection". Cannes. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Saturn Awards Nominations 2019". Collider. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  20. ^ "'The Night Manager's Tom Hollander & 'The Killing's Sofie Gråbøl To Star in BBC's Adaptation of David Nicholls' 'Us'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Further cast join Roadkill, David Hare's political thriller for BBC One". BBC. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  22. ^ "IMDb: "Upstairs"". IMDb.
  23. ^ "Iain De Caestecker and Joanna Vanderham to lead cast of new thriller The Control Room for BBC One". BBC. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  24. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (30 March 2022). "Paradiso Media Unveils Three New Shows, Including 'Conference Call' with Jeff Ward, Gregory Stees, Elizabeth Henstridge (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  25. ^ "The Agency - Ed McCardie". www.theagency.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  26. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Tartan Shorts All Over Brazil". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
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