Bio
David Morrissey is an English actor and director best known for his starring role as The Governor in the television horror series The Walking Dead. He is also known for his critically-lauded roles in the television mini-series State of Play and the TV movie The Deal, both in 2003.
Born in Liverpool, Morrissey left to study in London at RADA. Upon graduation, he secured varied and challenging roles.
He has appeared in some of the most popular and critically acclaimed television dramas such as Our Mutual Friend, Clocking Off, Holding On (which earned him a prestigious RTS nomination), the six part BBC political drama State of Play (a role for which he received a BAFTA nomination) and one of Channel 4's most controversial dramas The Deal, in which he played Gordon Brown (directed by Stephen Frears). He subsequently won an RTS Award for his depiction of Brown.
In 2006, audiences saw Morrissey in Viva Blackpool, a 90-minute program for BBC1 based on his character in Blackpool, a hugely popular six-part BBC musical drama broadcast in October and November 2005.
Morrissey received the Best Television Actor Award at the Arena Awards, and the series received a prestigious Golden Globe Award nomination.
Other television credits include Red Riding, Field of Blood and South Riding as well as Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat - two films based on the hugely popular Mark Billingham's crime novels for Sky 1 in which he played the lead role of Tom Thorne and also served as an executive producer.
Morrissey was also seen in Rupert Goold's Richard II and Dominic Savage's True Love for the BBC.
Morrissey's stage work has included a number of productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National, and he has worked with highly regarded stage directors including Adrian Noble, Deborah Warner and Declan Donnellan (who most famously directed him in the title role of Peer Gynt).
He also received fantastic reviews for his performance in Neil LaBute's In A Dark Dark House at the Almeida Theatre.
His accomplished television and stage performances brought him to the attention of the film world and he has gone on to play roles in a range of films including Hilary & Jackie, Some Voices, Born Romantic, Captain Correlli's Mandolin, Miramax's Derailed, Stephen Woolley's Stoned, The Reaping opposite Hilary Swank, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, written by Terry George, The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the best-selling book by Philippa Gregory, Neil Marshall's Centurion and Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy.
Other film releases include Welcome To The Punch and Earthbound.
In addition to his acting career, Morrissey founded his own production company, Tubedale Films. The company co-produced Patrice Leconte's film, L'Homme Du Train, starring Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort.
Tudedale Films has also enabled him to branch out into directing; starting with shorts, Morrissey also directed TV project Sweet Revenge in which he was able to work with friend and fellow actor Paul McGann.
He directed James Nesbitt in a two-part BBC drama called Passer-By, which was broadcast in March 2004 and directed his first feature film, Don't Worry About Me in 2009 - both to much critical acclaim.