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Brendan Coyle

Born December 2, 1963 (Sagittarius)

Brendan Coyle channelling Bono...

Despite legions of female fans and admirers, the honourable Brendan Coyle, who plays Bates on Downton Abbey, is still single and looking for love. Coyle said after you’ve been single for a long time, you get quite specific about what you can and can’t put up with. Coyle’s character has certainly seen his fair share of drama on Downton Abbey. One of Coyle’s many fan clubs include a Facebook group started during Season One that is based on the question: “Is it possible to fall in love with a fictional fortysomething gentleman’s valet from 1914? You bet it is!” But Coyle says if he’d been a heartthrob in his 20s, he would have been very stupid.

Brendan Coyle studied drama in Dublin and holds Irish citizenship. Coyle was born to an Irish father and Scottish mother and has lived in Dublin and London. Speaking of family, Brendan is the great nephew of footballing legend Sir Matt Busby of Manchester United fame. Brendan has worked on stage, television and movie productions over the years. He won an Olivier Award for the Best Supporting Performance in the play “The Weir”. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, the lame valet and former British Army sidekick of Lord Grantham. Downton creator Julian Fellowes wrote the part specifically for Coyle, earning him nomination for a BAFTA and IFTA.

Downton Abbey costs an average of one million pounds per episode to produce.

As of 2013, Downton Abbey is the highest rated PBS "Masterpiece" drama series of all time, seen by an estimated 120 million viewers in 200 countries and regions.

Gillian Anderson reportedly turned down the part of Lady Cora Grantham.

The real estate that "plays" Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, has been the home of the Carnarvon family since 1679. In 1922, George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, co-discovered the Tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. On the show, the names of the Earl of Grantham's beloved dogs, Isis and Pharaoh, are nods to the real castle's connection to Egyptian history.

According to Julian Fellowes, the parts played by Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Coyle and Maggie Smith were written for the actors.

It was reported that Steven Waddington auditioned for the part of Bates.

When Downton Abbey first aired, Julian Fellowes (creator and producer) was annoyed at the media for pointing out anachronisms like TV aerials and the use of the word 'boyfriend'. (The word 'boyfriend appeared in print in 1889, long before the period setting of Downton). Fellowes said "they think to show how smart they are by picking holes in the program to promote their own poshness and to show that their knowledge is greater than your knowledge". In a later article coinciding with the start of the second season, Fellowes apologised and commented "I behaved rather badly by getting the hump."

Brendan Coyle

Downton Abbey Trivia

Hunks of Downton Abbey

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Shirley Maclaine Interview