Craig Parkinson

Craig Parkinson keeps his movements small and lets his physical presence do the work. That restraint is particularly effective when he plays someone whose motives are uncertain: we have to pay attention without being given much reassurance. We rate him as a supporting actor who can hold our interest while leaving room for the other people in a scene.

Black Books (2000), in which he plays Martin the Tout, is a useful reminder that the threatening parts do not tell the whole story. Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig are the reason we return, for the sight gags as much as the insults. The surreal comedy can become wearing, though the short episodes keep that manageable. Parkinson’s ability to work within an ensemble is worth valuing in its own right. His later appearance as Matt in Chris Morris’s Four Lions (2010) is another reason not to file him away under menace.

His film debut came as Tony Wilson in Anton Corbijn’s Control (2007). It is a moving music biography carried by Sam Riley, and the live performances make the fascination with Ian Curtis understandable. We were moved by them because they let us feel that attraction rather than simply hear about it. The domestic scenes sometimes need a firmer cut, but the film’s patience is mostly a strength. It is worth seeing Parkinson’s supporting work in a film that gives its lead actor so much room.

The turn towards wider recognition came with DI Matthew ‘Dot’ Cottan in Line of Duty (2012). In its extended interrogations and confrontations, his controlled acting gives that economy of movement a purpose: we keep watching for a change. This is a strong use of what he can do, although the subsequent tendency to cast him as menacing or duplicitous men risks making the choice too predictable. There is nothing wrong with being good at a particular kind of part. For anyone who knows him only through Line of Duty, the comedies are worth making time for.