"First one to describe Aidan Gillen here gets to stay on my trope page!"
Aidan Gillen (/ˈɡɪlˈɛn/; born Aidan Murphy, 24 April 1968 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish actor. He is best known for portraying Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series Queer as Folk (UK), John Boy in the crime drama Love/Hate, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Tommy Carcetti in the HBO drama The Wire, and hosting Other Voices. He has been nominated for the British Academy Television Award, the British Independent Film Award and a Tony Award, and has won two Irish Film & Television Awards.
Film Roles
- 2003 — Shanghai Knights as Lord Nelson Rathbone
- 2009 — 12 Rounds as Miles Jackson
- 2011 — Wake Wood as Patrick Daley
- 2012 — The Dark Knight Rises as the CIA Agent (Bill Wilson)
- 2014 — Calvary as Dr. Frank Harte
- 2015 — Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials as Janson
- 2018 — Maze Runner: The Death Cure as Janson
- 2016 — Sing Street as Robert Lawlor
- 2017 — King Arthur: Legend of the Sword as Goosefat Bill
- 2018 — Bohemian Rhapsody as John Reid
- 2021 — Those Who Wish Me Dead as Jack Blackwell
Television Roles
- 1999 - 2000 — Queer as Folk (UK) Stuart Alan Jones
- 2003 — Poirot as Amyas Crale in the adaptation of Five Little Pigs.
- 2004 - 2008 — The Wire as Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti
- 2010 - 2011 — Love/Hate as "John Boy" Power
- 2011 - 2017 — Game of Thrones as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish
- 2015 - present — Charlie as Charles Haughey
- 2017 — Peaky Blinders as Aberama Gold
- 2019 — Project Blue Book as Dr. J. Allen Hynek
- 2021 — Mayor of Kingstown as Milo
- 2021 — ''Kin as Frank Kinsella
Video Game Roles
- 2016 — Quantum Break as Paul Serene
Tropes associated with his roles
- The Danza: He plays Aidan Lynch in Circle of Friends and another Aidan in Treacle Jr.
- Dawson Casting: Bohemian Rhapsody saw him at 49 playing a 26-year-old.
- Fake Nationality:
- Fake American: The Dark Knight Rises, The Wire, Project Blue Book.
- Fake Brit: Sort of. He affects an English accent for the first two seasons of Game of Thrones and then inexplicably drops it for the remainder of the series.
- Fake Scot: He plays the Scottish manager John Reid in Bohemian Rhapsody.
- Star-Making Role: The Wire established his presence in the television industry, while Game of Thrones brought his name to the popular masses.
- Stunt Casting: He and Maria Doyle Kennedy as the parents in Sing Street, along with rising star Jack Reynor - as the majority of the cast is made up of unknown teen actors.
- Typecasting: Often as a slimy villain or a Jerkass. Notably in Game of Thrones, Littlefinger's persona is tweaked to match Aidan's typecasting; in the books he's able to manipulate people by being charming and trustworthy, whereas in the show he's so Obviously Evil George RR Martin has said that the two are completely different characters.
