Alec Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA),he built a steady list of theatre and screen credits before landing the lead role of Paul Atreides in the Emmy award-winning miniseries Dune in 2000. Introduced to US audiences, a string of appearances on American TV and film followed.
He won the coveted role of Barnabus Collins for a 2005 reboot of Dark Shadows, produced by John Wells. Additionally, for television, Newman starred in the title role of Frankenstein in 2004, reunited with William Hurt and Donald Sutherland.
Continuing his work on film, Newman played aspiring writer Paul in Penny Woolcock's The Principles of Lust in 2003 and a supporting role in the Stephen Fry-directed Bright Young Things in 2003. Both films played at festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Sundance, and the London International Film Festival (LIFF).
Newman has maintained a consistent presence on the London stage, working at the National Theatre, Almeida, Hampstead, and Young Vic, as well as the Donmar Warehouse. The 2011 Donmar production of "King Lear" starring Derek Jacobi, featured Newman as Edmund and transferred to BAM, New York. In 2015, the National Theatre production of "The Motherfucker with The Hat," in which he played the title role, garnered an Evening Standard award for Best Play.
Television series regular roles in Kurt Sutter's The Bastard Executioner in 2015, Amazon's Rogue in 2013, and HBO's Strike Back in 2010 saw Newman in edgier, often action-oriented form, with a notable turn as Strikeback villain Pavel Kuragin.
In Guy Pitt's 2014 drama Greyhawk, Newman's performance was low-key and intimate, contributing to the film's nomination for that year's EIFF Michael Powell award. Since then, he has been directed by Tomas Alfredson, Amma Assante, and George Clooney, among others.
Newman's reputation for darker, complex characters has some justification, with notable examples including his work in Showtrial in 2021 and Karen Pirie in 2022, in which he tackled characters in complex moral conflict.
As a prolific voice artist, Newman has featured in numerous video game titles, including Assassin's Creed: Valhalla in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2022.
Newman is a huge football fan and has indulged his love of mountains by trekking in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest on two occasions.
He lives with his wife and daughter in Surrey, England.
