Paul Blackthorne

1.1. Childhood and Education

Born in Shropshire, England, Blackthorne's early childhood involved living on various UK military bases in both Britain and Germany. This peripatetic upbringing likely shaped his adaptability and worldview.

1.2. Early Career

Blackthorne initiated his professional career in acting through television advertisements in England. His breakthrough in the United Kingdom came with a commercial for Virgin Atlantic, famously portraying the Grim Reaper. This success was followed by numerous engagements in radio commercials, laying the groundwork for his transition into more prominent acting roles in film and television.

2.1. Film

Blackthorne's first significant film role was as Captain Andrew Russell in the 2001 Hindi-language Indian film Lagaan, which was nominated for an Academy Award. For this role, he dedicated six months to learning Hindi.

He also starred in the independent feature-length film Four Corners of Suburbia, which received acclaim, winning Best Narrative Feature at the Crossroads Film Festival in 2006 and an award for Best Composer at the Avignon Film Festival in France, also in 2006. His other independent film credits include Bret Easton Ellis's This Is Not an Exit and a starring role in the British film The Truth Game, where he played Dan. Blackthorne appeared as Jonas Exiler in Special alongside Michael Rapaport.

Later film appearances include a voice role as Guest No. 3 and Business Man No. 2 in the 2009 animated film A Christmas Carol, and providing the voices for John Corben / Metallo and Henry Ackerson in the 2012 animated movie Justice League: Doom. In 2014, he had a cameo as an Emergency Room Doctor in Dumb and Dumber To. He was cast as Willis in Dark Ascension and appeared as Robert Stergen in Daisy Winters, both released in 2017. In 2021, he took on the role of William Bourcier in Margrete: Queen of the North.

2.2. Television

In 2002, Blackthorne portrayed British doctor Matt Slingerland on Presidio Med. He also made appearances as Guy Morton in the British series Holby City and Liam MacGregor in Peak Practice. In 2004, he had recurring roles as Doctor Jeremy Lawson in NBC's ER for five episodes and as the biological terrorist Stephen Saunders in 24 for ten episodes.

His television work continued with appearances in Medium (in two roles, one uncredited as Henry Stoller, Junior), Deadwood, and an episode of Monk (Season 5, Episode 10, "Mr. Monk and the Leper") as dermatologist Aaron Polanski. From 2008 to 2009, he played Shane Healy, a British musician and husband of Wendy Healy (played by Brooke Shields), in the NBC series Lipstick Jungle for two seasons, totaling 20 episodes. In 2009, he appeared as an IRA terrorist, Thomas O'Neill, in one episode of the US series Burn Notice.

In 2007, Blackthorne took on the lead role of Harry Dresden, a wizard and detective, in the Sci Fi Channel's series The Dresden Files, appearing in 13 episodes. He also appeared in nine episodes of Big Shots as Terrence Hill. In 2010, he played arms dealer Tony Kadjic in two episodes of Leverage, and appeared in an episode of CSI: Miami titled "L.A.", which was directed by Rob Zombie. Later that year, he had a recurring role as Christian Harper in six episodes of The Gates and appeared as Larry Newly in the Christmas episode ("Secret Santa") of the SyFy series Warehouse 13. He also appeared in a two-part cliffhanger during the mid-season break of White Collar Season 2 as Julian Larssen.

In 2012, Blackthorne starred as Clark Quietly in the ABC paranormal/adventure/horror television series The River, which followed a group searching for a missing TV explorer in the Amazon rainforest. Also in 2012, he appeared as Professor Tom Laudner in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled "Trends with Benefits" and as Jack St. Cloud in an episode of Necessary Roughness titled "Mr. Irrelevant".

From 2012 to 2020, Blackthorne was a central figure in The CW's superhero drama series Arrow, playing Detective Quentin Lance. He was a series regular for the first six seasons, departed at the end of the sixth season in May 2018, but returned in a special guest role for Season 7 and a recurring role in the eighth and final season, appearing in the episode "Fadeout." As Quentin Lance, he also made special guest appearances in The Flash in seasons 1 and 4, and in Legends of Tomorrow in season 1. In 2019, he became a series regular as Detective Tom Hackett in The InBetween. His recent television appearances include John Baylor in The Company You Keep and Xavier in the "Hit & Run" episode of Magnum P.I., both in 2023.

3.1. Photography and Humanitarian Work

Paul Blackthorne has established himself as a recognized photographer. In 2001, shortly after filming concluded for Lagaan in India, the town where production took place was devastated by an earthquake. The apartment building where the cast of Lagaan had resided was among the structures leveled. In response to the disaster and to support the earthquake victims, Blackthorne organized and exhibited his photography in a show held in London. His photographic work has also been displayed internationally, including an exhibition of his photographs of Tibet at Tibet House in New York City in 2009.

3.2. Directing

Blackthorne made his directorial debut with the documentary film This American Journey, released in 2013. The film is a road trip documentary that follows Blackthorne and Australian photographer Mister Basquali as they travel across the United States, engaging with everyday Americans. Through interviews, the film explores their sentiments about their country and their hopes for its future. This American Journey was featured at several film festivals, including the Hollywood, Carmel, Ojai, and Big Bear Film Festivals, and was subsequently released through Cinema Libre Studios.

5.1. Film

5.2. Television

5.3. Video Games