Alec Newman

Alec Newman is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. He voiced Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cameron "Caz" McLeary in Still Wakes the Deep, for the latter of which he won the British Academy Games Award for Performer in a Leading Role.^[1]

Early life

Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Berkshire at the age of four.^[2] His father is Sandy Newman, a member of Scottish band Marmalade.^[3] He has a brother, John James Newman, who appeared on The Voice UK in 2012.^[2] Prior to joining the National Youth Theatre in London at age 17, Newman considered becoming a professional footballer. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[2]

Career

After graduating from LAMDA Newman built up a steady list of television and film credits before landing the lead role in the Sci Fi channel's miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune. This led to a string of appearances in US TV and film, which culminated in being cast in the role of Barnabas Collins in a WB reboot of Dark Shadows however, the show was not picked up for series .

The 2004 Hallmark Channel version of Frankenstein with Newman working with an ensemble cast including William Hurt and Donald Sutherland, met with favourable reviews and won an Emmy. This period also found Newman consistently working on film - in Penny Woolcock's The Principles of Lust and in the Stephen Fry directed Bright Young Things. Both played at festivals around the world including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.

From 2011 to 2013 Newman played head teacher Michael Byrne in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road.

Series regular roles in Kurt Sutter's The Bastard Executioner, Amazon's Rogue, and HBO's Strike Back saw him in edgier and often action oriented territory, yet in Guy Pitt's 2014 film Greyhawk Newman's more intimate and emotional performance contributed to a nomination for the Michael Powell award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. He has since worked with directors Tomas Alfredson, Amma Asante and George Clooney.

Newman has often played edgy and complex characters. Performances in the BBC's Showtrial and World Production's Karen Pirie are recent examples of roles with a moral conflict at their core.

He regularly returns to work in the theatre. The Donmar Warehouse production of King Lear in which he played Edmund, transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York. The National Theatre's 2015 production of The Motherfucker with the Hat featured Newman in the title role and was nominated at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Best Play. More recently, he played Bruno Bischofberger in the Young Vic production of Anthony McCarten's new play The Collaboration opposite Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope and Sofia Barclay.

He also works as a voice artist appearing in numerous video games including Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

1. ^ Welsh, Oli (4 March 2025). "Hellblade 2 leads very different set of nominations for BAFTA Games Awards". Polygon
2. ^ "Home truths: Alec Newman of BBC One's Waterloo Road". The Herald. August 17, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
3. ^ "Waterloo Road's Alec Newman says school drama has changed his life as he starts final term as Michael Byrne". Daily Record. May 5, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
4. ^ "Alec Newman (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 3, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
5. ^ "Still Wakes the Deep announces voice talent". Sumo Digital. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
6. ^ Elden Ring. Bandai Namco Entertainment. February 25, 2022.
7. ^ Lane, Rick (February 23, 2026). "Voice actors discuss what it takes to bring a grand adventure like Crimson Desert to life". Epic Games. Retrieved February 24, 2026.

External links

• Alec Newman at IMDb