Ralph Ineson

Ralph Michael Ineson (/ˈaɪnsən/ EIN-sən;^[2] born 15 December 1969) is an English actor, narrator and writer. His film roles include Amycus Carrow in the final three Harry Potter films (2009–2011), William in The Witch (2015), the title character in The Green Knight (2021), Dr. Wilhelm Sievers in Nosferatu (2024), and Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

His television roles include Chris Finch in The Office (2001–2003), Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones (2012), and Nikolai Tarakanov in Chernobyl (2019). His video game voice work includes Charles Vane in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013), Lorath Nahr in Diablo IV (2023) and Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred (2026), Cid in Final Fantasy XVI (2023) and Sheath in High on Life 2 (2026).

Early life and education

Ralph Michael Ineson was born on 15 December 1969^[3] and grew up in Leeds.^[4]

He attended Woodleigh School and Pocklington School.^[5] He studied theatre at Lancaster University's Furness College; after his first year, he moved into a flat in Lancaster and took a security job at The Dukes, helping out at its open-air Shakespeare productions in Williamson Park.^[6]

Career

Film

Ineson's early Hollywood film credits include First Knight, From Hell, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and a brief role in The Damned United. He played Amycus Carrow, a Death Eater, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2. He also appeared in the 2008 film Cass, as Sergeant Mullins. In 2014, he appeared in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy.^[7][8] Also in 2014, he had a small role in the spy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, playing a policeman who interviews Eggsy.

In 2016, Ineson starred alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Kate Dickie in Robert Eggers's critically acclaimed debut film The Witch, which saw Eggers win Best Director at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Ineson later credited Eggers and the film as offering him a career breakthrough stating: "(Eggers) gave me this amazing part in an amazing film with other incredible actors, and that changed everything for me. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself that if it came down to it, I did actually have the chops to be able to play a character with a proper arc and some nuance. It was much more than I’d been given to play with before, and that led to more work with Rob and also Steven Spielberg, the Coen brothers and all sorts of amazing filmmakers."^[9]

Ineson appeared in a minor role as a First Order officer in the 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi. His role was originally bigger, but most of his performance was cut.^[10] The cut material is available in a deleted scene on the 2018 Blu-ray release of the film.^[11] Between 2018 and 2024, he appeared in prominent supporting roles in Ready Player One, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, The Green Knight (as the title character), The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Northman, Catherine Called Birdy, To Catch a Killer (as the titular serial killer), The Creator and Nosferatu.

In 2025, Ineson portrayed the gigantic Marvel Comics planet-eating supervillain Galactus in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film The Fantastic Four: First Steps.^[12] Ineson was offered the part without having to audition.^[9] Speaking about his preparation for the part, which he performed in heavy armor, Ineson said "there were little crosses of electric tape on the floor, which is why you have to do the preparation work for the character long before you set foot on set. The day-to-day job of getting the character onto screen is more of a physical challenge, but to make that cross of tape on the floor real in your own mind, you have to have your emotional memory ready to go. So I went to the tallest buildings I could find to have Galactus’ perspective, and when I was looking down at the floor, I could see that perspective, not just a piece of tape."^[9]

Television

Ineson appeared in the music video for the 1996 song "My Kingdom" by Future Sound of London. He played the recurring character Chris Finch in the BBC comedy The Office.^[13] He starred as Donald Bamford in the sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart, as Zack in the soap opera Coronation Street, and played ex-soldier Sam Walker in the first series of Spooks. He played Luke Mullen in the BBC drama Playing the Field. He had a minor part in episode four of the first series of BBC drama This Life. He starred in Suburban Shootout, which aired on Paramount Comedy and Five. He played Frank Monk in series 7 of Waking the Dead in the episode "Wounds". He played pirate Dagmer Cleftjaw in the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones. He also appeared in an Imperial Leather advert as a fireman.

Ineson had a minor role in the fifth and sixth series of BBC drama Waterloo Road in 2009 playing the role of John Fry. He had a small role in an episode of Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd, as Paul, a buttock-kissing masseur, in the series four episode "Something Happened". In the 2012 ITV Titanic mini-series he played Steward Hart. In 2016, he appeared in the third season of the BBC Two series Peaky Blinders, playing the part of Connor Nutley.^[14] He has also appeared in the HBO series Chernobyl, and in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance for Netflix.

Voice work

Ineson has used his distinctive, deep, gravelly Yorkshire accent in a variety of voice-over work. He has narrated TV programmes Licence to Drill, Salvage Hunters on the Discovery Channel, the 2010 Sky TV series Inside Gatwick, and the BBC1 series Claimed and Shamed.

From 2012 to 2013, Ineson voiced Gunvald Larsson in The Martin Beck Killings, a series of BBC Radio dramatisations adapting all ten of the class Martin Beck crime novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö.

In 2013, he voiced the Channel 4 series Skint which followed the lives of British families from underprivileged backgrounds. In 2015, he narrated Countryside 999 on BBC One. In 2009, he narrated the BBC One documentary Series Gears and Tears which follows the characters of British BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars.

On video games, he voiced Charles Vane in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Lorath Nahr in Diablo IV and Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, and Cidolfus Telamon in Final Fantasy XVI.

He is also the voice on the introduction of the Leeds United FC football podcast The Square Ball.

In 2024, Ineson voiced a barbecue in an advert for Prostate Cancer UK.^[15]

Personal life

In 2003, Ineson married Ali Milner.^[16][17] They have two children; one of them, Rebecca Ineson, is an actress herself.^[18][19][20]

Ineson filed a lawsuit against Disney in December 2023, claiming that he suffered from permanent shoulder damage due to injuries he sustained while filming the Disney+ series Willow.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ Greenstreet, Rosanna (24 February 2018). "Ralph Ineson: ‘You probably get one commercial for 20 utter humiliations’". The Guardian
2. ^ "Legends Never Die: An Oral History of 'The Green Knight' | Narrated by Ralph Ineson". A24. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
3. ^ "Ralph Ineson - Biography and Filmography - 1969 - Hollywood.com". Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
4. ^ Williams, Zoe (5 August 2025). "‘I couldn’t get rid of Finchy’: Ralph Ineson on The Office – and becoming a Hollywood superstar at 55". The Guardian
5. ^ "Woodleigh School". Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
6. ^ "Life Outside the Office". Lancaster University. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
7. ^ "Ralph Ineson on Twitter". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
8. ^ "Drama Scene on Twitter". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
9. ^ How Ralph Ineson Went From a Nameless Pilot in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to the Almighty Galactus in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
10. ^ Dayani, Aahil (January 13, 2018). "'The Last Jedi' Director Reveals Cut Scene Involving 'Game of Thrones' Star". Heroic Hollywood
11. ^ Lussier, Germain (March 14, 2018). "All the New Things We Learned From the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Blu-Ray". Gizmodo The home release has the extended version of the "Mega Destroyer Incursion" by Finn, Rose, and DJ. It includes a lot more tension, more humor, a visual homage to the classic ‘50s romantic dramedy The Apartment, and even a cameo by Ralph Ineson (The Witch) as a First Order officer who's onto their games.
12. ^ Kit, Borys (May 9, 2024). "'Fantastic Four' Casts Ralph Ineson as Galactus (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
13. ^ "BBC - Comedy: The Office - Character Profile - Finchy". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
14. ^ "'Fantastic Four' cast adds John Malkovich and Ralph Ineson". Gold Derby. May 15, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
15. ^ "Prostate Cancer UK's early diagnosis campaign offers a future full of good things". Little Black Book. May 24, 2024.
16. ^ Taylor, Mike (2024-10-09). "Inside the life of Ralph Ineson from family life to 'footballer lookalike'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
17. ^ "Who Is Ralph Ineson? Exploring the Deep Voice and Dynamic". Vintage Posts. 2025-07-19. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
18. ^ "'Foundation' Season 3 Episode 1 Recap & Ending Explained: Can Gaal Stop The Mule?". Digital Mafia Talkies. 2025-07-11. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
19. ^ "Ralph Ineson and daughter Rebecca Ineson attending the European Premiere of Ready Player One held at the Vue West End in Leicester Square, London Stock Photo". Alamy. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
20. ^ "Rebecca Ineson and Ralph Ineson attend the BAFTA Games Awards 2024... News Photo". Getty Images. 2024-04-10. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
21. ^ "British Actor Sues Disney, Claiming Permanent Damage After Injury On 'Willow'". Deadline. 23 December 2023.
22. ^ Lord of Misrule Review
23. ^ ‘Two Neighbors’: Anya Chalotra, Chloe Cherry And Ralph Ineson Lead Ensemble Cast For Ondine Viñao Directed Indie Feature
24. ^ "Gordon and French - Ralph Ineson Profile". Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
25. ^ "Revival of Play First Performed by Harry Potter Star at Lancaster University - myScience / Wire". 20 February 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
26. ^ "1992 York Cycle of Mystery Plays programme - York Mystery Plays : Illumination - From Darkness into Light : Search the NCEM archive". Retrieved 16 November 2017.
27. ^ "Diablo 4: everything we know so far". Retrieved 26 February 2022.
28. ^ "[PDF] The Selfish Giant - Squarespace". Retrieved 3 August 2017.
29. ^ "The Stars - BloodGuts UK Horror". Retrieved 3 August 2017.
30. ^ "Past Winners of 2016 - Fright Meter Awards". Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
31. ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot! - FANGORIA". FANGORIA®. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
32. ^ "20th BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations and Winners". BAFTA. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

External links

• Ralph Ineson at IMDb
• Ralph Ineson: BBC's The Office