Ivan Kaye in a Nutshell

Ivan Kaye is an accomplished British actor with the experience of dozens of roles in television, film, dramatic and musical theatre. Currently, he is best known internationally as King Aelle of Northumbria in ‘Vikings’. He has also co-starred in movies ‘Dark Shadows’ (with Johnny Depp), ‘Layer Cake’ (with Daniel Craig) and ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ (with Kate Beckinsale and Ian McKellen).

His unique versatility enables him to bring any type of character to life in a convincing manner. Hence he has been featured in a wide array of roles encompassing lead and main parts as well as antagonists, outright villains, and comical characters. When watching his work you will notice his personal style of adding shades and layers to his roles and thereby leaving his subtle mark of first-class acting.

Basic Data

Birthdate: 1 July 1961

Birthplace: Northampton, Northamptonshire

Height: 6’4” / 1,93 m

Alternate names used in credits: Ivan Kay

Eye colour: Green

Short Bio

British actor Ivan Kaye has been interested in acting from early childhood and started his professional acting career with theatre and musical roles from the early 80s onwards.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, he has been featured in around 50 roles in TV and film. Due to his unique versatility, his roles encompass a wide range of character types from comical to villainous, always marked by his personal style of adding shades and layers to his roles and thereby leaving a subtle mark of first-class acting.

Recent major productions and roles include: drug baron Polo Yakur in Assassination Games (2011), the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza in The Borgias (2011-2013), Joshua Collins (father of the main character played by Johnny Depp) in Dark Shadows (2012), Ivar the Boneless in Hammer of the Gods (2013), King Aelle of Northumbria in Vikings (2013-2017) and pub landlord Mick Sturrock in The Coroner (2015-2016). All of these productions have reached an international audience and have been dubbed in several languages.

Ivan has also appeared in Layer Cake (2004) and is well-known in the UK as herdsman Bryan in BBC’s comedy series The Green Green Grass.

From October 2017 to January 2018 Ivan returned to theatre after almost twenty years starring as Tom Kettle in the critically acclaimed multi-award-winning stage play The Ferryman at Gielgud Theatre London.

Ivan’s more recent TV roles include Professor Pesca in BBC’s new adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ famous Gothic novel The Woman in White and Mayor Hart Thorin of Hambry in the unreleased pilot for an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.

After finishing on Vikings and The Coroner, however, Ivan had shifted his focus from television to feature films for a while.

2019 and 2021 saw the release of several new movies for the big screen, including the comedy movie For Love or Money: An Unromantic Comedy (formerly titled ‘The Revenger’) and the high-concept action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake.

As Ivan has returned to substantial TV work in 2021, lovers of shows will enjoy his role as Mr. Delaney, the father-in-law of the lead in Wedding Season, the first original scripted British series commissioned by Disney+, and his ongoing guest appearances as Ted Button, the local butcher, notable and father of Peggy Button in Sister Boniface Mysteries.

In addition to various short films in editing stage, 2022 has kicked off with news about the exciting new feature film project Apocalypse Clown, released in September 2023 in Ireland and the UK and awarded Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2023.

Ivan has also worked as a voice artist in several video games such as Star Wars The Old Republic, Stuntman, C-12 and more.

Find Ivan on IMDb
Connect with Ivan directly on Twitter
Have a look at Ivan’s Youtube channel

Photo: Mark Hayden 2018

Basic Data

Short Bio

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