Acting
Apr 10, 1972
Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK
Anthony Flanagan
Acting
Biography
Anthony Flanagan (born 11 April 1972 as Tony Bonello) is an English actor most widely known for his portrayal of policeman Tony in Channel 4's comedy-drama series Shameless. Flanagan was born in Stockport, Cheshire. At school he was called Anthony Bonello. After leaving Grange Comprehensive School, in Oldham, he worked as a joiner. At 16 he went to London, taking on occasional odd jobs and for a time slept on the streets. Flanagan has described this as "a very bad period". Flanagan decided to become an actor after seeing a friend of his sister perform at RADA. Flanagan studied at Oldham College and Capitol Theatre in Manchester (now Manchester Metropolitan University) after a year of unemployment. Flanagan's first professional job was in a lead role at the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) in the 2001/02 season, playing Pat Harford in Peter Whelan's play A Russian in the Woods. (Flanagan would later reflect on the experience of appearing on stage naked.) This led to a collaboration with writer and theatre critic Richard Edmonds on a one-man show on the life of Baudelaire entitled King of a Rainy Country. Notable work includes roles series in Shameless, Vincent, Cracker (where his roles as Kenny Archer in the 2006 TV film was almost universally praised despite mixed critical reaction to the comeback show itself), Life on Mars, Foyle's War, All About George, Casualty, Holby City, The Bill, Spooks, Spooks: Code 9, Doctor Who, Survivors and Red Riding. He played his first major lead role in the short serial Instinct, broadcast in February 2007 and was due to appear in the West End in Glengarry Glen Ross in October 2007 but withdrew due to 'personal reasons'.
Feature Films (12)
Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974
Set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, two brothers fall for the same girl while contending with the pressures of their feudal family life, the war, and the price of courage and cowardice.
Private Peaceful
Ordinary young couple Gemma and Richard have just bought their first home and are expecting a baby. It's all very exciting, and the couple settles in nicely to their new pad. Except for the screaming and shouting they hear at all times of the night through their walls from the house next door. Listening more closely, pregnant Gemma is convinced that she's also hearing cries and smacking noises, which she is certain are the sounds of a toddler being abused. She and Richard have seen the child just once, but not since. Feeling morally obliged to act, the couple gather as much information as possible about what's going on next door. And after social services say there's nothing to worry about, Gemma becomes increasingly obsessed and she starts to spy on them in a way that raises questions about who is actually committing the crime — Gemma's neighbours, or Gemma?
The People Next Door
A mysterious tale set around a traditional British family on the eve of World War Two. Oblivious to the looming shadow of World War II, the wealthy Keyes maintain a confident façade in the British countryside until daughter Anne becomes an unexpected pawn. Her accidental discovery of secret recordings creates a rift in the family.
Glorious 39
Television & Series (39)
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill
The story of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen's daughter, and her marriage to the Lancaster victor, Henry VII. Based on the Philippa Gregory book of the same name.
The White Princess
The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.
The Crown
A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.
Life on Mars
Murder Investigation Team is a British police procedural drama series produced by the ITV network as a spin-off from the long-running series, The Bill. The series is based around the cases of a Murder Investigation Team, who are linked to the Sun Hill borough of London, as featured in The Bill.
