Michael Smiley (born 29 January 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is known for his roles in the films Kill List (2011) and The Lobster (2015). He has also made appearances in British television series such as Spaced, Luther, Utopia, Black Mirror and Doctor Who.
Early life Smiley was born on 29 January 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with an older brother and sister. He was raised Catholic.
He moved to London with his first wife in 1983. He began doing stand-up in 1993, after accepting a bet at an open-mic night. He had worked as a cycle courier, like his character in Spaced, and as an acid house DJ.
Career He became well known for his role as Tyres O'Flaherty, the bicycle riding raver, in two episodes of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, and for his appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne Comedy Festival. He played Mac, a former member of the British Army's Parachute Regiment in the 2008 horror film Outpost and as a zombie in Shaun of the Dead.
In 2003, he guest starred in the Doctor Who audio drama Creatures of Beauty. In 2004, he appeared in season 2, episode 4 of Hustle as Max the forger. He also was a small character in episode 2 "The Model" of 15 Storeys High.
He has appeared in all three series of The Maltby Collection on Radio 4 as Des Wainwright, an eccentric security guard who keeps repeating himself and reminding people he was in the SAS. He plays the part of Benny "Deadhead" Silver in the BBC drama series Luther. In 2010, he had a major role in the film Burke & Hare alongside his Spaced co-stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes.
In 2011, he starred in British horror film Kill List. The film received critical acclaim, and earned him the "Best Supporting Actor" Award at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.
In 2013, he has appeared in an episode of BBC One's Ripper Street as George Lusk, and the critically acclaimed Channel 4 shows Utopia as Detective Reynolds and Black Mirror in the episode "White Bear" as Baxter. He also starred in A Field in England as the main antagonist, the alchemist O'Neill. He also played Roddy in Father Figure. In November 2013, he appeared in the third episode of the BBC Two Mitchell and Webb comedy Ambassadors as Mr Jackson. In 2014, he played Micky Murray in BBC Four's The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.
To coincide with the opening stages of the Giro d'Italia in May 2014, Michael Smiley: Something to Ride Home About was a travelog programme for BBC Northern Ireland, directed by George Kane, featuring Smiley cycling around Northern Ireland and meeting local people. A second series was commissioned for 2015.
In 2014, Smiley played Colonel Morgan Blue in the Doctor Who episode "Into the Dalek".
In 2019, Smiley co-starred with Elijah Wood and Martin Donovan in the film Come to Daddy directed by Ant Timpson.Come to Daddy Review by Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, February 6, 2020.
In 2020, he starred in Dead Still, a six-part Irish-Canadian television drama series, alongside Eileen O'Higgins and Kerr Logan. The series is a co-production between Ireland's Deadpan Pictures and Canada's Shaftesbury Films and is written by John Morton, and directed by Imogen Murphy and Craig David Wallace.
In 2021, Smiley appeared in the lead role in The Toll, a Welsh black comedy film later released in the United States with the title Tollbooth.
In 2025, he appeared in Alien: Earth as the character "Shmuel". He also played Detective Chief Inspector Paul "Colly" Collins in Series 3 of the BBC's TV series Blue Lights.
Personal life Smiley has been married twice and has four children: two with his first wife and childhood sweetheart Merilees, and two with his second wife, journalist/broadcaster Miranda Sawyer.
He shared a flat with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the 1990s. He is an avid cyclist.
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 2004 Shaun of the Dead Zombie Tyres O’Flaherty Uncredited 2006 Breaking and Entering Thaddeus Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Porter Land of the Blind Thorne's Lieutenant 2008 Outpost McKay The Other Boleyn Girl Physician Terra Firma Quentin Short film 2009 Down Terrace Pringle Believe Lewis Short film 2010 Burke & Hare Patterson 2011 Kill List Gal Big Fat Gypsy Gangster Mad Mick 2012 Shell Hugh The ABCs of Death Father Tom Segment: ""U Is for Unearthed" 2013 For Those in Peril Frank A Field in England O'Neil Svengali Irish Pierre We Are the Freaks Killer Colin The World's End Reverend Green 2014 Glassland Jim Black Sea Reynolds 2015 The Hallow Garda Davey The Lobster Loner Swimmer Orthodox Shannon My Name is Emily Robert Tank 432 Capper 2016 Free Fire Frank Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Dr. Cornelius Evazan 2017 Madame David Jawbone Eddie 2018 Birthmarked Gertz The Nun Priest 2019 Come to Daddy Jethro Rialto Noel 2021 Censor Doug Smart Gunpowder Milkshake Dr. Ricky The Toll Toll Booth 2022 The Silent Twins Tim Thomas 2024 Bookworm Arnold TBA The Riders TBA Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 The Heist Detective Television film; uncredited 1999–2001 Spaced Tyres O'Flaherty 2 episodes 2000 Burnside Matthew Hutchins Episode: "Back with a Vengeance: Part 1" 2000–2002 Time Gentlemen Please Martin 3 episodes 2002 15 Storeys High Insistent Irish visitor Episode: "The Model" 2004 Murder Prevention DC Maurice Gibney 4 episodes 2005 Bleak House Phil Squod 8 episodes Hustle Max Episode: "Missions" ShakespeaRe-Told Peter Episode: "Much Ado About Nothing" Rose and Maloney DS Mallam Episode: "Rise & Fall" 2007 In the Spider's Web Phil Television film Y Pris Captain Episode: "Episode #1.3" Nearly Famous Danny Episode: "Episode #1.5" 2008 The Wrong Door 2 episodes HolbyBlue Brendan Duffy Episode: "Episode #2.10" Wire in the Blood Dr. Liam Kerwin 7 episodes 2009 Law & Order: UK Danny Doyle Episode: "Unsafe" 2010 One Night in Emergency Mortuary Attendant Television film 2010–2019 Luther Benny Silver 16 episodes 2011 Stolen Sean Television film 2012 Coming Up Ricky Episode: "Spoof or Die" Good Cop Tom Lomax Episode: "Episode Two" New Tricks Tinker Episode: "Part of a Whole" 2013 Ripper Street George Lusk Episode: "In My Protection" Utopia Detective Reynolds Episode: "Episode 1" Black Mirror Baxter Episode: "White Bear" Father Figure Roddy 6 episodes Ambassadors Mr Jackson Episode: "The Tazbek Spring" 2013–2014 Monumental Self 2014 The Life of Rock with Brian Pern Micky Murray 2 episodes Doctor Who Colonel Morgan Blue Episode: "Into the Dalek" Edge of Heaven Snowy 2 episodes 2014–2015 Michael Smiley: Something to Ride Home About Self 2015 Comedy Feeds Les Episode: "Fishbowl" 2016 The Aliens Antoine Berry 5 episodes Murder Whitmore Harris Episode: "The Big Bang" 2020 Dead Still Brock Blennerhasset Series lead 2021 Bloodlands Dinger 4 episodes Intergalactic Professor Hague Blake Episode 1.4 2022 The Curse 2 episodes Ragdoll DS Finlay 6 episodes 2022–2024 Bad Sisters Roger Muldoon 13 episodes 2023 Obituary Ward Clancy 6 episodes 2024 Generation Z Wrollen 2025 Alien: Earth Shmuel 2 episodesBlue LightsPaul "Colly" Collins6 episodes
Radio Year Title Role Notes 2007 Eye Witness BBC Radio 3 2007–2009 The Maltby Collection Des Wainwright BBC Radio 4
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