Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes. He also played DCI William Bell in State of Play (2003) and Reverend Anderson in Outcast (2016–2018). Glenister was born on 10 February 1963 in ... Harrow, Middlesex, and grew up in Hatch End. He is the son of director John Glenister and Joan Fry Lewis, and the younger brother of fellow actor Robert Glenister. He attended Hatch End High School. In his early career, he worked as a runner for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. Following this, he worked until the age of 23 as a film publicist, but developed an interest in acting after watching his brother perform in a student play about the Sex Pistols. With the encouragement of his then-sister-in-law, Amanda Redman, he pursued acting and attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. In the early 1990s, Glenister appeared in various TV series including Minder, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Heartbeat, The Chief, Dressing for Breakfast and Silent Witness. In 1997, he appeared in Sharpe's Justice as Richard Sharpe's half-brother Matt Truman. He played William Dobbin in the 1998 mini-series Vanity Fair. From 1998 to 1999, Glenister co-starred as a mini-cab driver who aspires to be a rock star in the series Roger Roger. He also played factory boss Mack Mackintosh in the first three series of Clocking Off from 2000 to 2002. In 2001, he appeared in two of the Hornblower TV films as Horatio's antagonist Gunner Hobbs. Glenister played the photographer who took nude photos for a Women's Institute fundraising calendar in the 2003 feature film Calendar Girls. Also in 2003, he appeared in the mini-series State of Play. Glenister played the German commandant, Baron Heinrich von Rheingarten, in the 2004 mini-series Island at War about the Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. In April 2006, Glenister read the Bedtime Story for the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies. He returned to the slot in February/March 2007. Glenister played social reformer and estate manager Mr Carter in the 2007 BBC costume drama Cranford, as part of a cast including Judi Dench and Francesca Annis. Glenister is probably best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in Life on Mars (2006–07), co-starring with John Simm as Sam Tyler, and its sequel Ashes to Ashes (2008–10), with Keeley Hawes as Alex Drake. Glenister also worked with Simm on State of Play and Clocking Off and the 2008 crime film Tuesday. Upon announcement of the film, Glenister joked that he and Simm were contractually obliged to work with each other once a year. Glenister starred as demon hunter Rupert Galvin in the 2009 ITV drama Demons. He used an American accent for the role, which received some criticism from reviewers. After the series was cancelled, he said he had problems with the role and felt that he may have been miscast. In 2010, Glenister had a small role (credited as 'Poker Friend') in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and he played Charles Forestier in a 2011 feature film of Guy de Maupassant's Bel Ami. He starred in the 2011 conspiracy thriller Hidden on BBC One.
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| Organization | Category | Movie |
|---|
Clocking Off
as James 'Mack' Mackintosh
Episodes: 27
First Aired: Jan 23, 2000
Ashes to Ashes
as Gene Hunt
Episodes: 24
First Aired: Feb 07, 2008
Outcast
as Reverend Anderson
Episodes: 20
First Aired: Jun 03, 2016
Roger Roger
as Phil
Episodes: 18
First Aired: Jan 08, 1998
Life on Mars
as Gene Hunt
Episodes: 16
First Aired: Jan 09, 2006
Mad Dogs
as Quinn
Episodes: 14
First Aired: Feb 10, 2011
Living the Dream
as Mal Pemberton
Episodes: 12
First Aired: Nov 02, 2017
Big School
as Mr Gunn
Episodes: 12
First Aired: Aug 16, 2013
Carthago
as Lord James Davidson
Episodes: 11
First Aired: Dec 18, 2022
The Rubbish World of Dave Spud
as Betty Spud
Episodes: 10
First Aired: Sep 02, 2019
Cranford
as Mr Carter
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Nov 18, 2007
Island at War
as Oberst Heinrich Baron Von Rheingarten
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jul 11, 2004
State of Play
as DCI William Bell
Episodes: 6
First Aired: May 18, 2003
Demons
as Rupert Galvin
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jan 03, 2009
The Level
as Frank Le Saux
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Sep 30, 2016
Vanity Fair
as William Dobbin
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Nov 01, 1998
After the Flood
as Jack Radcliffe
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jan 10, 2024
Belgravia
as James Trenchard
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Mar 15, 2020
Bergerac
as Arthur Wakefield
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Feb 27, 2025
Hidden
as Harry Venn
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Oct 06, 2011
Steeltown Murders
as DCI Paul Bethell
Episodes: 4
First Aired: May 15, 2023
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
as Brian Gregson
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Aug 02, 1987
The Secret Life of the National Grid
as Narrator (Voice)
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Oct 26, 2010
The Secret Life of the motorway
as Narrator (Voice)
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Nov 18, 2007
From There to Here
as Daniel
Episodes: 3
First Aired: May 22, 2014
Prey
as David Murdoch
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Apr 28, 2014
The Secret Life of the Airport
as Narrator
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Jun 15, 2009
Hornblower
as Gunner Hobbs
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 07, 1998
Treasure Island
as Captain Smollett
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 01, 2012
The Stepfather
as Dougie Molloy
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Feb 06, 2005
Heartbeat
as Julian Cantley
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 10, 1992
The Detectives
as Uniformed Officer
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 27, 1993
Foundation
as Commdor Argo
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 23, 2021
Minder
as Greg Hunter
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 29, 1979
Bergerac
as Philip
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 18, 1981
Blue Heaven
as Paul Twice
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 10, 1992
Urban Myths
as Kev Wells
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 19, 2017
Agatha Christie's Poirot
as Sir William Boyd Carrington
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 08, 1989
The Hollow Crown
as Talbot
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 30, 2012
Inside No. 9
as Craig
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 05, 2014
My Wonderful Life
Episodes: 24
First Aired: Feb 25, 1996
What The Killer Did Next
as Self - Host
Episodes: 16
First Aired: Feb 04, 2019
For the Love of Cars
as Himself
Episodes: 15
First Aired: Apr 26, 2014
Richard Osman's House of Games
as Self - Contestant
Episodes: 5
First Aired: Sep 04, 2017
Lost Land of the Volcano
as Self - Narrator
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Sep 08, 2009
Eyewitness
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Apr 18, 2010
Vincent
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Oct 10, 2005
This Morning
as Self
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 03, 1988
Silent Witness
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Feb 21, 1996
Top Gear
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 20, 2002
Soccer AM
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 12, 1995
The One Show
as Self - Guest
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 14, 2006
New Street Law
Episodes: 1
First Aired: May 04, 2006
The Vice
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 04, 1999
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 22, 2009
GMTV
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 01, 1993
Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 02, 2017
The One Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 14, 2006
Drop the Dead Donkey
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 09, 1990
Law and Disorder
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 17, 1994
Duck Quacks Don't Echo
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 07, 2014
Legends
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 17, 2006
DNA Journey
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 10, 2019
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