Christian Cooke

Christian Cooke Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: September 15, 1987

Age: 36 years old

Birth Place: Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Though largely unknown to American audiences, Christian Cooke is a veteran performer in his native England, where he has enjoyed lead and supporting roles in television projects including "Wilmot" (ITV, 1999-2000), "Where the Heart Is" (ITV, 1997-2006) and "Demons" (ITV, 2009), before making his Stateside TV debut in "Magic City" (Starz, 2012-2013). Cooke began appearing on television at the age of 10 and segued successfully into weekly series with the comedy "Wilmot" and the primetime soap "Where the Heart Is." A slew of guest appearances preceded his return to series stardom in "Demons" (ITV, 2009) and his first film appearance in Ricky Gervais' "Cemetery Junction" (2010). Word of Cooke's talent and model-worthy looks quickly crossed the Atlantic, prompting his casting in "Magic City." He soon returned to features with the 2013 film version of "Romeo and Juliet," while earning gales of free press as a possible lead for the screen adaptation of E. L. James' immensely popular erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. Though he lost the coveted lead on that picture, Cooke's profile was clearly on the ascent, needing only the proper vehicle to assure his stardom.

Born Christian Louis Cooke on September 15, 1987, he began acting as a student at the Bingley Arts Centre. He landed his first screen appearance in a television commercial for Birds Eye frozen foods at the age of 10. Two years later, Cooke was starring in the children's comedy series "Wilmot" as a mischievous pre-teen. After gaining valuable experience through appearances in stage productions of "Peter Pan" and "Bugsy Malone," Cooke enrolled in the acclaimed Yorkshire acting school Stage 84, from which he graduated. He then segued to a supporting role on the long-running soap opera "Where the Heart Is" from 2000 to 2006, while also making regular guest appearances on other series, including "Doctors" (BBC One, 2000- ) and "Robin Hood" (BBC One, 2006-2009) as the brother of Harry Lloyd's Will Scarlett. In 2008, Cooke appeared in two episodes of "Doctor Who" (BBC/BBC One, 1963-1989; 1996; 2005- ) as an ill-fated soldier before returning to series lead in "Demons" as a descendant of Bram Stoker's legendary vampire hunter, Dr. Van Helsing, who is pressed into fighting the forces of supernatural evil. The following year, Cooke made his feature film debut as the star of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's period coming-of-age drama "Cemetery Junction." In 2011, Cooke played a young British paratrooper serving in Palestine after World War II in the miniseries "The Promise" (Channel 4). He then made his American television debut in the well-regarded but short-lived period drama "Magic City" as the law student son of Miami hotelier Jeffrey Dean Morgan. When the series ran its course in 2013, he segued to playing Mercutio in Julian Fellowes' largely dismissed film version of "Romeo and Juliet" (2013). During this period, numerous media outlets mentioned his name as a replacement for actor Charlie Hunnam in the screen version of Fifty Shades of Grey until October of that year, when Jamie Dornan was officially cast as the film's protagonist, Christian Grey.

Credits

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Steve
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Docudrama
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2019

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Series
2018
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Shield 5

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Show
2016

Edith

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Movie
2016

Edith

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Stonemouth

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2015

Drunk Wedding

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2015

Anomaly

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Oliver Grier
Show
2014

Electricity

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Witches of East EndStream

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Series
2013
65%

Romeo & Juliet

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Movie
2013

Destination Wedding

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Movie
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Hello Carter

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Eliott
Movie
2013

Magic CityStream

Actor
Danny Evans
Series
2012
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Unconditional

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The Promise

Actor
Show
2011

Cemetery Junction

Actor
Freddie Taylor
Movie
2010

Trinity

Actor
Show
2009

Demons

Actor
Show
2009

George Gently

Actor
Show
2007

Wish

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Movie
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Doctor WhoStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
90%

Where the Heart Is

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Show
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