Brendan Coyle

Brendan Coyle attends a party celebrating the press night performance of "Noises Off" at The Savoy Hotel on April 3, 2012, in London. The Irish actor has been nominated for an Emmy for his role as John Bates on "Downton Abbey."

Actress Joanne Froggatt and actor Brendan Coyle attend Masterpiece and PBS' 2012 Summer TCA cocktail party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 20, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Coyle is well-known to British TV audiences and has had a few TV jobs in the U.S. as well, including a three-episode arc on the short-lived but popular CBS series "Jericho."

Actors Brendan Coyle and Joann Froggatt speak onstage at the Masterpiece Classic "Downtown Abbey, Season 3" panel during the 2012 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 23, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Coyle studied drama in Dublin and later received a scholarship to Mountview Theatre School in England.

From left, actors Hugh Bonneville, Joanne Froggatt, Michelle Dockery, Shirley MacLaine, Elizabeth McGovern and Brendan Coyle attend the Masterpiece Classic "Downtown Abbey, Season 3" panel during the 2012 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 23, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Coyle was awarded the 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for best supporting performance for his role in "The Weir" in the 1998 theater season.

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Actor Brendan Coyle attends the Masterpiece Classic "Downtown Abbey, Season 3" panel during the 2012 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 23, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Coyle is the great nephew of British soccer star Sir Matt Busby of Manchester United.

Actors Brendan Coyle and Shirley MacLaine attend the Masterpiece Classic "Downtown Abbey, Season 3" panel during the 2012 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 23, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif

119063920.jpg_tux.jpg — Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Brendan Coyle attends "An Evening With Downton Abbey - Raising Money For Merlin - The Medical Relief Charity" at The Savoy Hotel on July 14, 2011, in London.

119063903.jpg_group.jpg — Ian Gavan/Getty Images

The "Downton Abbey" cast poses at a party for a medical relief charity at The Savoy Hotel on July 14, 2011, in London. From left are Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Coyle, Allen Leech, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jim Carter, Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Lesley Nicol, Kevin Doyle and Allen Leech.

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Brendan Coyle and Sophia Myles arrive at the post-show party, The 25th Hour, following The Old Vic's 24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala 2011 on Nov.13, 2011, in London.