Who is Peter Capaldi?
British actor, screenwriter, director and musician Peter Dougan Capaldi was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 14 April 1958, making Aries his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in 130 movies and TV series, and is perhaps known best for playing The Doctor aka Caecilius in 46 episodes (2008-2017) of the critically acclaimed science fiction adventure series “Doctor Who”, which today stars Pearl Mackie and Jodie Whittaker, was created by Sydney Newman and has been airing in its revival since 2005. It follows the adventures of a time traveler, and the series has won 119 of its 338 award nominations.
Peter’s still highly active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming series “Criminal Record”.
Education and early life
Peter was raised in Glasgow by his father Gerald John Capaldi and mother Nancy (nee Soutar) who were the owners of an ice cream business; Peter hasn’t spoken of having siblings, and his fans thus believe that he’s an only child. His paternal grandfather was Italian, and he’s also of Irish and Scottish ancestry.
He studied at St Teresa’s Primary School prior to transferring to St Matthew’s Primary School; Peter eventually progressed to St Ninian’s High School, and it was during his four years there that he fell in love with acting. Even though Peter’s parents supported his dream to become a famous actor, they still urged him to pursue a college degree; this was why, upon matriculating in 1976 Peter chose to enroll at Glasgow School of Art, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980.
During his time at college, Peter was a member of the punk rock ‘n’ roll band The Dreamboys.
Roles in movies
Peter’s debut film role was playing Joe in the 1982 romantic comedy “Living Apart Together”, which starred Barbara Kellerman and B. A. Robertson, and was written and directed by Charles Gormley. It follows a singer-songwriter who’s working on his way up in the music industry while simultaneously trying to prevent his marriage from falling apart. Some of Peter’s following roles were in the 1983 comedy “Local Hero”, the 1984 musical comedy “Bless My Soul” and the 1985 romantic comedy “Turtle Diary”.
The year 1988 saw him play Azolan in the critically acclaimed romantic drama “Dangerous Liaisons”, which starred John Malkovich and Glenn Close, and was directed by Stephen Frears. It follows a widow and her former lover who’ve made a bet about a recently married woman, and the film won 21 of its 42 award nominations, including three Oscar wins for Best Writing, Best Art Direction – Set Decoration and Best Costume Design.
Some of Peter’s following roles were in the 1992 drama “Soft Top Hard Shoulder”, the 1994 romantic crime drama “Captives” and the 1995 drama “Runway One”, and the year 1997 saw him play Gareth in the adventure family comedy “Bean”, which starred Rowan Atkinson and was directed by Mel Smith. It follows Mr. Bean who’s been tasked with bringing an expensive painting from the UK to Los Angeles, California and the film won two of its three award nominations. The remainder of the decade saw Peter appear in the 1998 romantic comedy “What Rats Won’t Do”, and the 1999 family drama “The Greatest Store in the World”.
He played Cocteau in the 2004 biographical drama “Modigliani”, which starred Elsa Zylberstein and Andy Garcia, and was written and directed by Mick Davis. It follows the rivalry between Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani, and the film was nominated for two awards. Some of Peter’s roles in the remainder of the decade were in the 2005 romantic comedy “Unhitched”, the 2007 comedy “Magicians”, and the 2009 comedy “In the Loop”.
The year 2013 saw him play W. H. O. Doctor in the critically acclaimed action adventure horror “World War Z”, which starred Mireille Enos and Brad Pitt, and was directed by Marc Foster. It follows former UN employee Gerry Lane as he’s trying to prevent a zombie apocalypse, and the film won three of its 28 award nominations.
Some of Peter’s most recent movie roles have been in the action adventure comedy “The Suicide Squad”, the short drama “But Why?” and the biographical historical drama “Benediction”, all released in 2021.
Roles in TV series
Peter’s debut TV series role was playing Eamonn Donnelly in the 1984 episode “Big Deal: Part 1” of the drama “Crown Court”, while he could then have been seen appearing in an episode of the crime comedy “Minder”, the crime drama “Travelling Man”, and the crime action “C.A.T.S. Eyes”.
In 1991, he played Thomas Walde in all the five episodes of the comedy mini-series “Selling Hitler”, which starred Alexei Sayle and Jonathan Pryce, and follows the fraud about the Hitler diaries; the mini-series won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Production Design. The following years saw Peter appearing in an episode or two of the drama mini-series “Titmuss Regained”, the science fiction mini-series “The Cloning of Joanna May”, and the crime drama “Mr. Wakefield’s Crusade”.
In 1997, he portrayed Lord Fellaar in three episodes of the adventure comedy mini-series “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling”, which starred Benjamin Whitrow and John Sessions, and follows Henry Fielding living in Georgian England; the mini-series won four of its nine award nominations. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Peter make a guest appearance in an episode of the biographical drama “Bookmark” and the drama mini-series “Psychos”.
From 2005 through 2012, he starred as Malcolm Tucker in the critically acclaimed comedy “The Thick of It”, which also starred James Smith and Chris Addison, and was created by Armando Ianucci. It follows the life of The Minister for Social Affairs, and the series won 22 of its 50 award nominations.
Peter’s three most recent TV series roles have been voicing Kehaar in all the four episodes of the 2018 animated action adventure mini-series “Watership Down”, playing the lead character Gideon in all the seven episodes of the 2022 thriller “The Devil’s Hour”, and voicing Seamus MacGregor in six episodes of the 2022 animated romantic comedy “Big Mouth”.
Other credits
Peter directed the 1993 short biographical comedy movie “Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life”, the 2001 romantic musical movie “Strictly Sinatra”, and the 2012 comedy film “The Cricklewood Greats”.
He received special thanks for the 2003 short comedy movie “Shotgun Dave Rides East”, the 2005 science fiction horror movie “Isolation”, and the 2014 documentary movie “Doctor Who: Earth Conquest – The World Tour”.
Peter’s the producer of the upcoming series “Criminal Record”.
Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “The South Bank Show Originals”, “Imagine” and “Sunday AM”.
Awards and nominations
Peter’s won 15 of his 49 award nominations, including his 1995 Oscar win for Best Short Film, Live Action for “Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life”.
A couple of his other wins include a 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role, a 2010 Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor and two British Comedy Awards for Best TV Comedy Actor in 2010 and 2012, all four for his performance in “The Thick of It”.
Love life and marriage
Peter and his wife Elaine Collins prefer to maintain their privacy, and not many details have thus been disclosed about their marriage. Elaine’s a British actress and producer with 29 acting credits to her name, probably still known best for playing Yvonne in the 1992 drama movie “Soft Top Hard Shoulder”. She and Peter married in a private ceremony in June 1991, and they have a daughter Cecily together, whose exact birthdate hasn’t been disclosed, and she’s today staying away from media.
Peter’s yet to speak about other women whom he’d perhaps been with prior to meeting Elaine, to whom he’s married as of May 2023, and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Peter was a huge fan of the adventure family series “Doctor Who” which aired from 1963 through 1989, and his dream was to appear in it.
He’s a philanthropist and is today a patron of both the Aberlour Child Care Trust and the Association for International Cancer Research.
Peter doesn’t like to take his wedding ring off, which was why special rings were made for him to wear in the series “Doctor Who” and “The Musketeers”, which would hide his.
He declined the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to drama.
Peter initially wanted to attend the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), but his application was rejected.
He was raised Catholic but is today an atheist, meaning that he doesn’t believe in the existence of God.
Peter voiced his support for Scottish independence in October 2022.
Height, eyes and wealth
Peter’s age is 65. He has blue eyes and brown hair, is 6ft (1.83m) tall and weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
Peter’s net worth’s been estimated at over $10 million, as of May 2023.