Introduction
Clive James Standen (born 22 July 1981) is an English actor best known for playing Bryan Mills in the NBC series Taken, based on the film trilogy of the same name, as well as Rollo in the History Channel series Vikings, Sir Gawain in the Starz series Camelot, Archer in the BBC TV series Robin Hood, and Private Carl Harris in the British sci-fi show Doctor Who.
Early life and education
Clive James Standen was born on a British Army base in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Leicestershire, East Midlands, England. He went to school at the King Edward VII School, Melton Mowbray followed by a performing arts course at Melton Mowbray College. Standen then went on to earn a place on the 3 year diploma course in Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Away from acting, in his late teens Standen was a former international Muay Thai boxer and later Fencing gold medalist.
Career
Standen's first experience of stunts, horse riding and sword fighting was at age 12 when he got his first job working in a professional stunt team in Nottingham. At the age of 15 Standen was a member of both the National Youth Theatre and the National Youth Music Theatre performing in productions at many well known venues. Later Standen won a place on the three-year acting course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
In 2004, Standen appeared in Waking the Dead, the Second World War documentary drama Ten Days to D-Day, and took the lead role of Major Alan Marshall in the Zero Hour TV dramatisation of the SAS mission, operation Barras, in Sierra Leone. The next year he appeared in three episodes of the British soap Doctors and Tom Brown's Schooldays, the acclaimed ITV adaptation of the book by Thomas Hughes. Standen played Private Carl Harris in three episodes of the fourth series of the relaunched British sci-fi show Doctor Who. The following year he played 'Archer', the brother of Robin Hood in the BBC TV series Robin Hood. Standen was part of the main cast of the TV series Camelot for Starz (TV network) in which he portrayed the famous Arthurian knight Sir Gawain.
On film, Standen took a supporting role in the mainstream Bollywood film Namastey London, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. In 2012, Standen completed filming on the Vertigo Films feature film Hammer of the Gods. He is a series lead on the History Channel's Vikings in the role of Rollo. He portrays Bryan Mills in the television adaption of Taken. He is set to star in the upcoming Screen Gems thriller film Patient Zero.
In addition to his screen roles, Standen has done voice overs for video games such as Aliens vs. Predator and Inversion.
On 27 February 2017 Standen played Bryan Mills based on Liam Neeson's film trilogy in Taken, which serves as a prequel to theTaken film series. On 26 February 2019 Standen was cast in the main role of Anthony Lavelle for the upcoming Council of Dads and the series was ordered on 7 May 2019.
Activism
Standen is a spokesman for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Personal life
He married his wife Francesca de Takats in 2007 at Babington House. They have three children.