Early Life: Foundations in Fermanagh
Adrian Dunbar was born on August 1, 1958, in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He is the eldest of seven children in a Catholic family, and he grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
He attended St Joseph's College in his hometown. Before acting he worked in a factory and played country music in local venues.
He joined a local amateur drama group at 18 and sang in a cabaret Elvis impersonator band. He moved to London for formal training.
He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1983.
Early Career & First Roles
Dunbar worked steadily through the late 1980s and early 1990s, a busy stretch for Irish cinema. His early TV work included 'After You've Gone' (1984, as Chris). He went on to 'The Dawning' (1988) and 'A World Apart' (1988).
An early credit was Jim Sheridan's 'My Left Foot' (1989), where he played Peter. The film won two Oscars, for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. In 1991 he co-wrote and starred in 'Hear My Song'.
'Hear My Song' was nominated for Original Screenplay at the 1993 BAFTAs, a nomination shared by Peter Chelsom and Dunbar. He also appeared in Neil Jordan's 'The Crying Game' (1992).
Major Roles: Commanding the Screen
Most viewers know Dunbar from television, where he plays men in authority.
Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty
In Jed Mercurio's BBC drama Dunbar played Superintendent Ted Hastings, who runs AC-12. He played Hastings as an honest man and left the doubts underneath showing.
"Mother of God!" and "Now we're sucking diesel" became catchphrases. He never played Hastings as a joke.
Across six series Hastings faced betrayal from colleagues and suspicion against himself. Dunbar kept his voice down.
Hastings believed in the job, and his fight was with a rotten institution rather than his own appetites. It is the part Dunbar is best known for.
Hastings was the fixed point the audience trusted in a series built on twists.
Detective Inspector Alex Ridley in Ridley
After Line of Duty he took a quieter lead. In the ITV drama Ridley he plays a retired detective who comes back as a consultant, still troubled by an unsolved case.
Ridley no longer has the badge. He is grieving, and he still solves the case.
He plays opposite Bronagh Waugh.
Ridley is a slower mystery, and it leans on the character.
Other Notable Work
He played Martin Summers in Ashes to Ashes, and Father Peter Flaherty in the drama Broken.
He played DI Walter Gambon in Walter, a one-off BBC One TV film from 2014. He was Thomas Francis Kelly, credited as Kelly, an amnesiac murder suspect, in 'The Mad Woman in the Attic' Parts 1–2, the two-part story that opened Cracker in 1993.
He played John Marriat in the Inspector Morse episode 'Dead on Time' (1992) and Gerry Berland in the final two-part A Touch of Frost, 'If Dogs Run Free' (2010).
Acting Style: The Gravitas of Truth
Dunbar plays authority without straining for it. He underplays.
He usually plays men in positions of responsibility, and he lets private grief intrude on the job.
His voice does much of it. He rarely raises it.
He is believable whether he is leading an investigation or grieving in silence.
Personal Life & Perspective
Adrian Dunbar married the Australian actress Anna Nygh in 1986. They have a daughter and a stepson and live in north London. He keeps close ties to Northern Ireland.
He has spoken about Irish politics and his hopes for peace. He once said, “I expect Ireland to be unified and at peace with herself.”
He is a musician and has fronted his own band. He has narrated abridged Artemis Fowl audiobooks.
He is known among the people he works with for not putting on airs.
In closing...
Dunbar went from Enniskillen to the middle of two British crime dramas, Ted Hastings in Line of Duty and Alex Ridley in Ridley.
Both are decent men under pressure, which is the part he plays best.