Quick Facts
Leo
Biography
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series Fringe, Henry Parrish on the action-horror series Sleepy Hollow, and Morland Holmes on the police procedural Elementary. Noble has also done voice work as the Dragon Spirit in the live action film The Last Airbender, Leland Monroe in the video game L.A. Noire, Unicron in the animated series Transformers: Prime, and Scarecrow in the DC Comics video game Batman: Arkham Knight.
Career
Noble's early acting career started in theater throughout the 1970s and 1980s. For 10 years he was artistic director for the Stage Company of South Australia. Noble was a Trustee of the Adelaide Festival Centre and chairman of the Adelaide Festival of the Arts.In 1979, he starred in Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In 1984, Noble received a nomination by South Australian Premier John Bannon, for Young Australian of the Year award.
Noble aged 40, made his film debut in the 1988 horror movie The Dreaming.
He made occasional appearances on the television series All Saints. He is internationally known for his performance as Denethor in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He played Russian Consul Anatoly Markov in the sixth season of the US television series 24. In 2011, he appeared as Real Estate tycoon Leland Monroe in Rockstar's video game L.A. Noire. He is also the voice of Unicron for the television show Transformers: Prime and its conclusion Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising.
He won awards when starring as eccentric scientist Walter Bishop in the television series Fringe for 5 seasons (2008-2013). Noble played Morland Holmes, father of Sherlock Holmes, in Elementary. He was a series regular for season 4 with guest appearances in seasons 6 and 7.
John Noble later worked in Legends of Tomorrow where he voiced the time demon Mallus. Additionally, in the episode "Guest Starring John Noble," he portrayed himself, with the Atom visiting him on the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Personal life
Noble divides his time between residences in New York City and Sydney, Australia, with wife Penny Noble. They have three children, Daniel Noble, Jessica Noble, and actress Samantha Noble. In 2011, Noble's hobbies were reported to be "music, painting, and narration". He studies theoretical physics and requested that the writers of Fringe always keep things grounded in what could be scientifically feasible.
In 2012, Noble was diagnosed with osteoporosis. His charity, Noble Bones, helps to raise awareness of the disease.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Dreaming | Dr. Richards | |
| 1989 | A Sting in the Tale | Prime Minister's minder | |
| 1990 | Call Me Mr. Brown | Sergeant | |
| 1993 | The Nostradamus Kid | General Booth | |
| 2000 | The Monkey's Mask | Mr. Norris | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Denethor | Seen only in the Extended Edition |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Denethor | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
| 2004 | Fracture | Howard Peet | |
| 2006 | One Night with the King | Prince Admantha | |
| 2006 | Running Scared | Ivan Yugorsky | |
| 2006 | Voodoo Lagoon | Ben | |
| 2010 | Risen | Eddie Thomas | |
| 2010 | The Last Airbender | Dragon Spirit | Voice Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble (shared with the entire cast) |
| 2013 | Superman: Unbound | Brainiac | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2014 | The Mule | Pat Shepherd | |
| 2021 | The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | Father Kastner |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Police Rescue | Sergeant | Episode: "Hostage" |
| 1993 | Time Trax | Mr. Michaels | Episode: "One on One" |
| 1997 | Big Sky | Graham James | Episode: "Future Past and Present" |
| 1998 | Water Rats | Dr. Harry | Episode: "Epiphany" |
| 1998–2004 | All Saints | Dr. John Madsen | 32 episodes |
| 1999 | Airtight | Sorrentino | Television movie |
| 2000 | Tales of the South Seas | Christian Ambrose | Episode: "Trent in Love" |
| 2000 | Virtual Nightmare | Dad | Television movie |
| 2001 | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World | Inspector Robert Anderson | Episode: "The Knife" |
| 2001 | The Bill | Commander Warren | Episode: "Beech on the Run" |
| 2001–2006 | Home and Away | Dr. Helpman | 9 episodes |
| 2002 | Young Lions | Adam Gallagher | 4 episodes |
| 2002 | Stingers | Michael Kranz | Episode: "Disgraceful Conduct" |
| 2002 | The Outsider | Fergus Hunter | Television movie |
| 2004 | The Mystery of Natalie Wood | Irving Pichel | Television movie |
| 2002 | Superfire | Paul Baylis | Television movie |
| 2006 | Stargate SG-1 | Meurik | Episode: "Camelot" |
| 2007 | Journeyman | Wine Connoisseur | Episode: "Winterland" |
| 2007 | The Unit | The CEO | Episode: "Pandemonium – Part 2" |
| 2007 | 24 | Anatoly Markov | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Pirate Islands: The Lost Treasure of Fiji | Blackheart | 13 episodes |
| 2008–2013 | Fringe | Walter Bishop / Walternate | 100 episodes Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television |
| 2011–2012 | Dark Matters: Twisted But True | Himself | 16 episodes |
| 2011 | Transformers: Prime | Unicron | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2013 | The Good Wife | Matthew Ashbaugh | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising | Unicron | Voice, television film |
| 2013–2017 | Sleepy Hollow | Henry Parrish | 22 episodes |
| 2013 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Edward Stanley | Episode: "Murder Under The Mistletoe" |
| 2014 | Rake | Clayton Post | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Devil's Playground | Bishop McNally | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Forever | Aubrey Griffin | Episode: "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" |
| 2015–2019 | Elementary | Morland Holmes | 16 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Legends of Tomorrow | Mallus, himself | 7 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Salvation | Nicholas Tanz | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | The Librarians | Monsignor Vega | Episode: "And the Dark Secret", season 4 |
| 2018 | The Blacklist | Raleigh Sinclair III | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Resident | Elliot Festervan | Episode: "Broker and Broker" |
| 2020 | Hunters | Frederic Hauser | Episode: "The Pious Thieves" |
| 2020 | The Boys | Sam Butcher | Episode: "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" |
| 2021 | Debris | Otto | Episode: "Celestial Body" |
| 2021–2022 | Star Trek: Prodigy | The Diviner | Voice; 18 episodes |
| 2021 | Cowboy Bebop | Caliban | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Fired on Mars | Falco | Voice; episode: "Marsiversary" |
| TBA | Severance | — | Upcoming season |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Saboteur | Bishop | |
| 2011 | L.A. Noire | Leland Monroe | |
| 2013 | Infinity Blade III | The Worker of Secrets | |
| 2015 | Batman: Arkham Knight | Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow |
Other work
- Artistic Director of Stage Company of South Australia 1977–1987
- Head of Drama, Brent St. School of Arts (Sydney) 1997–2000
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | National Board of Review | Best Cast | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| 2004 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Cast | Won | |
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Cast | Won | ||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Cast | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won | ||
| 2008 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2009 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Won | ||
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 15th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards | Performance in a Drama, Supporting (as "Scarecrow") | Batman: Arkham Knight | Nominated |
