Peter Capaldi

Peter Dougan Capaldi (born 14 April 1958) played Gregori from 2010 to 2013, beginning with an appearance as the main antagonist in the third film Doctor Who: Vengeance, and continuing from Colour of Your Life to The Eye of the Storm, in the spinoff series Panopticon. He later reprised the role in the episode Put Your Dreams Away.

Capaldi appeared in Doctor Who, earlier on, as the Knight Captain in the Season 31 story Knight Falls.

Biography

Prior to Doctor Who

Capaldi was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Nancy (née Soutar) and Gerald John Capaldi. His paternal grandfather was Italian while the rest of his ancestry is Scottish and Irish. His parents ran an ice cream business in the Springburn district, where they were neighbours and acquaintances of the family of Armando Ianucci, creator of The Thick of It, although the two men did not know each other as children. He was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in Possilpark, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs, and St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Capaldi displayed an early talent for performance by putting on a puppetshow in primary school. While at high school, he was a member of the Antonine Players, who performed at the Fort Theatre in Bishopbriggs. As an art student, he was the lead singer and guitarist in a punk rock band called The Dreamboys, whose drummer was future comedian Craig Ferguson.

During the Jon Pertwee years of Doctor Who, young man Capaldi sent scripts to the production office. Barry Letts began a correspondence with Capaldi, which eventually resulted in an invitation for the youngster to visit BBC Television Centre. Capaldi met Letts, Terrance Dicks and Pertwee. He later cited the incident as formative to his career as a professional actor, writer and director. (BBC DVD: Doctor Who: The Complete Jon Pertwee era)

Capaldi began his acting career in 1983 with a supporting role in the film Local Hero. Prior to this, he attended art school in Glasgow and fronted several musical groups, including one featuring Craig Ferguson, who later became the host of an American talk show, as well as an avid promoter of Doctor Who.

Work on Doctor Who

In 1994 Capaldi received his first Doctor Who credit, portraying the Knight Captain in the Season 31 story Knight Falls.

In 2009 Capaldi was announced as playing Gregori in Doctor Who: Vengeance. He then went on to play the character in the spin-off series Panopticon starting with Colours of Your Life.

In 2012 Capaldi made his last regular appearance as Gregori in the Series 5 episode The Eye of The Storm, however, a year later, he made one last appearance in the Series 7 episode Put Your Dreams Away.

Personal Life

He married Elaine Collins in Strathblane near his home city of Glasgow in 1991. Collins is an actress and writer, they met in 1983 in a touring production for the Paines Plough Theatre Company. They live in Muswell Hill with their daughter.

On 12 September 2016, Capaldi, with Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jesse Eisenberg, Douglas Booth, Neil Gaiman, Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness about the global refugee crisis. "What They Took With Them" has the actors reading a poem, written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, of which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education.

Capaldi's second cousin once removed is singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi.

Capaldi is a patron of Worldwide Cancer Research, and the Scottish children's charity, the Aberlour Child Care Trust.

Selected Credits

Doctor Who

As Actor

Knight Falls - Knight Captain

Panopticon

As Gregori

Movies

As Gregori

Doctor Who: Vengeance