Paul Hilton (born 1970) is an English actor on stage, radio, and TV. He is an alumnus of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
Early life Hilton was born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1970 to Dorothy and David Hilton. He has described his background as working-class, "a million miles away" from the theatre world that he now works in.
Hilton said to have been inspired to pursue acting by his drama teacher at North Chadderton School, as well as his school trips to local theatres in and around Manchester. “I was intoxicated by regional theatre. At Oldham Coliseum Theatre, I saw the thing that I could be and, once I’d done my first school play aged 14, there was no stopping me.”
Hilton trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and moved to London upon graduation.
Career
Acting Hilton's work ranges from radio drama, television series and features, as well as film and theatre.
Hilton has appeared in TV programmes including Garrow's Law (as freethinker Joseph Hamer), The Bill, Silent Witness, Wire in the Blood, Midsomer Murders (in the episode "The Oblong Murders"), Robin Hood, and has had regular character roles in True Dare Kiss (as Dennis Tyler) and Casualty 1909 (as Henry Percy Dean). Since 2008, he has starred as William Palmer/Pilgrim in the BBC Radio 4 supernatural drama series Pilgrim.
Hilton also appeared in the film Klimt and as Mr. Earnshaw Snr. in Andrea Arnold's 2011 adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
In 2010, he appeared as Sandy in Mark Haddon's play Polar Bears at the Donmar Warehouse, and in 2011 played the title role in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus at Shakespeare's Globe. In July 2015, he was part of the premiere cast of Damon Albarn's musical Wonder.land at the Manchester International Festival. For director Rufus Norris he was The Boson in Lucy Kirkwood's Mosquitoes (2017) at London's National Theatre.
He played the character of The Fool in the Deep Time Walk Mobile Guide, produced in 2016/7 by Jeremy Mortimer.
He appeared as Alexander, the husband of the protagonist Katherine (played by Florence Pugh) in the 2016 film Lady Macbeth, which transposed the action of the novel by Nikolai Leskov to the Northeast of England.
In 2017, he starred in the title role in a National Theatre Live production of Peter Pan.
He played the part of David Holmes in the television drama series A Very English Scandal, based upon John Preston's non-fiction book about the Thorpe affair.
In 2018, Hilton played E. M. Forster in the world premiere of Matthew Lopez's play The Inheritance at London's Young Vic, reprising his role in the West End (at Noël Coward Theatre) and Broadway transfers (at Ethel Barrymore Theatre). In 2020, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play, a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his performance.
In 2023 and 2024, he played Father Manders in Henrik Ibsen's play Ghosts in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
In 2024, Hilton played Peter Stockmann in an adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People at Duke of York's Theatre. This performance led to his nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Lawrence Olivier Awards in the same year.
From September until November 2024, he starred as 'Joxer' Daly in Juno and the Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre.
From 12 November 2025 to 10 January 2026, Hilton starred as Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic.
Audiobook Hilton narrated the audiobook version of Mark Bowles's debut novel, All My Precious Madness, co-published by Galley Beggar Press and Spiracle in 2025. For this work, Hilton was nominated in the New Voice and Best Audiobook Fiction categories in the inaugural British Audio Awards. He won the latter.
Hilton's narration of All My Precious Madness was also highly acclaimed by critics. The Bookseller noted his ability to "[capture] all the emotion, empathy and humour". The Guardian praised that Hilton "brilliantly inhabits [the protagonist's] hopeless grouch and conveys his many contradictions".
Personal life Hilton is married to actress Anastasia Hille and they have two adult children.
Hilton identified as "bicurious and fluid" as a teenager during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. He credited the role of E.M. Forster in The Inheritance for "allow[ing] me to unearth aspects of myself that I hadn’t really addressed from my earlier years".
In 2023, Hilton was among the signatories of the campaign led by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh to save the Oldham Coliseum Theatre in his hometown from closure. The campaign succeeded in reversing Oldham's decision to demolish the building, as well as securing a £10 million refurbishment. The venue is set to reopen in 2026.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 Klimt Duke Octave 2010 Edge Glen 2011 Wuthering Heights Mr. Earnshaw 2012 Doctor Faustus Dr. Faustus 2015 London Road Tim Swansong Mark Prince 2016 Lady Macbeth Alexander Lester 2019 Eternal Beauty Tony 2021 Earwig Albert Scellinc 2025 Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Reverend Delancy
Television Year Title Role Notes 1997 The Bill John Palmer Episode: "Added Bonus"2004 Silent Witness William Gould Series 8, 2 episodes The Last Dragon Dr. Tanner Docufiction2005 Wire in the Blood Lawrence James Episode: "Bad Seed" Princes in the Tower King Henry VII Television film 2006 The Family Man Philip Dickson Television film2007 Trial & Retribution Lee Casper 2 episodes Dalziel and Pascoe Oliver Taylor 2 episodes True Dare Kiss Dennis Tyler 6 episodes The Relief of Belsen Leslie Hardman Television film 2008 Heist Adam de Warefield Television film2009 Robin Hood Sir Roger Episode: "Bad Blood" Casualty 1909 Henry Percy Dean Main role; 6 episodes Garrow's Law Joseph Hamer Episode #1.42011 The Sinking of the Laconia Henry Bates Miniseries; 2 episodes Silk Gary Rush 4 episodes Twenty Twelve Jason Topper Episode: "Raising The Bar" Midsomer Murders Dominic Segal Episode: "The Oblong Murders"2012 Room at the Top Bob Storr 2 episodes Labyrinth Francois Miniseries; 2 episodes 2013 Case Histories Fergus Banks Episode: "Jackson and the Women"2014 The Crimson Field Pte. Greville Parry Episode #1.6 The Driver Blake Episode #1.3 Grantchester Robert Miller Episode #1.62018 Moving On Ben Episode: "Invisible" A Very English Scandal David Holmes 2 episodes 2019 The Crown Michael Straight Episode: "Olding" 2022 Slow Horses Robert Hobden 4 episodes 2023 All Creatures Great and Small Clifford Slavens Episode: "Broodiness"2025Silent WitnessGrant TownsendSeries 28, 2 episodes A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Christmas Humphreys Episode #2
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result1998/99Ian Charleson AwardAs You Like It2004Laurence Olivier AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleMourning Becomes Electra – National Theatre Lyttelton2020 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a PlayThe Inheritance – Ethel Barrymore Theatre Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Drama League Award Distinguished Performance 2024Laurence Olivier AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleAn Enemy of the People – Duke of York's Theatre 2025The British Audio AwardsBest Audiobook: FictionNarrator of the audiobook version of All My Precious Madness by Mark BowlesBest Performance: New Voice
See also
References
External links
All My Precious Madness | Spiracle Audiobooks Paul Hilton - Independent Talent