Karl Davies

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Karl Davies
Karl Davies during a TV Interview
Born	August 6, 1982 (age 24) Stockport, Greater Manchester UK
Years active	2000 - present
Notable roles	Emmerdale

Karl Davies born August 6, 1982 ^[1] in Stockport, Greater Manchester is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Sugden in the ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Emmerdale 1.2 Post Emmerdale 2 Personal life 3 Selected filmography 3.1 Films 3.2 Television 4 External links 5 References

[edit] Biography

Davies began his television acting career in 2000 with a guest appearance as Rick Ashburn in the ITV1 series Fat Friends before moving into the recurring role of Nick Pullen in Peak Practice, a role he played between series 9 - 11. He continued to play a number of minor television roles including The Bill before getting his big break in Emmerdale.

[edit] Emmerdale

In 2001, Karl secured his most famous role to date taking over the role of Robert Sugden, a longstanding character first introduced in 1986. The role had initially been played by Robert Smith (1986 - 1989) before being taken by Christopher Smith, who held the position from 1989 - 2001. The change was made by series producers to allow them to engage Robert in a number of more mature story lines.

His first episode was broadcast in August 2001. The change in actor allowed the character to be developed and he soon became involved in a number of controversial storylines, most involving a long running feud with his adopted brother Andy Sugden. He also became known for a number of romantic storylines, with Robert having an increasing number of sexual partners including Donna Dingle^[2], his brothers wife Katie Sugden^[3] and 15 year old Debbie Dingle the mother of his neice ^[4]. As one of the young male characters in the show he was invited to take part in a soap calander for Now Magazine in 2004 alongside fellow actors Ben Freeman and Kelvin Fletcher. ^[5]

The characters final romantic storyline involved an affair with the married Sadie King, played by Patsy Kensit, the former wife of singer Liam Gallagher. This storyline received media attention when Kensit reportedly objected to a relationship with a younger actor believing her character should be portrayed as a "more sophisticated man-eater".^[6] Kensit however clarified the reasons for this in an interview with Leeds Today News stating "When I first heard about the storyline, I said 'but he looks like one of James's friends, so boyish and young'. But Karl is so adorable and we had a lot of fun filming those scenes."^[7]

The brotherly feud which dominated much of Davies' time on the show was used by producers as the vehicle for a high profile attempt to compete with rival soap [[Eastenders] in the television ratings war and to secure Emmerdales place as the second most popular soap opera in the UK. The chosen storyline involved Andys attempts to kill Robert which led to their father, Jack Sugden being shot. The story was to prove a success securing viewing figures of 7.6m compared with 6.4m for Eastenders. This was the first time Emmerdale has secured such a ratings victory. ^[8]

For his final and highly publicised storyline it was made clear to the media weeks in advance that either Robert, Andy or local vet Max King would be killed in an explosive road accident ^[9]. In the end, it was to be Max who was killed but Robert decided he could no longer remain in the village and was last seen driving off towards a new life. The open ending allowed Davies to attempt to create himself a film career but leaves open a possible return to the show (where the characters family remain) should he and the producers wish to pursue this option.

[edit] Post Emmerdale

Following his departure from Emmerdale, Davies took the role of Damien in the short film, Me and Her, which aired at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 22, 2006. It was made by the UK Film Council and directed by Sarah Tripp. In 2006 he began production on a new movie, Dolphins, in which he plays the central role of Brent Black - a teenager from a rough estate in Brighton. The film follows Brent and a gang of boy racers as they compete against another team of racers from London. According to the official website a promotional video of the movie will be screened at AFM before the release of the full movie in Berlin in February 2007.

Along with the production of Dolphins, Davies also spent some of 2006 filming a new six part ITV1 television series, Kingdom, where he will star alongside Stephen Fry and Hermione Norris. It follows the story of a solicitor living in a quiet seaside village in Norfolk. Karl plays a trainee solicitor Lyle Anderson, who dreams of escaping the Market Shipborough, where the show is set, to work in the city. As of March 2007 it is classified as being in post production with broadcast expected in spring 2007 ^[10].

[edit] Personal life

Prior to becoming a professional actor Karl enjoyed extreme sports and competed in climbing competitions at the age of 14, 15 and 16 but never pursued this further than local competitions at a junior level. He has expressed a love of extreme sports such as snowboarding and skiing. However, during his time on Emmerdale he has publicly stated that he was prevented from participating in these activities by the producers. His only real exception to this was as part of the annual charity fund-raising event in Inveraray where he was allowed to go Wing walking on a bi-plane, an experience he greatly enjoyed. ^[11]

Davies has revealed that his role in Emmerdale has led to much greater public recognition and that the reaction from fans of the show has been mixed. He has been insulted and slapped in the street by strangers who have been unable to tell him from the character he plays.^[12] however he has also developed a following amongst gay viewers and has admitted that he receives a lot of fanmail from male viewers.^[13] Since leaving the show it has been revealed that he was romantically involved with former co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman who plays the vicar's neice Jasmine Thomas ^[14]

According to his resumé as provided by the Internet Movie Database, Karl speaks French and takes part in many atheltic sports including cycling, swimming and gymnastics. He plays the guitar and bass guitar and lists his skills as Motorcyclist, Stunts, Precision Driver, Stage Combat, Voiceover and Improvisation. The same resumé confirms that he is authorised to work in the United States.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Films

[edit] Television

[edit] External links

• Karl Davies at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] References