One Summer (1983)

David Morrissey made his screen debut in Willy Russell’s TV drama about two Liverpool teens who run away to north Wales but can’t escape their past. A reminder that in the 1980s it seemed that everyone appearing on Channel 4 spoke with a Scouse accent.

State of Play (2003)

Morrissey spent the 1980s and 1990s working his way up to leading roles on TV, but it was his appearance as an MP accused of murder in Paul Abbott’s conspiracy thriller, just one of the programme’s powerhouse British cast, that got him noticed in the United States. Playing another MP, Gordon Brown, in The Deal that same year sealed the, umm, deal.

Red Riding Trilogy (2009)

Morrissey has done his share of costume roles (South Riding among them), but he does seem drawn to dark thrillers like The Field of Blood and The Driver. This three-part Channel 4 adaptation of David Peace’s none-more-noir novels may be the darkest of them.

The Walking Dead (2012-2015)

Morrissey played The Governor in this hugely successful zombie drama, one of the many “monsters” he has played over the years and one of the most memorable. TV Guide named him one of “TV’s nastiest villains of all time”.

Britannia (2017-2020)

Morrissey has played a Roman soldier before (in the film Centurion), but Jez Butterworth’s mad, psychedelic reimagining of ancient Britain is much more fun. A third series is in production.