Line Of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar has been hiding in plain sight for 40 years – all the TV shows he’s been in before landing Ted Hastings role
ADRIAN Dunbar is Line Of Duty’s undisputed star as AC-12’s tough-talking cop Ted Hastings – but you might feel like you’ve seen him before.
If so, that’s because the 60-year-old actor has appeared in a staggering number of shows and films – from Star Wars to The Price, where he kidnapped a young Susanna Reid.
As Ted faces a thrilling episode in Sunday’s much-anticipated Line Of Duty finale, we run down Adrian’s biggest roles from his amazing 40-year career.
The actor joked to Piers Morgan yesterday: “I’m the biggest TV star this week” but he was just being modest – because there aren’t many stars with a career as long as this one…
The Price (1985)
Adrian burst onto our screens in dramatic fashion – by kidnapping none other than Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid back when she was a 14-year-old actress.
That’s her under the blanket being carried away by his IRA hit man character Willy in the gritty Channel 4 drama series.
My Left Foot (1989)
The star had a small part as Peter in this legendary Daniel Day-Lewis film – which was absolutely showered with awards.
Daniel picked up an Oscar for playing artist Christy, who painted with only his foot. However, Adrian’s teeny-tiny role was cruelly overlooked by the judges.
Hear My Song (1991)
Adrian was on sunny form playing fast-talking nightclub owner Mickey O’Neill in this little-known indie film, which he also wrote.
His character planned to make his fortune by booking famous Irish singer Josef Locke – and Adrian did well too, with his movie bagging Best Film at 1992’s British Comedy Awards.
Widow’s Peak (1994)
The actor got to kiss Natasha Richardson is this gentle comedy film about an Irish village where most of the men had died.
It was a critical sensation – and bagged its makers a host of awards, though Adrian’s kissing prowess was never formally recognised.
Cracker (1993)
Before Line of Duty, detective shows didn’t get much more gripping than Cracker – and Adrian starred in an early two-parter.
He played Thomas Kelly, a man who had completely lost his memory, and was taken in by Robbie Coltrane‘s chain-smoking Manchester crime-cracker Fitz.
The Jump (1998)
Hope that’s a regulation firearm you’ve got there, fella.
Adrian starred in TV series The Jump – not, sadly, the bone-crunching Channel 4 ski jump reality show – as Alan Cox, an ex-con helping a Mafia wife spring her husband from jail.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Adrian was cast to play intergalactic paper-pusher Bail Prestor Organa – one of the founders of goodies the Rebel Alliance.
He ended up getting cut from the first Phantom Menace film, but his likeness lived on in various other offshoots of the Star Wars empire. Good work, fella.
Ashes To Ashes (2009)
Ted Hastings has dedicated his career to finding “bent coppers” but in retro drama Ashes To Ashes, Adrian was one.
He played the present-day version of detective Martin Summers, who was involved in a gold bullion robbery back when the drama’s star Gene Hunt ruled Manchester in the Eighties.
Triggermen (2002)
Adrian was a down-on-his-luck con man opposite none other than Neil Morissey in this movie set in Chicago.
However, one critics branded the movie, where he played Andy Jarrett, “lame” and “inane” and it wound up on DVD.
Shooters (2002)
He played a very nasty fella indeed in this British crime drama, being seen pointing a gun into the face of one of his victims.
Adrian starred as baddie Max Bell in the 18-rated violence-fest, which tried to tap into the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels mania of the time.
The Life And Adventures of Nick Nickleby (2012)
Adrian didn’t manage to land the role of young Nicholas, but he did bag the role of his malevolent uncle Ralph.
Filmed, like Line of Duty, in Belfast, the BBC drama was a modern re-telling of the Charles Dickens original.
Line Of Duty (2012)
The actor won his biggest role when he was cast as anti-corruption cop Ted Hastings in 2012’s first series of Line Of Duty.
He proved an instant hit and alongside Martin Compston and Vicky McClure is part of a very small group to have survived all five series of the BBC show.
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