Who is Strike: Lethal White actor Tom Burke?
BRITISH actor Tom Burke has a large following after his role as the protagonist of BBC show Strike, which is back for a new series.
The London-born actor has a very famous godfather.
Who is Tom Burke?
Tom Burke is an actor from Kent, born on June 30, 1981.
Tom's parents are both actors and his godfather was the late Alan Rickman.
Burke explained to what is was like having Rickman as a godfather: 'He was very hands-on, very in touch. Whenever we went for lunch, he'd ask me questions and I would do that thing of not answering and my mum or dad would step in for me, and he would say, "No, no, I want to hear what Tom has to say."
He took me out of my comfort zone. He was constantly asking me what I wanted to do. I remember once saying that I desperately wanted to dance, and he encouraged that.
He was always suggesting things for me to read, to watch. He helped to pay my fees through RADA.'
Burke attended the National Youth Theatre during his younger years.
Other alumni include Idris Elba, Colin Firth and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Tom was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child.
The star is believed to be single.
Who does Tom Burke play in Strike?
The books follow the cases undertaken by private investigator Cormoran Strike, played by Tom Burke, and his assistant and secretary, Robin Ellacott.
Cormoran is in his late thirties, the illegitimate son of a former rock star and a former Special Investigation Branch investigator who was discharged from the army after losing half his leg in a bomb attack in Afghanistan.
He's now set up shop in Denmark Street and is running a small private detective agency, although not getting that much work until the events of the first book bring him recognition.
Cormoran takes on Robin as a temp but she impresses him and ends up working for him full-time.
In September last year, the BBC announced that Tom Burke had been cast as Strike.
Tom, 36, said he was "overjoyed" to be part of the series, saying Cormoran Strike "is as complex as he is larger than life".
He added: "I know I’m joining an extraordinary team of people on a series that for me is peppered with moments of real emotional depth and meticulously grounded in the page-turning momentum of these novels.
What else has Tom Burke starred in?
Tom has landed an array of roles across television and film.
He's best known for his work on War & Peace (2016) and long-running fantasy epic The Three Musketeers.
Tom has also appeared in much-loved serials including Agatha Christie's Poirot, Jericho, Utopia and Great Expectations.
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When is Strike: Lethal White on BBC One?
It again features both private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant and secretary, Robin Ellacott.
Strike: Lethal White is four-part mystery and involves a man asking for Strike's help investigating a crime he believes he witnessed when he was a child.