Aidan Gillen, whose acting career began as a teen, has starred in several iconic movies and TV shows. Gillen is one of Hollywood’s most famous and accomplished Irish actors. With successful projects in British and American cinema, it’s no surprise Aidan Gillen has received accolades.
Known for his trademark smirking expression, Aidan Gillen has played some of television’s most memorable characters. Since his breakthrough role in Queer as Folk, Gillen has been consistent in his performances. With a rising profile in the industry, here are the best Aidan Gillen TV shows.
Identity
Aidan Gillen led the cast of ITV’s British police procedural series Identity. Although the series was canceled after its first season, Gillen delivered a strong performance as DI John Bloom. With rising identity fraud cases in London, Detective Superintendent Martha Lawson (Keeley Hawes) created a special Identity Unit, which she leads.
She hires DI John Bloom, a SO-10 officer. Bloom had spent the last 15 years as an undercover officer as a bagman and money launderer for the Turkish Mafia. Although Lawson has faith in Bloom, his unethical methods soon cause worry and concern for other team members. Identity premiered on July 5, 2010, and aired its last episode on August 9, 2010.
Love/Hate
Although Identity was canceled, Aidan Gillen appeared in RTÉ One’s Irish drama series Love/Hate. In the series, Gillen plays the Irish criminal kingpin, John Boy. Gillen starred alongside fellow Irish actors Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Charlie Murphy, who played Nigel “Nidge” Delaney and Siobhán Delaney, respectively.
Although the series aired for 5 seasons, Aidan Gillen only appeared in the first two seasons. Love/Hate was critically acclaimed and still regarded as one of the best Irish TV series. For his performance, Aidan Gillen received a nomination (which he won) for Actor in a Lead Role Television at the Irish Film and Television Award. For a while, Gillen was mostly known and called John Boy by local fans because of the show’s popularity.
Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book was a History Channel’s historical drama series that aired originally from January 8, 2019, to March 24, 2020. Aidan Gillen led the cast, portraying astronomer, astrophysicist, professor, and UFOlogist Dr. J. Allen Hynek. The show was based on the United States Air Force project of the same name, which sought to study and investigate reported cases of unidentified flying objects. Project Blue Book aired for 2 seasons before the network canceled it.
Kin
Aidan Gillen played rival gangland leader Frank Kinsella against Ciarán Hinds’ Eamon Cunningham in Kin. The Irish crime drama series revolves around the gang’s rivalry. Kin holds a 94% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite a high critical rating, Kin wasn’t as popular as it should have been. This was mostly due to marketing issues. However, it aired on AMC+ in the United States and Canada. The series aired for 2 seasons, originally from September 9, 2021, to May 7, 2023.
Peaky Blinders
Aidan Gillen joined the award-winning TV show Peaky Blinders in season 4 and played the ruthless gangster Aberama Gold. The character is a Romani gypsy who becomes a trusted ally of Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy). He becomes Shelby’s muscle when Italian-American gangster Luca Changretta (Adrien Brody) threatens to destroy Shelby’s family. Aberama Gold is stabbed to death in season 5 while attempting to kill Jimmy McCavern (Brian Gleeson).
Mayor of Kingstown
In the Paramount+ crime thriller series Mayor of Kingstown, Aidan Gillen plays the antagonist Milo Sunter. Gillen plays a Russian mobster sentenced to life imprisonment. After escaping prison in the season 1 finale, he becomes a thorn in the flesh to the self-appointed Mayor of Kingstown, Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner). Although his character appears to be killed in the season 2 finale, he’s revealed to have anticipated and survived the explosion.
Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk was Aidan Gillen’s breakthrough role in his career. Gillen led the Channel 4 British TV series as the successful, extremely sexually active Stuart Allen Jones. The show had 8 episodes, which ran in 1999. A two-part episode was added the next year. Aidan Gillen was nominated for Best Actor at the British Academy Television Award for his performance.
The Wire
In the HBO crime drama The Wire, Aidan Gillen played the fictional ambitious and venal Baltimore politician Thomas J. “Tommy” Carcetti. The character may only have appeared in 35 of its 60 episodes across 5 seasons, but Gillen’s performance was one of the show’s fan favorites. The character grew from being a Baltimore City Councilman to the Mayor of Baltimore, and Governor of Maryland in the end. Aidan Gillen was nominated for Actor in a Lead Role Television for his outstanding performance at the Irish Film and Television Award.
Game of Thrones
Aidan Gillen’s biggest and most famous role of his career is playing Lord Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Known for his boundless ambition and cunningness, Littlefinger, although from a minor family, rose to become one of the most influential people in King’s Landing. The character is killed in season 7 after Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) orders Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) to kill him. Littlefinger was one of Game of Thrones’ antagonists. Aidan Gillen’s performance as Petyr Baelish is the most nominated role of his career. If you have watched any of these Aidan Gillen TV shows, also read about Michael Emerson’s top TV shows.
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