Tom McKay (born 27 December 1979) is an English actor. He trained at LAMDA and spent the early part of his career working predominantly in theatre, performing for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and at the National Theatre, Almeida, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse, the Globe, in the West End and at the Public Theater in New York.
He went on to work more frequently in television, including lead roles in History Channel's Emmy-winning series Hatfields and McCoys, the BBC's acclaimed costume drama The White Queen, and more recently his portrayal of Mark Preen in the Channel 4 docudrama Dirty Business.
He is known for his role as Henry of Skalitz in Warhorse Studios’s medieval RPG, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, for which he’s received nominations, including a Golden Joystick Awards Nomination for Best Performer and a BAFTA Game Award Nomination for Best Lead Performance.
Early life and education Thomas McKay was born in Solihull, Warwickshire on the 27th December 1979. He graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2001 and got his first job the day he graduated at the National Theatre playing China Mary in Mother Clap's Molly House.
Career Following his training at LAMDA, McKay has been in numerous theatre performances, including many Shakespeare productions. Notably he played the role of Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which was performed at the Shakespeare's Globe in 2014, directed by Dominic Dromgoole. His first job was at the National Theatre in Mark Ravenhill's Mother Clap's Molly House, directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner.
Other roles include the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Scrope of Masham in Henry V at the National Theatre, also directed by Hytner, and Lennox in Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre directed by John Caird. In 2010 he played various roles in The Great Game: Afghanistan in the US, directed by the current Artistic Director of the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham, and Nicolas Kent. At the Gielgud Theatre in 2006 he performed as Jim Reston in Frost/Nixon directed by Michael Grandage. Most recently he played Arnholm in Ibsen's The Lady From the Sea at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah.
In 2005, McKay played the role of Piers as part of an ensemble cast in the film Chromophobia, starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Fiennes' sister, Martha. In the same year he appeared in Imagine Me & You, and in the docudrama I Shouldn't Be Alive for one episode where he played Jim, a young parent trapped in a blizzard with a five month old child.
Since 2006 he has appeared in many long running British TV shows, including the likes of Casualty, Silent Witness, Doctors, Waterloo Road, Spooks, New Tricks, and Endeavour. In 2007 he appeared in the British feature film The Feral Generation directed by Andrew Jones, which won Best Feature Film - UK at the Swansea Film Festival in 2008. In 2009 he featured in an episode of TV show Primeval, and in the third installation of the Wrong Turn Franchise, Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead.
In 2012 he played Jim McCoy in Hatfields & MCoys, an American TV mini series about the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The show won five Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2013 McKay adopted the role of Jasper Tudor in the highly regarded historical drama series The White Queen. The show was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a People's Choice Award.
In 2016, McKay got the role to play Henry of Skalitz in the Kickstarter-funded video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance, set in 15th Century Bohemia. The voice and motion capture role took two years to complete before the game's release in 2018.
In 2020 he appeared in the TV show Devils, and reprised the role of Chris Bailey in 2022 for the second season. In 2022 he appeared as Max Kelly in the British thriller series The Undeclared War, and returned for the second season which aired in July 2026.
Also in 2022 McKay played the role of DJ in ITV's The Suspect starring Aidan Turner, based on the book of the same name by Michael Robotham. In 2024 he featured in the Brazilian biographical drama miniseries based on the life of racing driver Ayrton Senna. He played the role of Alex Hawkridge, Senna's team boss at Toleman.
In 2025, the sequel Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was released, which saw McKay reprise his role as Henry of Skalitz. He recorded 508 hours of dialogue for the role across 127 sessions. He received a Golden Joystick Awards Nomination for Best Performer and a BAFTA Game Award Nomination for Best Lead Performance. At the 22nd BAFTA Game Awards, Warhorse Studios won Best Narrative for the game.
In his most recent role, McKay plays Mark Preen in Channel 4's Dirty Business. The series covers a decade-long investigation on sewage-contaminated water in Oxfordshire. In 1999 the Preen family lost their eight year old daughter due to E-coli poisoning. Following the release of the show campaign group Surfers Against Sewage have launched a new petition to put pressure on the government to put public health above profit. The Guardian praised the show, stating "If this doesn't incite righteous anger over our filthy water then nothing will."
Acting credits
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes2005ChromophobiaPiers2005Imagine Me & YouMichael 22007Joe's PalaceUncreditedTV film2007The Feral GenerationCrackhead2008ClubbedSkank2008The Shooting of Thomas HurndallRuebenTV film2009Wrong Turn 3: Left for DeadBrandon2012I Think, ThereforeGaryShort film2014Globe on Screen: Julius CaesarBrutus2014The Lost LegionTaranis Maldras2016GranateArchitectShort film2016Kill CommandRobert Cutbill2016The HarrowMiller Lee2021The Interrogation of Rudolf HessRudolf HessShort film2024TouchdownHenry Newton MP
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes2005I Shouldn't Be AliveJimSeason 1 episode 2 "Lost In The Snow"2006CasualtyAlan CurrenSeason 20 episode 42 "Needle"2007Silent WitnessDS Jimmy Case2008CasualtyMikeSeason 23 episode 9 "The Line of Fire"2009DoctorsFrankie MellorsSeason 10 episode 215 "Cows"2009PrimevalJoeSeason 3 wpisode 9 "Herd Logic"2010Waterloo RoadMark MoranSeason 5 episode 12 "#5.12"2010SpooksSaul De VriesSeason 9 episode 2 "#9.2"2010New TricksJason BishopSeason 7 episode 5 "Good Morning Lemmings"2010The Little HouseRuth's Father2012Hatfields & McCoysJim McCoyTV miniseries2013The White QueenJasper TudorSeason 1 episodes 2–5, 6 (voice only), 8–102014The Transporter: The SeriesJeremy DonneSeason 2 episode 7 "Sex, Lies and Videotape"2015The Bastard ExecutionerGruffud's Aide/Rhys2016EndeavourCole MatthewsSeason 3 episode 4 "Coda"2020–2022DevilsChris BaileyMain cast2020Moving OnJoe KellySeason 11 episode 1 "Time Out"2022–presentThe Undeclared WarMax KellySeason 1 episodes 1–5 Season 2 episodes 1–2, 4–62022The SuspectDJSeason 1 episodes 2–52023Black CakeBossmanSeason 1 episode 3 "Eleanor"2024EllisEric MercerSeason 1 episode 1 "Hanmore"2024SennaAlex Hawkridge2026Dirty BusinessMark PreenEpisodes 1–2
Theatre +YearTitleRoleTheatre/companyNotes1993–1994MacbethFleanceRoyal Shakespeare CompanyBarbican Theatre in 1993, moved to Stratford in 19941995Lord of the FliesRogerRoyal Shakespeare Company1997Romeo and JulietRomeoPlaybox Theatre1997Edmund IronsideAlfredRoyal Shakespeare Company (Fringe Festival)1998Kissing AngelsRomeoNational Youth Theatre1999CoriolanusCoriolanusLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art2000TodayVictorLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art2000Romeo and JulietRomeoLondon Academy of Music & Dramatic Art2000Mother Clap's Molly HousePhilLondon Academy of Music & Dramatic Art2001Mother Clap's Molly HouseChina MaryRoyal National Theatre2002Mother Clap's Molly HouseThomas Orme/JoshAldwych Theatre2002Elizabeth RexTom TravisBirmingham Repertory2003SimplicityWilliamRichmond Orange Tree2003Henry VRoyal National Theatre2004Shakespeare's R & JRomeoTheatre Royal Bath Tour2005The Arab Israeli CookbookFadi/DanielThe Gate Theatre2005MacbethLennoxAlmeida Theatre2005Gladiator GamesRobert StewartSheffield Crucible and Stratford East2006On The Third DayRobbieAmbassadors Theatre2006Frost/NixonJim RestonGielgud TheatreDonmar Warehouse West End2007The Final ShotMichael FineTheatre 5032008The Herbal BedRafe SmithSalisbury Playhouse2010Rough CutsUnknownRoyal Court Theatre2010Greta Garbo Came to DonegalHarry CaulfieldTricycle Theatre2010The Great Game: AfghanistanDickenson, James Kite, 1st Deputy, Graham, Sergant Jay WatkinsTricycle TheatreTricycle Theatre/U.S Tour/Public Theatre NYC2013A Midsummer Night's DreamOberonThe Lamb Players2014Julius CaesarBrutusShakespeare's Globe Theatre2016DedicationWilliam ShakespeareNuffield Theatre2016Drones, Baby, DronesDoug/PeteArcola Theatre2017The Lady From The SeaArnholmDonmar Warehouse
Video games +YearTitleRoleNotes2009VeneticaVariousNPC roles2018Kingdom Come: DeliveranceHenry of SkalitzMain character, voice (English version) and motion capture2025Kingdom Come: Deliverance IIHenry of SkalitzMain character, voice (English version) and performance capture
Other media +YearTitleRoleNotes2003Britain's FinestHimselfTV series2006The Sunday ProgrammeHenry VTV series2006The Play's The ThingHimselfTV series2015Supreme TweeterHimselfYouTube series2026Oaths & EmpiresSolusPodcast
References