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IMDbPro

Ivan Kaye

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Ivan Kaye
Wedding Season (French Subtitled)
Play trailer1:35
Wedding Season (2022– )
25 Videos
99+ Photos
Ivan Kaye is internationally best known for his role as King Aelle in Vikings (2013). In 2022 he has taken a leading role in the Irish comedy movie Apocalypse Clown. Notable recent work also includes StudioCanal's action film Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) and the upcoming Disney+ series Wedding Season (2022).

A remarkably versatile actor, Ivan Kaye already had a successful stage career in London's West End in dramatic and musical theatre before starting his work in television and film in his early thirties.

Born on 1st July 1961 in Northampton, Ivan Kaye recreated TV adverts at the age of two years and performed TV shows with his friends throughout his childhood. After a key experience at age eight, he joined a youth theatre group and took over organizational responsibility in his early teens. His parents were social workers who insisted that he should earn a university degree to give him additional options if his plans for an acting career didn't develop as anticipated, but during his academic education, he used every opportunity to perform in plays.

Hence Ivan Kaye managed to beat the odds and succeeded as a professional actor without a privileged background, any connections to influential players in the entertainment industry or even formal education at drama school.

Starting with theatre and musical performances, he made his stage debut at Sadlers Wells in 1980 in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' as Willie Wonka, appearing throughout the 1980s with the National Theatre in 'The Changeling', 'Ghetto' and 'The Magic Olympic Games', as well as West End performances in 'The Rocky Horror Show' at the Piccadilly Theatre as Eddie and Dr Scott, 'Serious Money' at Wyndhams and 'A View From the Bridge' at Bristol Old Vic, transferring to the Strand. His most recent theatre appearance was in the role of Tom Kettle in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed West End play 'The Ferryman' in 2017/2018 before its transfer to Broadway.

In 1992 he already had his own TV show at the age of thirty: He played the leading role in the name part of detective drama Sam Saturday (1992) and has since been seen as Reuben Starkadder in Cold Comfort Farm (1995), a duplicitous spouse in Bad Girls (1999), an initially questionable doctor in EastEnders (1985) and dim farm-hand Bryan in sitcom The Green Green Grass (2005).

More recently, he has appeared in less than sympathetic mode in productions that have reached an international audience and been dubbed into several languages like Assassination Games (2011) as well as period pieces The Borgias (2011) and Vikings (2013) (on his Twitter page he describes himself as "Villain for Hire"), but also in more lovable parts in crime drama shows like The Coroner (2015) and Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022) and in the mini-series The Woman in White (2018).

Since 2018 he has also put more focus on feature films for the big screen in several genres (comedy, action and period drama) and once again proven his passion for acting by starring in several comedy short films.

Being a household name at home and having co-starred with Hollywood actors in multiple films, Ivan Kaye's larger-than-life on-screen version of King Aelle of Northumbria in Vikings (2013) has finally earned him worldwide fame. His career has received another boost from 2017 onward when he first made a prestigious theatre comeback in 2017-18 and then joined several international film and series projects in 2018-2021 (e.g. Amazon's series pilot for an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower (2020), the female-led action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) and Disney+ series Wedding Season (2022)). In 2022 he has returned to leading parts with a role in the Irish comedy feature Apocalypse Clown.

Due to his enormous versatility, Ivan Kaye has been featured in a wide array of roles encompassing lead and main parts as well as antagonists, outright villains, and comical characters. Another one of his "superpowers" as an actor is to turn even with underwritten side parts into memorable characters by infusing them with a vibrancy that leaves a mark in the minds of the audience.

As a founder and director of Comedy Ink Productions together with actor/writer Douglas McFerran (born May 1958) he has produced and acted as a lead in short comedic offerings such as the mini-series Brilliant! (2007) and short film Sherlock Holmes Confidential (2013).

Ivan Kaye has a reputation of being especially kind and appreciative towards his fans on social media and in person. He is a supporter of the Hounslow Urban Farm (where 'Green Green Grass' was partially filmed) and, with several other actors, the Justice for Andrew campaign, seeking justice for the murder of a young Liverpudlian. Ivan Kaye has two grown-up daughters and lives in London.
BornJuly 1, 1961
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 1, 1961
IMDbProStarmeter
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  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos123

Ivan Kaye as Yankee in Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Ivan Kaye as ‘Tom Kettle’ in ‘The Ferryman’ at The Gielgud Theatre. 2018.
Ivan Kaye in Vikings (2013)
Ivan Kaye as 'King Aelle' in 'Vikings IV' Part II  2017.
Ivan Kaye as ‘Ivar the Boneless’ in ‘Hammer Of The Gods’ Vertigo Films. 2013.
Ivan Kaye as Polo Yakur in Assassination Games. 2011
Steven Elder, Sean Harris, Ivan Kaye, and Timothée Chalamet in The King (2019)
Steven Elder, Sean Harris, Ivan Kaye, Tom Lawrence, and Timothée Chalamet in The King (2019)
Ivan Kaye and Travis Fimmel in Vikings (2013)
Ivan Kaye and Travis Fimmel in Vikings (2013)
Ivan Kaye in Vikings (2013)
Ivan Kaye and Jennie Jacques in Vikings (2013)

Known for

Alexander Ludwig, Jordan Patrick Smith, Marco Ilsø, and Alex Høgh Andersen in Vikings (2013)
Vikings
8.5
TV Series
  • King Aelle
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins in Assassination Games (2011)
Assassination Games
6.1
  • Polo Yakur
  • 2011
Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Lena Headey, and Karen Gillan in Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Gunpowder Milkshake
6.0
  • Yankee
  • 2021
The Borgias (2011)
The Borgias
7.9
TV Series
  • Ludovico Sforza
  • Duke Ludovico Sforza

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Apocalypse Clown
    • Post-production
  • Target Zero
    • Post-production
  • Ivan Kaye and George Webster in Wedding Season (2022)
    Wedding Season
  • Max Brown, Lorna Watson, and Jerry Iwu in Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022)
    Sister Boniface Mysteries
  • End of Term (2021)
    End of Term
  • Ivan Kaye and Elliot James Langridge in The Dead Collectors (2021)
    The Dead Collectors
  • Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Lena Headey, and Karen Gillan in Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
    Gunpowder Milkshake
  • The Dark Tower (2020)
    The Dark Tower
  • Ivan Kaye in Acter (2020)
    Acter
  • Timothée Chalamet in The King (2019)
    The King
  • Anna Chancellor, Tony Way, Robert Kazinsky, and Samantha Barks in For Love or Money (2019)
    For Love or Money
  • Cliffs of Freedom (2019)
    Cliffs of Freedom
  • Jessie Buckley, Carl Tibbetts, Olivia Vinall, and Ben Hardy in The Woman in White (2018)
    The Woman in White
  • Alexander Ludwig, Jordan Patrick Smith, Marco Ilsø, and Alex Høgh Andersen in Vikings (2013)
    Vikings
  • Matt Bardock and Claire Goose in The Coroner (2015)
    The Coroner
  • Undercover (2015)
    Undercover
  • Ivan Kaye and Douglas McFerran in Sherlock Holmes Confidential (2013)
    Sherlock Holmes Confidential

Producer

  • Ivan Kaye in Acter (2020)
    Acter
  • Ivan Kaye, Douglas McFerran, and Anna Wilson-Jones in Brilliant! (2007)
    Brilliant!

Director

  • Ivan Kaye in Acter (2020)
    Acter
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos27

2016 Demo Reel
Demo Reel 5:07
2016 Demo Reel
2012 Demo Reel
Demo Reel 9:32
2012 Demo Reel
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:34
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:01
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:16
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:33
Official Trailer
Official Trailer - Season 1
Trailer 0:25
Official Trailer - Season 1
Final Trailer
Trailer 2:20
Final Trailer
Green Band
Trailer 2:16
Green Band
Assassination Games - Trailer #1
Trailer 1:40
Assassination Games - Trailer #1
Hammer of the Gods
Trailer 2:19
Hammer of the Gods
For Love or Money
Trailer 1:43
For Love or Money

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook Fan Site
    • Instagram Account
    • July 1, 1961
    • Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, UK
  • Other works
    He acted in Caryl Churchill's play, "Serious Money," at the Wyndham's Theatre in London, England with Elizabeth Garvie, Gary Olsen, Cyril Nri, Tom Chadbon, Nigel Cooke, Patti Love, and Dona Croll in the cast. Max Stafford-Clark was director.

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Played the Saxon King Aelle in Vikings (2013) and Ivar the Boneless in Hammer of the Gods (2013) - the Viking leader who is said to have killed King Aelle.
  • Quotes
    [on fans] I'm flattered and delighted that people take the time and trouble to be interested in my stuff. If I see someone I admire, I have to go over and tell them. I understand the impulse and appreciate it.
    • Remarkable versatility with an acting range encompassing roles from villains to comical characters.

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