Biography
Ian Hallard was born November 9, 1974 in Birmingham, England. He attended St James’ Primary School in Shirley before moving on to secondary school at Solihull School. Ian was a model student, earning many academic achievement awards as well as the Bluck Prize for Public Service and Leadership in 1988. He was involved in many extracurricular activities, including athletics and drama. Ian developed an early interest in acting after attending Panto’s with his family, and became an active member of the Solihull Youth Drama club. In 1988, Ian helped the group to win the Youth Drama award under the direction of Mrs Louise Payne.
Hallard went on to study English Literature at the University of Sheffield, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. Ian recalls that he spent much of his time with the drama students and drama club on campus. He even served as stage manager for a production of “The Real Inspector Hound” and “After Magritte” during his years at Sheffield. Upon graduation, with the encouragement of his father, Ian went on to complete a post-graduate program in acting in 1998 from Mountview Theatre School. During his time at Mountview, Ian was the recipient of a singing scholarship.
Though Ian starred in many performances at school and through drama programmes, his first professional performance was as Zeke in Phil Willmott’s production of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at the Battersea Arts Centre in 1999. In his first television appearance, Ian played the role of Gary Talbot on BBC's “Global Conspiracy” (2004), directed by Paul Vanezis. He moved on to roles in “The Worst Journey in the World” (2007) and “Crooked House” (2008), both written by and starring his husband Mark Gatiss, as well as Gatiss’ episode of Agatha Christie's “Poirot: Hallowe'en Party” (2010). Ian has also appeared in “Hustle” and “Doctors”. In “Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall” (2012), Ian played the role of James Moriarty's defence barrister in the scenes at The Old Bailey.
His impressive CV details performance venues such as musical theatre, pantomime, operetta, classical and modern theatre, radio dramas, and television. Hallard has played a wide range of characters from the romantic lead to the naïve and boyish, from the comedic to the dramatic and intense. He has been touted by theatre critics for providing “moments of pure theatrical beauty” (“Joseph”). Sonny Waheed asserted that Ian, along with co-star Matthew Baldwin, provided “a solid backbone to the rest of the production” in “Jack Off The Beanstalk”.
Ian was nominated for the 2017 What’s On Stage Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Michael in the Adam Penford production of “The Boys in the Band”, which toured various cities in the UK in 2016, and transferred to the Vaudeville Theater in the West End for a limited run in February 2017.
At present, Ian resides in the Islington borough of London with his husband, Mark Gatiss, and their yellow Labradors, Bunsen and Bob. The couple initially met online in 1999, roughly a year after Ian completed his training at Mountview. They entered a civil partnership in a private ceremony at Middle Temple in 2008. Ian and Mark have collaborated on many projects together, including the episode of Agatha Christie’s “Poirot: The Big Four” (2013), which they co-wrote, and Ian often serves as Gatiss’ unofficial script editor for any project he is working on. The two recently made theatre history together when they co-starred as Michael and Harold in “The Boys in the Band”.