Biography
David Bradley is an English character actor. He is most widely known for portraying Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series The Strain. He was awarded a Olivier Award in 1991 for his supporting role in King Lear at the Royal National Theatre.
Known For
Complete Filmography

Frankenstein
2025
as Blind Man
Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoi...

A Night Like This
2025
A stone-broke gay actor and a privileged screw-up with a failing business cross paths on a winter night and join forces in a quest around London to fi...

Good Grief
2023
as Duncan
When his husband unexpectedly dies, Marc's world shatters, sending him and his two best friends on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some ha...

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
2023
as Fowler (voice)
A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nearby farm that's cooking up something suspicious.

Your Christmas or Mine 2
2023
as Jack
They've swapped Christmas – again. Can Hayley and James' relationship survive another turbulent family Christmas or has their future together gone off...

Allelujah
2023
as Joe Colman
When news of the closure of a small hospital's geriatric ward begins to reach the community, the hospital invites a local news crew to document their ...

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema
2022
as Self
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the maki...

Your Christmas or Mine?
2022
as Jack
Students Hayley and James are young and in love. After saying goodbye for Christmas at a London train station, they both make the same mad split-secon...

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022
as Geppetto (voice)
During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.

Catherine Called Birdy
2022
as Lord Gideon Sidebottom
A teenage girl in Medieval England navigates life and tries to avoid the arranged marriages her father maps out for her.

Type
2022
as Doctor (voice)
A young woman with allergies finds love in her lost and lonely life.

Jolt
2021
as Gareth Fizel
A bouncer with an anger management problem goes on a furious and resentful rampage after the murder of a friend.

Roy
2021
as Roy
Trapped in a lonely existence, reclusive widower Roy passes the days by cold calling strangers from the phone book, looking for brief moments of compa...

Await Further Instructions
2018
as Grandad
A dysfunctional family awake on Christmas morning to discover they’re sealed inside their house by a mysterious black substance. On television, a sing...

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017
as The Doctor (1)
As the Twelfth Doctor nears regeneration, he stumbles on his first incarnation, also refusing to change. It takes a captain, a glass avatar and a fami...

The Lodgers
2017
as Bermingham
1920, rural Ireland. Anglo-Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate. Each night, the property becomes ...

Edmund the Magnificent
2017
as Farmer
When news breaks that the county pig fete's being revived, the once-legendary Farmer decides to make one final roll of the dice - and invest his life ...

Broadcast Signal Intrusion
2016
as James' Father
A grief-stricken video archivist becomes increasingly obsessed with the meaning behind a sinister television signal hijacking.

The Young Messiah
2016
as Old Rabbi
Tells the story of Jesus Christ at age seven as he and his family depart Egypt to return home to Nazareth. Told from his childhood perspective, it fol...

An Adventure in Space and Time
2013
as William Hartnell
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ...

The World's End
2013
as Basil
Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

Frankenstein: A Modern Myth
2012
as Self - Narrator (voice)
From Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks - Frankenstein has fired the imagination of generations of artists who have created their own interpretation of this ...

Bad Sugar
2012
as Ralphfred Cauldwell
A dysfunctional, wealthy mining dynasty, with an ailing patriarch and some greedy siblings. A peculiarly British take on telenovela style melodramas, ...

When Harry Left Hogwarts
2011
as Self
BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Morgan Matthews was given unprecedented access to the behind-the-scenes of the final days of the final two Harry Potter ...

The Holding
2011
as Cooper
A heart-pounding suspense thriller, set on an isolated farm in England's beautiful, rugged Peak District.

Captain America: The First Avenger
2011
as Tower Keeper
During World War II, Steve Rogers is a sickly man from Brooklyn who's transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers ...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
as Argus Filch
Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wiza...

Another Year
2010
as Ronnie
During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.

Harold Pinter: A Celebration
2010
as Self
In June 2009, a group Britain's leading actors gathered for one night only to perform a celebration of the work of Harold Pinter at the National Theat...

Harry Brown
2009
as Leonard Attwell
An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2009
as Argus Filch
As Lord Voldemort tightens his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry suspects perils may even lie wi...

I Know You Know
2009
as Mr Fisher
Jamie, an 11-year-old boy, is fascinated by his father Charlie’s espionage work until the world of spies becomes all too real. Charlie lives in his ow...

The Daisy Chain
2008
as Sean Cryan
A grieving couple move to a remote Irish village in the wake of their baby daughter's death. They soon take in an orphaned autistic girl, only to beco...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
as Argus Filch
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Le...

Hot Fuzz
2007
as Arthur Webley
Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he m...

Sweeney Todd
2006
as Sweeney's Father
A BBC adaptation of the Victorian "penny dreadful" tale of 19th century "demon barber" Sweeney Todd, of Fleet Street, who cuts the throats of unsuspec...

Lycanthropy
2006
as Club Owner
A detective has to journey into the dark heart of his modern metropolis to investigate a routine murder, but finds the secret truth behind an ancient ...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005
as Argus Filch
When Harry Potter's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools—the Tri...

Red Mercury
2005
as Neil Ashton
Three young Muslim men, part of a terror cell, are making a bomb in a London flat, when they get a call to vacate immediately with their gear. The pol...
Mr Harvey Lights a Candle
2005
as Archie
A teacher comes to terms with his past during a school trip to Salisbury Cathedral.

Exorcist: The Beginning
2004
as Father Gionetti
Years before Father Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
as Argus Filch
Year three at Hogwarts means new fun and challenges as Harry learns the delicate art of approaching a Hippogriff, transforming shape-shifting Boggarts...

Nicholas Nickleby
2002
as Nigel Bray
Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
as Argus Filch
Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger aw...

The Intended
2002
as The Priest
A period drama/thriller about a surveyor and his fiancée who arrive in a remote Malaysian trading post and encounter a closed-fisted ivory trader and ...

This Is Not a Love Song
2002
as Mr Bellamy
Heaton and Spike are the unlikeliest pair: two loners who have found each other. When Spike commits a terrible crime, Heaton decides to stand by him -...
Station Jim
2001
as Elliot
At a rural railway station in Victorian England, Jim is a spunky Jack Russell Terrier who escapes his mean master at the circus, and is soon befriende...

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001
as Argus Filch
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with ...

Altered Species
2001
as Frank
Altered Species is a 2001 horror film, about a scientist who has found a way to regenerate damaged tissue in the body. He has tried his experiment on ...

Gabriel & Me
2001
as Grandad
A young boy believes he can save his dying father if he can become an angel.

Blow Dry
2001
as Noah
The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop and Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lov...

The King Is Alive
2000
as Henry
Stranded in the heat of a barren African desert, eleven bus-passengers shelter in the remnants of an abandoned town. As rescue grows more remote by th...

Doomwatch: Winter Angel
1999
as Angel
University lecturer Neil Tannahill is drawn into a sinister conspiracy involving secretly-stored Soviet nuclear waste at a remote British nuclear faci...

Tom's Midnight Garden
1999
as Abel
When Tom's brother Peter gets measles, he is sent to stay with his Uncle Alan and Aunt Gwen in a flat with no garden and an elderly landlady, Mrs Bart...
Reckless: The Sequel
1998
as Arnold Springer
One year on in their lives, Owen and Anna plan to marry. But Anna's ex-husband may have an other idea. He schemes to rip the couple apart. Can Anna an...

Left Luggage
1998
as Concierge
While escaping from Nazis during the WWII, a Jewish man dug suitcases full of things dear to his heart in the ground two. The war deprived him of his ...

In Your Dreams
1997
as Tutor
The second of three contemporary stories showing in the Love Bites 1997 season. Clare accuses fellow-student Jamie of raping her after their first da...

Kangaroo Palace
1997
as Mr Macaleese
The story of four young Australians trying their luck in 1960s London.

The Moth
1997
as Dave Waters
This 1940s drama presents a story of class conflict and its influence on romance. Robert Bradley leaves the shipyards to work in his uncle's furniture...

Kiss and Tell
1996
as Superintendent Hines
An undercover police officer must prove that a lonely man's missing wife was murdered.

Cracker: White Ghost
1996
as Frank Carter
A British businessman operating in Hong Kong has feelings of inferiority and turns to murder when he faces bankruptcy.

The Star
1996
A young boy who has recently lost his mother finds new meaning when a shooting star lands in his garden.

Measure for Measure
1994
as Barnadine
Modern dress adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

Criminal
1994
as Headmaster
Simon Willerton's suicide in 1990 brought to six the number of young prisoners who hanged themselves in British prisons in just over six months, promp...

Fair Game
1994
as Whitby Policeman
It is 1970, there is World Cup and General Election fever. Marco, a wealthy Italian has come to England to discover his true identity. Carl, a student...

Bad Girl
1992
as Mike Preach
A young single mother has to convince the authorities that she is a fit parent.

A Master of the Marionettes
1989
as Harry
Teddy Rose's passion is security - selling alarm systems to prosperous yet fearful suburban homes, one of which he and his family inhabit with conspic...

Prick Up Your Ears
1987
as Undertaker
When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they sta...

King of the Ghetto
1986
as Ralph
An idealistic former soldier helps unite and house ethnic minorities in a run down area of London's east end

Tartuffe, or The Imposter
1983
as Cleante
Royal Shakespeare Company's televised adaptation of Moliere's play with Antony Sher in the title role of Tartuffe.

Findings on a Late Afternoon
1981
as Barman
Gerald is on the edge of a complete breakdown. During an afternoon spent with his father, he starts to come to terms with the wounding confusions and ...

Clapperclaw
1981
as Wike
VE Night, 1945. In a Yorkshire pub not everyone is in a mood to celebrate. Lorna Thorpe 's ' All-Star' dance band is missing two members, the beer has...

The Union
1981
as Communist speaker
A dramatised impression of the events surrounding the Electrical Trades Union ballot rigging case of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The Frisco Kid
1979
as Julius Rosensheine
Rabbi Avram arrives in Philadelphia from Poland en route to San Francisco where he will be a congregation's new rabbi. An innocent and inexperienced t...

Kisses at Fifty
1973
as Policeman
A father leaves his grown-up family to move in with his lover in the south, alienating himself from his four children.

Another Sunday and Sweet F.A.
1972
as Parker Street Goalie
Mr. Armistead is the referee for an amateur league Sunday Football match. Disliked and abused by all the players he tries to play fair and ensure they...

Double Pisces, Scorpio Rising
1970
One of the human trio is Dick Fontaine, the director, a thin, long-haired youth who has put together this highly personal exercise on something or oth...
My Sister's Bones
N/A
as Ray
Kate Rafter is back to home after a horrific incident in war-torn Iraq and the death of her mother. While packing up her mother's belongings she comes...
Beneath
N/A
as Ray
Following the unexpected death of her mother, war correspondent Kate Rafter returns from Iraq to the family home in Herne Bay. She finds herself face ...