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Biography

Since his professional debut at the Leeds Playhouse in 2004, Chris has shown charisma and versatility in many stage and screen productions. With both classical and contemporary roles to his name, he has developed a career as a reputable and assiduous actor working across a range of genres.

 

Chris began acting in the theatre, appearing in two short plays at the Leeds Playhouse as part of a new writers’ festival by BBC Northern Exposure. After studying for his degree in Performing Arts he continued working on stage in productions such as Ibsen's Hedda Gabler for which The Times’ journalist Ruth Gledhill wrote “Charismatic and commanding on the stage, he is an actor to watch and it is not difficult to imagine this boy becoming something of a star.” His performance as the titular character in Hamlet at The Rose Playhouse gained him more outstanding reviews, such as that of Southwark News which stated “Chris Clynes as Hamlet really sets the stage alight… I relished his every word and spark of malevolence in his eyes.” Going from strength to strength in coveted roles, he took on the lead role in Macbeth in Pleasure Dome Theatre Company’s debut production at tourist hotspot The Valley of the Rocks in North Devon.

 

Chris’s latest film Battle Over Britain which was recently released in UK cinemas, sees him take on the lead role of Lieutenant Laurence Stanhope who joins a squadron of Spitfire pilots during World War II. Notable short films include LGBT dramas Crossroads, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and saw him gain a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at Portsmouth International Film Festival and Eddie Elise, which premiered at the BFI Flare Festival and saw him star opposite Rebecca Root.

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Reviews
Chris Clynes‘ performance as Alex brings humour and tenderness to the stage
EVERYTHING THEATRE ON ENCLOSED SPACES (GOLDEN GOOSE THEATRE)

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The performance is tense, engaging and exciting – with Clynes and Kielty flipping the standard assumptions of domestic abuse and creating a unique storyline.
THE REVIEWS HUB ON ENCLOSED SPACES (GOLDEN GOOSE THEATRE)

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Clynes is a fantastic lead as the uncertain hero.
UK FILM REVIEW ON KILLER BIRD (23 HALF FILMS)

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Clynes is quite simply perfect to play Michael as the everyman he is, peer-pressured into an undertaking by his own friends (and because of shooting his mouth off), but then standing strong for what he chooses to do, even when things take an unexpected turn. Plus, the calm, yet still apprehensive, nature of Michael’s persona is very well emoted by Clynes.
ONEFILMFAN.COM ON KILLER BIRD (23 HALF FILMS)

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Chris Clynes ignites an intriguing character out of Hamlet [...] His soliloquies are finely exectued and his eyes are sharp [...] You're almost put under a spell, unable to predict what to expect from Clynes' exceptional performance.
THEATRE & PERFORMANCE ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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When Daniel Day-Lewis played Hamlet the language seemed to be in control, pulling him along. Here, Chris Clynes is firmly in charge of his role, capable of exercising chilling menance, as his intimate relationships with others, in particular with women, are explored and exposed.
LONDON THEATRE 1 ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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Chris Clynes makes an engaging and intense young Hamlet, capturing the troubled prince’s haunted demeanour and putting real emotion into his renowned speeches.
STAGE REVIEW ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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Chris Clynes is a convincing Hamlet, effectively portraying a man deeply suffering with grief and the crumbling of his previous secure world; his scenes of madness have genuinely unnerving moments
LAST MINUTE THEATRE TICKETS ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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Fortunately, Chris Clynes is the leading man and delivers a commanding performance of the Prince of Denmark. Mr Clynes manages to convey the various stages of Hamlet’s emotional state throughout the course of the play and embody a young man tormented by the murder of his father. In my personal opinion, the scene where Hamlet appears at Ophelia’s funeral was an absolute standout and Mr Clynes delivered some of his best work.
ROAMING REQUIRED ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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Chris Clynes takes us on an impressive whistlestop tour of the young prince’s emotions: grieving, amused, pensive, playful, afraid, angry… and under it all is a childlike vulnerability and a taut energy that make for a fascinating combination. The scene in which he recreates the murder of his father with puppets is particularly haunting.
MY THEATRE MATES ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)

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Chris Clynes as Hamlet really sets the stage alight when he begins his "To be or not to be..." soliloquy. Finding his own Hamlet must have been a challenge with such an iconic role but I relished his every word and spark of malevolence in his eyes.
SOUTHWARK NEWS ON HAMLET (ROSE PLAYHOUSE)


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...as he argues to his fresh-faced, foppishly naïve communications officer, James Stanton (played by a suitably irritating Chris Clynes)...
TIME OUT ON WAREHOUSE OF DREAMS (THE LION & UNICORN THEATRE, 2014)

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Chris Clynes’s Stanton is appropriately full of idealistic innocence
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE ON WAREHOUSE OF DREAMS (THE LION & UNICORN THEATRE, 2014)


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Chris Clynes [...] is wonderfully cast in this dream of a part. Charismatic and commanding on the stage, he is an actor to watch and it is not difficult to imagine this boy becoming something of a star.
RUTH GLEDHILL FOR LONDON THEATRE 1 ON HEDDA GABLER (ETCETERA THEATRE, 2014)


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Particularly notable is Chris Clynes's disturbing Joshua in Act One who shuffles his way around the stage with eyes that boast a frightening complexity, contrasting frighteningly well with his loving and open Martin in Act Two.
STAGEWON ON CLOUD NINE (YE OLDE ROSE & CROWN THEATRE, 2012)
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Contact
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sheri@arkmanagement.co.uk

020 3757 6384

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