Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1964. He moved to Newcastle with his family at the age of eight, and developed an interest in acting after attending the theatre as a youngster. He studied at the Old Vic and made his screen debut in the film The Theory of Flight (1998).
He got his big break in 2005 when he appeared as Legionary Titus Pullo in HBO's Rome. One of the two series leads, he played alongside Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus, Pullo's superior officer who initially despises Pullo for his uncouth ways. However, Vorenus eventually comes to appreciate Pullo's bravery, his indomitability in combat and his past-the-point-of-lunacy sense of friendship and loyalty, in short supply during the waning days of the Roman Republic. The double-act of McKidd and Stevenson helped make Rome a key (if often underappreciated) part of the HBO Golden Era.
Stevenson secured his reputation for playing honourable, warrior types by playing Dagonest, a Knight of the Round Table, in the film King Arthur (2004). His first lead role was in the Scottish horror movie Outpost (2008), followed up quickly by playing the role of Frank Castle aka The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone (2008). Stevenson sent up his tough guy persona in the comedy The Other Guys (2010).
In 2011 he debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Volstagg, one of the Warriors Three, in Thor. He reprised the role in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). He followed that up with roles in The Three Musketeers (2011) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), and all three films of the Divergent Trilogy (2014-16).
His other television credits include Isaak Sirko in nine episodes of Dexter (2012) and the major role of Edward Teach/Blackbeard in Starz's Black Sails, appearing in the last two seasons (2016-17). He voiced Gar Saxon in two episodes of Star Wars: Rebels in 2016 and 2017 (returning to the role in two episodes of The Clone Wars in 2020), and played Ferdinand I of Naples in two episodes of Medici (2019), as well as James IV of Scotland in The Spanish Princess (2020). He played Ohthere in the sixth season of Vikings in 2020 and Commander Jack Swinburne in the new version of Das Boot (2022).
Stevenson played the antagonist of the massive Indian smash hit movie RRR (2022). At the time of his passing he had completed shooting the film 1242: Gateway to the West and his role as Baylan Skol, a villain in Star Wars: Ahsoka, due to air in August this year.
The cause of Stevenson's passing has not been disclosed, only that he had been hospitalised whilst shooting the movie Cassino in Ischia. Stevenson played the lead in the film, starring as a disgraced action star looking to get his career back on track.
Stevenson was an accomplished actor, combining his impressive physicality with an everyman approachability and emotional vulnerability in his performances. His breakthrough in Rome may have led to slight typecasting as badass warriors and soldiers, but he always brought humanity and depth to his performances, no matter how slight (such as when being massively underused in the Marvel movies).
A charismatic performer, he will most certainly be missed.
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