Biography

Actor/Writer/Director

Ian was born and raised on a farm in North Wales, destined to follow in the family footsteps. However - inspired by a wonderful drama teacher at his secondary school, Ian joined the school drama club before becoming a founding member of the Flintshire Youth Theatre. At 19 he left for London to study acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. To make ends meet whilst at collage Ian performed a comedy show in London's Covent Garden. After graduating he spent much of the 80's working in repertory theatres throughout the country. It was at this time that Ian, having honed his comedy skills on the streets of London, became involved in the fast emerging alternative comedy circuit in London (Ian was the first ever comedian to be reviewed by the 'City Limits', a London arts and events magazine). He played most of the clubs, including the famous Comedy Store, with his own special brand of kooky, visual (and spoken!) bizarre comedy.

His most recent TV appearances include the serial killer in Netflix original, Marcella and the chilling Frank in Sky Atlantic's high-profile drama Tin Star, filmed in Canada alongside Hollywood luminaries Tim Roth and Christina Hendricks. Tin Star confirmed Ian's professional standing in Canada and USA. His current role is also a trans-Atlantic production. He plays Mr Pennyworth Snr in the new Warner Horizon television series Pennyworth. Set in 1960s London and filming at the Warner Bros studios in Leavesden , Pennyworth explores the early life of Batman's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

Charity work plays a huge role in Ian's life and he has been frequently asked to front campaigns and participate in many charity events. He is Patron of: The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, The Hospice of the Good Shepherd, Sean's Place and OCD-UK, Like most in the acting profession, Ian has enjoyed exciting highs and devastating lows - with the lows often caused by his well-documented struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is through Ian's own personal experiences of this debilitating mental illness that led him to become Patron of the charity OCD-UK . Ian has spoken at length about his OCD at conferences and to the media. In 2017 he presented and narrated a 30-minute documentary about OCD for BBC Wales called OCD - An Actor's Tale. In 2005, he drew on his own experiences of dealing with OCD to co-write the drama Dirty, Filthy, Love with prolific dramatist, and Oscar nominated writer, Jeff Pope. Ian's and Jeff's work on Dirty Filthy Love was recognised by a Royal Television Society Award and a Broadcast Award for Best Single Drama. They were also nominated for the BAFTA Award in the same category. The film also received the Silver Award at the New York Film and TV Festival, together with a nomination, again for best single drama , at Prix Italia in Milan. Perhaps most importantly, Dirty Filthy Love was recognised with a nomination by The Mental Health in Media Awards

Sundance subsequently secured the rights to the film and streamed it on the Sundance Channel to rave reviews.

In recent years, Ian has turned his talents to directing. He directed his first television drama, Time Out for the BBC. This was a stand alone drama, which was part of the award winning series called Moving On made by Colin McKeown's LA Productions and exec produced by multi award winning writer Jimmy McGovern. Following that he directed his first feature film: Bolan's Shoes, starring Timothy Spall, Leanne Best and Mark Lewis-Jones. Bolan's Shoes won Best Feature at The National Film Awards, the Audience Award at The Manchester Film Festival, Best film at the Poppy Jasper Film Festival, California and was nominated for best film at Bafta Cymru.

Ian's work was recognised two years ago by an honorary doctorate for services to Mental Health and the Arts by the University of Chester in the prestigious setting of Chester Cathedral.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ian Puleston-Davies

Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder so was able to draw on his own experience when writing Dirty Filthy Love (2004) in which the two main characters suffer from this disorder.

Ian is patron of OCD UK, The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax. In 2018, Ian was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from The University of Chester for his services to the arts and his work with mental health charities.

Graduated from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.