Paul Anderson (born 12 February 1978^[1]) is an English film and television actor whose career took off after portraying Arthur Shelby Jr. in Peaky Blinders. This led his talents to be recognized worldwide and land him roles such as Mr. Anderson in the 2015 film The Revenant and Sebastian Moran in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. ^[2] Anderson has worked alongside multiple acclaimed leading actors, including Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Chris Hemsworth.

Anderson decided to pursue acting in the mid 2000s, after working for many years as a ticket scalper and aspiring musician, and enrolled at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He began his acting career by appearing in plays written by his friend Gregory Burke, who made his screen debut with the critically acclaimed 2014 film '71.^[3] Anderson's first leading role was in the 2009 British movie, The Firm.

Having appeared as the English military sharpshooter Sebastian Moran in the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Anderson's break followed in 2013, where he was cast as a main character in the BBC Two show Peaky Blinders as Arthur Shelby, a gangster in post First World War Birmingham. Since then, Anderson has appeared in many major films, including Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea and The Revenant, as well as Brimstone, which was released in 2016.

On 1 February 2024, Anderson made an appearance in a promo trailer for the upcoming undisputed heavyweight boxing match between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.^[4][5]

Anderson is from Kennington, South London.^[3] He dropped out of school around the age of 14 and started working as a ticket scalper to support his family. This created a gap in his education, but he would later go on to apply to drama school at Guildhall and Webber Douglas after being inspired by a friend. He got into both of the schools, but decided to enroll in Webber Douglas. He met Gregory Burke before he graduated and landed a role in one of his plays as Anderson’s first job. Anderson would later go on to star in Burke’s debut film '71.^[3] Anderson’s career was doing well for about ten years, allowing him the opportunity to work alongside stars such as Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham, and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, in 2024, Anderson’s career was damaged when he pleaded guilty to four counts of drug possession.^[6][7] Many of his fellow actors have offered him support, including Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham, and Leonardo DiCaprio. ^[8] Anderson is working on rebuilding his career and has starred in the 2026 historical drama miniseries The Gray House since the incident.^[8]

In January 2024, Anderson pleaded guilty to four counts of drug possession, including crack cocaine and amphetamine possession after being reported to police by a pub manager who testified he had smelled crack cocaine fumes immediately after witnessing Anderson exit a disabled toilet stall. After being apprehended with another man and a 17-month-old baby, a police search uncovered crack cocaine and amphetamines, as well as the prescription drugs diazepam and pregabalin. Following his guilty plea to all four counts of possession, Anderson was fined £1,345 (approx. $1,700 USD.) ^[6][7]

• Paul Anderson at IMDb
• Paul Anderson at Rotten Tomatoes

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