I had to escape the destruction of my father's bankruptcy and all that difficulty.

He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the United Kingdom in 1983. He reportedly holds dual British/Irish citizenship. In 2012 Coyle played the character of Terry Starling in Sky comedy series Starlings.

He has garnered a wider audience on television most recently as John Bates the valet in Downton Abbey. This role earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Brendan Coyle is a British actor.