Mike Noble was born in Walton in 1988 and him and fellow actor and James Nelson-Joyce grew up together with both former students of Archbishop Beck High School and Liverpool City College's Arts Centre. Mike, the former Liverpool Community College student and Playhouse Youth Theatre member, has barely been out of work since graduating from drama school in 2010 and has been around the Liverpool theatre scene since he was born. It is a surprise then to find out he has never appeared on stage in the city professionally until he was among the cast of 'Corrina, Corrina', writer Chloe Moss’s powerful shipboard thriller which received its world premiere at the Liverpool Everyman. It was a long-awaited Liverpool debut for the stage and screen actor, who started his career in the Playhouse Youth Theatre more than two decades ago but whose association with one of the forerunners of YEP goes back much further. Mike says, "My mum (actor and artistic director Margaret Connell) went to the Playhouse Youth Theatre when she was about 32 and I was a baby. They used to have an 18+ or 21+ group, or whatever it was, and so I was in the youth theatre in a pram, getting passed around and watching rehearsals. Then I joined the youth theatre myself when I got to 10 or 11. It was run by Morag Murchison and we'd meet at the Annexe next door to the Everyman, that was where we did our Saturday morning rehearsals. It was lovely, I’m so grateful for my experience. I wouldn't have been an actor if I hadn’t done it."
He started off in TV in 2012, appearing in 'Prisoners Wives', 'Private Peaceful' and 'Gambit' and then in 2013 he was the new kid on the block in Mark Haddon’s text as he took over the lead role of Christopher Boone, an awkward but brilliant 15 year old boy, in the production adapted from Mark's bestseller by playwright Simon Stephens, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'. It took the West End by storm after it transferred to the Apollo Theatre in March 2013. Not only did the show win a record equally 7 Laurence Olivier Awards, including the Award for Best New Play, it also received rave critical reviews. It was the third of Stephens' plays Mike had appeared in, following 'Punk Rock' at the Lyric Hammersmith, and 'Port' at the National Theatre earlier that year. He alternated stage roles with an impressive cinematic CV which included Brad Pitt’s 'World War Z' (2014), Ken Branagh's 'Jack Ryan' (2014), and two new British indie flicks 'Kill Command' (2016) and 'Bachelor Games' (2016), the latter involving eight weeks’ filming in Argentina.
He started off in TV in 2012, appearing in 'Prisoners Wives', 'Private Peaceful' and 'Gambit' and then in 2013 he was the new kid on the block in Mark Haddon’s text as he took over the lead role of Christopher Boone, an awkward but brilliant 15 year old boy, in the production adapted from Mark's bestseller by playwright Simon Stephens, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'. It took the West End by storm after it transferred to the Apollo Theatre in March 2013. Not only did the show win a record equally 7 Laurence Olivier Awards, including the Award for Best New Play, it also received rave critical reviews. It was the third of Stephens' plays Mike had appeared in, following 'Punk Rock' at the Lyric Hammersmith, and 'Port' at the National Theatre earlier that year. He alternated stage roles with an impressive cinematic CV which included Brad Pitt’s 'World War Z' (2014), Ken Branagh's 'Jack Ryan' (2014), and two new British indie flicks 'Kill Command' (2016) and 'Bachelor Games' (2016), the latter involving eight weeks’ filming in Argentina.
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| This City Is Ours |
Playing Val in 3 episodes of 'Granchester' (2014) and then the voice of Miklev in the Podcast 'Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures' (2014) was to prove the start of a more productive period on TV with the year getting off to a good start as he played Private Silas Wren in 3 episodes of 'Selfridge' (2015) and then in the period drama 'Home Fires' (2015-16), playing Spencer Wilson in 15 episodes. More work followed in 2017 in 'The Light' and 'Dark River' in 2017 combining with appearing in various acclaimed plays across London's theatres including the 'Road' at the Royal Court and Mike Bartlett’s 'Game' at the Almeida with Mike now based in the capital. His other theatre work included 'Reasons to Stay Alive' (Sheffield Crucible/ETT); 'Cougar' (Orange Tree); 'The Almighty Sometimes' (Royal Exchange); 'Bad Roads' (Royal Court) and 'Mudlarks' (Hightide Festival/Bush Theatre) and even a 'Scouse' 'Macbeth' at Prescot's Shakespeare North Playhouse in 2023.
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| Mike starring as the titular Scottish general 'Macbeth' |
Two episodes in the TV series 'The Capture' (2019) were followed by a return to Liverpool for a screen role, filming Jack Thorne’s raw Covid drama 'Help' (2021) during the middle of lockdown. Rehearsals were at LMA opposite the Hope Street Hotel where he was joined by a host of fellow Liverpudlians including Jodie Comer, Stephen Graham, Ian Hart, Cathy Tyson and Sue Johnston. 'Trigger Point' (2022) and 'Falling Into Place' (2023) were followed by his long-awaited Liverpool debut in ''Corrina, Corrina' and then the historical mystery series 'Shardlake' (2024). He was then back together with his long time friend, James Nelson-Joyce in the much acclaimed British crime drama television series set in Liverpool. 'This City Is Ours' (2025), playing Banksey, Michael's right-hand man and enforcer. Not bad for a Liverpool lad who opted for GCSE drama because he thought it would be easy.
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