Lorcan Cranitch

Lorcan Cranitch (born 28 August 1959) is an Irish actor.

Born in Dublin, Lorcan Cranitch became involved in drama while a student, and in 1980, he moved to London where he trained at RADA. His first major role on British television was as Tim Healy in the 1991 BBC drama series, Parnell and the Englishwoman. It was as the troubled DS Jimmy Beck in Cracker (1993-1995) that he became a familiar face to viewers. When he informed the producers of his intention to leave the show following the second season, his character was killed off in a spectacular suicide scene in October 1995.

Following Cracker, he returned to the BBC in a part specially written for him, as Sean Dillon in Ballykissangel. In 2001, he starred in the short-lived drama series McCready and Daughter, taking on a role originally intended for his former Ballykissangel co-star, Tony Doyle, who died shortly before the series was due to be filmed. He appeared in several other British television dramas, including Deacon Brodie (with Billy Connolly), Shackleton (as Frank Wild) with Kenneth Branagh, Omagh, Hornblower (with Ioan Gruffudd), The Street, Waking the Dead, Spooks, Silent Witness and New Tricks. In 2005, he took a villainous role in the HBO/BBC production of Rome, as the underworld baron Erastes Fulmen. In the 2009 BBC drama Best: His Mother's Son, he played Dickie Best, the father of footballer George Best.