Actor who's been in Game of Thrones but you'll never know his name

Mark Lewis Jones is one of those actors whose name might not be on the tip of your tongue but you will recognise him instantly as he's constantly on your TV delivering powerful performances in some of your favourite dramas

Mark Lewis Jones may not be a household name, but his face is instantly recognizable from his powerful performances in some of your favorite TV dramas.

The Welsh actor's impressive resume includes roles in Netflix's The Crown, HBO's Chernobyl, the hit series Game of Thrones, and Scottish sensation Outlander. Currently, he can be seen on ITVX in the thriller Out There, a drama about county lines drug trafficking threatening a Welsh farming community. In it, Mark portrays Caleb, the feuding brother of Martin Clunes' character Nathan, with the pair finding themselves embroiled in a murder cover-up.

Despite his knack for playing intimidating characters like Iwan Bevan from Jack Thorne's drama The Accident and the gruff ex-criminal-turned-hero Steve Baldini in Welsh drama Keeping Faith, he also has a flair for comedy, as seen in Sky One's Stella.

He's equally adept at delivering emotional performances in dramas like BBC's Men Up, which tackles impotency, and more nuanced roles like Tom Christie in Outlander. His other notable roles include portraying Welsh lecturer and proud nationalist Dr Edward Millward in The Crown on Netflix, and Captain Canady - the shouty First Order officer who meets an explosive end - in 2017's Star Wars VIII.

Even if his name doesn't ring a bell, his versatility as an actor keeps him in high demand and makes him instantly recognizable, reports the Mirror.

However, it's not the big hits like Star Wars that have made him a household name. Instead, it's his roles as Steve Baldini in Keeping Faith and Rob Morgan in Stella that have turned this Bafta Award-winner into a selfie magnet, particularly among fans in his native Wales.

So, what is it about Steve Baldini and Rob Morgan from the comedy-drama co-created by Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones that has everyone hooked?

"The thing about him was he was from Pontyberry but he moved away. There's something exotic about him," Mark said of Rob Morgan in a previous interview with WalesOnline.

"He came back from Canada with loads of money and is a local boy made good and he's very generous. There were lots of boxes ticked there. Steve Baldini lives in a caravan, ex-criminal come good, always attractive!"

Mark added: "You never see yourself like other people see you. It' s bizarre. It's always interesting when you go to the rugby and the trains come in from the valleys, and they've all had a drink on the train and there's a lot of Dutch courage....and they love Rob Morgan. My youngest son, Jacob, who's 15 he's like 'shall I take the picture?' He's so used to it."

Born in the village of Rhosllannerchrugog, near Wrexham, Mark, now 60 and residing in Cardiff, began his acting career as a teenager with the Clwyd Youth Theatre and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

His stage career includes roles with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, but it's on television where he's truly made his mark. Early roles include appearances in series like The Bill, Casualty, Soldier Soldier, and A Mind To Kill.

In 2016, the father of four bagged a Bafta Cymru award for Best Actor in the 2015 film The Passing / Yr Ymadawiad.

Since then, he's graced many major productions, including Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Game of Thrones, and Outlander, joining the sixth series as Tom Christie. He also joined the cast of Netflix's smash hit The Crown, portraying notable Welsh lecturer and proud nationalist, Dr Edward Millward in the third series - a role which Mark thoroughly relished, especially when he had the chance to meet the man himself during filming.

The episode, Tywysog Cymru, sees a young Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor) sent to the picturesque yet gloomy Aberystwyth for a term at the university to learn Welsh. His tutor is a leading figure in the Welsh nationalist movement, which gained momentum in the 1960s, Dr Millward.

"It definitely needed to be true for me," Mark shared with WalesOnline after filming. "Anything that was touched upon in terms of the Welsh movement at the time and Tedi and the role he played in that, had to be correct, for me.

"But the story of the episode is about two men whose lives collide. They come from different worlds and it's how they are affected by meeting each other."

The actor Mark Lewis Jones opened up about his recent roles, saying: "Some of the characters I've been playing recently are either psychopathic or sociopathic. Tedi is neither of those, but what I did like about the character that was written about Tedi and I think it's true of the man himself, is that there was a gentleness about him but there was this inward steel where his beliefs were absolutely firm and the passion for the Welsh language was as strong in him as anyone.

"And as gentle as he was on the outside there was this inner steel. If that intimated Charles I think it was because of that."

He also shared the positive feedback from fans on his latest episode: "It's been massive. They love it and a lot of Welsh speaking people love it and I hope that continues. I know every intention to get it right was there."

Jones' new drama, Out There, has been making waves too, with fans and critics calling it "gripping", "hypnotic" and "a fabulous advertisement for the Welsh countryside". With the show available on ITVX, viewers can't seem to get enough of the highly adaptable Mark Lewis Jones.