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House of Guinness star's rare childhood disease meant he 'couldn't walk' for years


The star of Derry Girls and Netflix's new period drama, House of Guinness, has opened up about his experience of Perthes disease – find out more


Anthony Boyle shoulders up in red shirt and black blazer© Getty
Katie Daly
Katie DalyLifestyle Writer
2 days ago
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House of Guinness star Anthony Boyle has starred in some of the most popular historical dramas in recent years, from Derry Girls to Masters of the Air, but the star didn't find his flair for acting in the easiest of circumstances. Opening up to Backstage in 2024, the actor, who plays Arthur Guinness in the new show set in 19th-century Ireland and New York, revealed he suffered from Perthes disease, a condition that causes the hip bone to stop growing due to a disruption to blood flow, as a child. "It meant I couldn’t walk for a number of years, and I couldn't play sports like the rest of my family," he recalled. 

"So I spent a lot of time observing people. I'd watch their physicality and how they behaved around others." He said that this time away from the outside world lit a fire inside him. "I spent so much time not being able to be involved that when I could walk again and join in, I became the first to volunteer for anything. Since then, I've never been a wallflower," Anthony, 31, added.

man and woman sitting at dinner table© Ben Blackall/Netflix
Anthony Boyle has previously spoken about his childhood health condition

A difficult childhood

Aside from Anthony's health battle, the Northern Irish actor also experienced a battle at school, getting expelled at 16 and sent to an all-girls school in Belfast. "I had behavioural problems and would do crazy [expletive]; maybe it was something to do with being frustrated by my dyslexia, which I didn't know I had until later," he revealed. "I've never really liked authority, so I didn't respond to that in a positive way."

Anthony Boyle posed in navy shirt and blazer© Dave Benett/WireImage
Anthony Boyle attends the "House Of Guinness" London Premiere at Picturehouse Central

However, this school introduced the Manhunt star to drama, which opened the door to his future. From here, he went on to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama before landing professional roles, including as the original Scorpius Malfoy in the West End and Broadway productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Recommended videoYou may also likeWATCH: The trailer for House of Guinness
Anthony Boyle, Sam Clemmett, J.K. Rowling, Poppy Miller and Jack Thorne on stage© Getty
Anthony Boyle won an Olivier Award for his role in Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

Historical roles

man wearing red cloak© ITV
Anthony Boyle played Barak in Shardlake

He made his film debut in 2019's Tolkien as Geoffrey Bache Smith, though his TV debut came earlier, in 2014 as Bolton Guard in Game of Thrones alongside Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Historical roles have clearly long interested Anthony as he has played John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated American president Abraham Lincoln in Manhunt, IRA activist Brendan Hughes in 2024's Say Nothing, and John "Jack" Barak in Shardlake set in Henry VIII's England.

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