Actor profile
Career and selected work
Daniel Mays is an English actor whose selected screen credits span Mike Leigh films, contemporary crime drama and large-scale fantasy. All or Nothing and Vera Drake offer early film appearances; Rogue One places him within the Star Wars universe as Tivik. For television viewers, Danny Waldron in Line of Duty and Peter Jay in Des are especially recognisable roles. They also make a useful reminder that two characters with police jobs need not have the same function or personality.
In Good Omens, Mays plays Arthur Young, a different kind of role within another literary adaptation. If you are coming to his work through Magpie Murders, try comparing one of the films with one of the television dramas rather than selecting only programmes with detectives. Pay attention to how much the audience knows before a character speaks. Mystery television can make a familiar actor seem immediately significant, while a different genre asks the viewer to build expectations in another way.
Six roles to explore
- All or Nothing (2002) — Jason.
- Vera Drake (2004) — Sid.
- Line of Duty (2016) — Danny Waldron.
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — Tivik.
- Good Omens (2019) — Arthur Young.
- Des (2020) — DCI Peter Jay.
In the Susan Ryeland adaptations
Mays plays DS Locke in the contemporary investigation and DI Chubb in Pünd’s fictional world. Locke’s rank is Detective Superintendent; the familiar “DS” abbreviation here should not be expanded as Detective Sergeant. Chubb is Detective Inspector Chubb. The pairing lets the series compare Susan’s encounters with official policing against Pünd’s relationship with the local officer inside Conway’s novel. Keep the two names and periods separate when following interviews. A disagreement with Susan or Pünd is part of that character’s own investigation, not evidence that both policemen know the same things.
Where to watch and explore next
Explore the Susan Ryeland episodes. Check local streaming services for other roles before subscribing. Use the year and character to identify the right production.
The character links below lead into the story guides. Endings stay in closed sections. Open them when you are ready for spoilers. Watching for the first time? Follow the episodes in order. Rewatching? Compare the performances across the two worlds.
Characters played
Read or listen to the book
Magpie Murders (2016)
Anthony Horowitz’s novel behind the first television mystery.
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