Kenny Boyle

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Kenny Boyle
Born
Coinneach Iain Boyle

(1984-05-13) 13 May 1984
Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland
Alma materRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland
OccupationsActor, playwright, novelist
Years active2010–present
Known forStar of Lost at Christmas (2020)
Notable workKnock of The Ban-Sìthe (BBC Radio 4 drama) An Isolated Incident (play), The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock (novel)

Coinneach Iain "Kenny" Boyle (born 13 May 1984) is a Scottish actor, playwright and novelist.

Education

Kenny Boyle was born in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis.[1] He grew up in Cromore.[2] He holds a Masters in Classical and Contemporary Text from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He also holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Theatre Studies from the University of Strathclyde.[3]

Actor

He was co-lead, alongside Natalie Clark, of Ryan Hendrick's multi-award winning film short Perfect Strangers (2015) and in Hendrick's feature length version Lost at Christmas (2020).[4] He appears as Detective Marvin Starke in BBC Scotland comedy sitcom Scot Squad (2022).[5] He plays An Dotair in BBC Alba drama An t-Eilean (2025).[6]

Playwright

His plays include Eerie Isles, Playthrough, and An Isolated Incident,[7] and, in 2021, he received a New Playwrights Award from the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland.[8] In 2021 he was longlisted in the Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards in their The Flourish Award, The New Writing Award, The Digital Award, and Artist of The Year categories.[9] His debut radio play Knock of The Ban-Sithe was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2022 and was BBC Sounds drama of the week. For writing "Knock of The Ban-Sithe," he was a finalist for BBC Audio Drama's 2023 Imison Award,[10] and shortlisted for the Celtic Media Festival’s award for Drama (Sound) on 17 March 2023[11]

Novelist

His debut novel The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock, about an aspiring writer from the Southside of Glasgow, was published by Lightning Books in May 2022.[12] Inspired by Peter Pan and written during the COVID-19 pandemic after Boyle was diagnosed with anxiety and depression,[13] he said 'The book is about not wanting to grow up into what society hopes for adults to be and having that conflict of interest between your younger self and the adult you’re growing up to be.'[14] After the story went viral, In February 2022 he found the primary school teacher who, twenty six years before, he had promised he would send his first book to when it was published.[15] In July 2023, the book was a finalist in the Book Bloggers' Novel of The Year Award.[16] In April 2026 it was announced that Boyle would be writing a trilogy of folk horror fiction books published by Hodder & Stoughton, with the first of this trilogy, Shadows Of The Burning Moor, to be released on the 1st of July 2027. [17]

Other

Owing to his work in bringing Scottish culture and folklore to a worldwide audience through his social media accounts, in 2025 he was named "Most Influential Scot, 2025" [18][19] On the 3rd of May 2026 he was named Scottish Influencer of The Year in the Arts and Culture category of the Scottish Influencer Awards. [20] On the 4th of May 2026, having raised more than £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support he was named the official race starter for the Edinburgh Marathon and Edinburgh Half Marathon.[21]

Private life

He is married to wife Claire.[22]

References

  1. "Lewis actor Kenny Boyle talks Scottish storytelling and TikTok fame". Press And Journal.
  2. "Is Kenny the first Cromore actor?". Stornoway Gazette.
  3. McMillan, Joyce (13 May 2021). "The Scotsman Sessions #236: Kenny Boyle". The Scotsman. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  4. "IMDb Lost At Christmas". IMDb.
  5. "IMDb Scot Squad". IMDb.
  6. "IMDb An t-Eilean". IMDb.
  7. "Outlander actor resorted to going under his duvet in bed to record new monologue". Paisley Daily Express. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  8. "Playwrights' Studio, Scotland | Playwrights". Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  9. "Framework Theatre Scottish Emerging theatre Awards".
  10. "BBC Audio Drama Awards 2023 finalists announcement".
  11. "Celtic Media Festival Awards 2023 shortlist announcement".
  12. Bayley, Sian. "Lightning Books scoops debut novel from Scottish playwright Boyle". thebookseller.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  13. "The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock: Kenny Boyle pens debut novel". 4 February 2022.
  14. "The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock: Kenny Boyle pens debut novel". 4 February 2022.
  15. "I found my teacher after 26 years to fulfil my promise".
  16. "The finalists of 2023 Book Bloggers' Novel of The Year Award". 14 August 2023.
  17. "Hodder Fiction wins three-way auction to Kenny Boyle's Scottish folklore horror". 16 April 2026.
  18. "Scottish actor Kenny Boyle revealed as TikToker of the year".
  19. "Scottish TikToker of the year revealed".
  20. "Scottish influencer awards 2026 nominees and winners".
  21. "Edinburgh Marathon Festival names Kenny Boyle Official Starter".
  22. "My life Kenny Boyle". The Press and Journal. Scotland. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2021.