Who plays Milo in Mayor of Kingstown? Actor’s career and notable projects explored

The series Mayor of Kingstown centers around the power struggle between the inmates and the prison system, accompanying the audience into the middle of the chaos with power, crime, and ethically ambiguous characters! Without a doubt, Milo Sunter is one of the most unpredictable characters who, in a way, turns out to be a very faintly drawn figure existing amidst the mayhem.

On the contrary, the Irish actor Aidan Gillen portrays the character of Milo in Mayor of Kingstown, and he is, in fact, very well known for revealing the subtle details of a character’s inner world in movies and series.

Milo is one of the characters who come and go, but are very much influencing the story; meanwhile, the audience is having a roller-coaster ride concerning the plot of the Mayor of Kingstown. It is not only the character with little screen time but also of great influence that the actor behind the character, already mentioned, is brilliant and worth analysing.

Aidan Gillen: Early life and background

Aidan Gillen, originally Aidan Murphy, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 24, 1968. He was already acting in Dublin Youth Theatre when he was very young. He later took the name "Gillen" as his stage name. The performances that he did in the early days helped him acquire the skill of controlled emotional delivery, which he was later known for.

A long time before joining Mayor of Kingstown, Gillen’s theatre foundation was contributing to the subtle intensity that characterizes many of the on-screen roles, thus the matter of his on-screen roles takes us to the very beginning of his career.

His transition from the stage to the screen was slow but sure, as he had his early small parts in both Irish and British productions.

Breakthrough roles before Mayor of Kingstown

The Wire (2004–2008)

The role of Tommy Carcetti ambitious, morally ambiguous politician in HBO's The Wire, marked Aidan Gillen's steps to the top of his profession.

In the show's political plot, Carcetti was a big player. While the power struggles characterized the story, it was through Gillen's acting that the character became more relatable.

Game of Thrones (2011–2017)

With his iconic role as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the very famous fantasy series Game of Thrones, Aidan Gillen became a household name across the world. Littlefinger is one of the central characters in the epic, known for his wit, emotional detachment and plotting, and for being ever so slightly threatening.

A good number of the audience also feel that the presence of Littlefinger and the manner in which Gillen handles Milo in Mayor of Kingstown are alike.

Major film roles and career versatility

Aidan Gillen has been a star in various films through the years, next to his television roles. He has several major credits to his name, some of which are:

The Dark Knight Rises (2012): playing a CIA operative, Bill Wilson.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018): he is the one who represents Queen’s manager, John Reid.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018): characterising the main villain, Janson.

Calvary (2014): Dr. Frank Harte

Blitz (2011): plays Barry Weiss with Jason Statham, who stars as DS Tom Brant

Gillen's versatility, demonstrated through these films, testifies to his ability to switch between supporting and villainous roles, which, in turn, strengthens his portrayal of Milo Sunter in Kingstown.

Aidan Gillen as Milo Sunter in Mayor of Kingstown

Milo Sunter comes into the picture of Kingstown as a ruthless gangster who is so smart, patient, and cool-headed that he seems more dangerous than someone physically dominating. Gillen's performance is deliberately low-key, which causes the tentativeness of the character to fly with the wind.

Milo does not raise his voice, and he is not conquering by means of overpowering physicality. The character’s reign in Kingstown is through devising, tricking and plotting for a long time, which Gillen is known to portray with great skill.

Even when there is no Milo in a shot, he still makes choices and exerts his power in such a way that the plot changes in the direction he intends.

Milo’s storyline status: Dead or alive?

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There is a very volatile prison riot situation, which is the mainstay of the story in Mayor of Kingstown, illustrating the way Milo sneaks out of the riot area by pretending to be a prison guard and leaving the prison facility unnoticed. This escape becomes the turning point for the evolution of this character.

Milo is not there in the Season 2 premiere, which, of course, creates the possibility of Aidan Gillen being off the show. Still, the plot has deliberately kept Milo’s position unclear, neither dead nor totally written off. This disappearance becomes a part of the dramatic tension, stressing that the very fact of Milo’s power still exists, though he is not physically present.

Aidan Gillen's career beyond the series

Gillen's voyage across a spectrum of styles: from political soap opera (The Wire), to fantasy-driven political series (Game of Thrones), to YA dystopian-thrillers, has been one of the main reasons for his success, to say the least. With his toes dipped in all kinds of genres through the years, his career is marked by both consistency and diversity, which are supported by significant experience in theatre and film acting for decades.

Aidan Gillen is among the principal actors in Mayor of Kingstown, a role in a big series on television lately, but his filmography is still not getting any shorter.

Aidan Gillen's character of Milo Sunter, is one of the most impressive characters within Mayor of Kingstown. The actor, with his acting of calm, intellect, and subtle threat, fits the series perfectly, highlighting Milo's power in his absence.

The whole tale of his flight from justice, to his nonappearance in some series episodes, and the uncertainty of his destiny all add up to the principle of mystery that very much attracts the audience to the Mayor of Kingstown.

Having this long career that encompasses everything from theatre to TV dramas and films, Gillen confesses he makes Milo a multifaceted character, and thus he enhances every second of his participation in Mayor of Kingstown, which makes both the character and the actor crucial for the overall impact of the show.