Robert Carlyle was raised in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland, by his father Joseph, after his mother left him when he was only four. At the age of 21, after reading Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", he enrolled in acting classes at the Glasgow Arts Centre. In 1991, together with four other actors, he founded the Raindog theatre company (named after Tom Waits' album "Rain Dog", one of Carlyle's favorites), a company dedicated to innovative work.


He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1999 New Years Honours List for his services to drama. Ranked seventh in the 2001 Orange Film Survey of greatest British actors. Owns the Rain Dog Theatre Company, named after the album "Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits. Son Harvey born March 2004. His father, Joe, died at age 76 on January 7, 2006, and was buried in Maryhill, Glasgow, on January 14th. Trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and formed his own theatre company, Rain Dog, in 1991. At age 17 he once worked as a butcher.