His mother, Ellie, is an actress; during his early childhood, she worked with masks, puppets and live acting as a member of Cannon Hill Theatre at the Midlands Arts Centre, and toured the world.

His father, Nigel, played the Hammond organ for artists including Edwin Starr, Ruby Turner, Fine Young Cannibals, and UB40.

[3] He was a member from 1991 to 2000, and had an early job on CITV in 2000, presenting the continuity links between the shows; during this time he was billed as Tom Darvill.

[citation needed] At the age of 21, Darvill moved to London with four friends from youth theatre, each having secured a place at a drama school.

[3][5] Darvill made his professional stage debut playing condemned criminal Harrison in Edmund White's Terre Haute, which ran at the Assembly Rooms during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

[10] Later that year, he appeared in the Vaudeville Theatre's production of Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater, Helen Baxendale and Matt Smith (which gained him a London Newcomer Award nomination).

[14] Darvill had a minor role as a stable groom in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, and played Mick Gallagher in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (both 2010).

In the summer of 2011, he played Mephistopheles "an agent of the Devil in human form" in Doctor Faustus at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London,[3][5] a production which was subsequently issued as a DVD.

After his departure from Doctor Who he was cast in the drama Broadchurch as vicar Paul Coates, alongside David Tennant and Olivia Colman.

[24][25] In 2010, Darvill helped promote the solo album of Fyfe Dangerfield, playing with him on sessions for Graham Norton's show and on Xfm.

[26] He collaborated with playwright Sam Holcroft on a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox which premiered at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in November 2016.

[32] Alongside other British celebrities, Darvill designed and signed his own card for the UK-based charity Thomas Coram Foundation for Children.