He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in Ripper Street, Angus O'Connor in Happiness, Lord Lovat in Outlander, and Brynden Tully in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

After further honing his skills in various British TV productions and a handful of films – including Jute City, The Power of One, The Hawk and Seconds Out – Russell received exposure before international audiences as Caleb Garth in the celebrated BBC miniseries Middlemarch, based on the George Eliot novel of the same name.

Standing 6' 6", Russell is a familiar and unforgettable face on British television and has appeared in numerous television series including Boys from the Blackstuff,[2] Hope and Glory, Neverwhere, Great Expectations,[3] The Mists of Avalon, Heartburn Hotel,[4] Roughnecks, Monarch of the Glen, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead,[citation needed] Silent Witness, Rockface, and Spaced.

He has appeared as Jock in the third series of the BBC's Jam and Jerusalem, as "Bayard, King of Mercia" in Merlin and in Hotel Babylon as an artist forced to fake his own death when he is in debt.

[5][6][7] In 2016, he joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Billy, brother of established character Jack Osborne[8] In January 2017 he had a small role in the BBC Three comedy "Uncle", portraying Sam and Andy's father and later in the year appeared in Doc Martin.

Russell also appeared in Robin Hardy's The Wicker Tree which was released in the first quarter of 2012, playing the character of Beame alongside the Hobbit star Graham McTavish.