You probably know him as the guy with the 197 IQ. For four years, Elyes Gabel lived in our living rooms as Walter O'Brien, the socially awkward but brilliant leader of Scorpion. He had this way of making "hyper-intelligence" look exhausting. But if you think his career started and ended with a CBS procedural, you’re missing about 80% of the story.
Elyes Gabel has been around. Like, really around. From the muddy plains of Essos to the sterile hallways of a British A&E department, his filmography is a weird, winding road. He’s one of those actors who pops up in a massive blockbuster, and you find yourself pointing at the screen saying, "Wait, is that the Scorpion guy?"
Honestly, he’s a bit of a chameleon. He’s played a Dothraki bloodrider, a doomed virologist, and even a zombie. Let’s actually look at the elyes gabel movies and tv shows that built the career of one of the most underrated British exports in Hollywood.
The Early Days: From Casualty to the Dothraki Sea
Before he was a household name in the States, Gabel was a staple of British television. He actually dropped out of drama school to take a role in a kids' show called I Love Mummy. Bold move. It paid off, though, because he soon landed the role of Guppy Sandhu in the long-running medical drama Casualty.
He was there for three years. 127 episodes. That’s a lot of fake blood and hospital beeps.
But then came the big one. The one most people forget because he looked so different.
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In Game of Thrones, Gabel played Rakharo, one of Daenerys Targaryen’s loyal bloodriders. He was there in Season 1 and 2, protecting the Mother of Dragons before the show became a global behemoth. You remember when Dany sends three riders out into the Red Waste? Rakharo was the one whose horse came back with his head in a saddlebag. Rough way to go, but being part of the Thrones legacy is a badge of honor.
The Big Screen: World War Z and Beyond
If you blink, you might miss him in some of the world's biggest movies. But he’s there.
Take World War Z, for instance. Gabel plays Andrew Fassbach, the young, nervous virologist who is supposed to save the world alongside Brad Pitt. He has this incredibly intense scene on a plane where he explains the "nature of a virus." It’s a great monologue. And then... well, he slips on the cargo ramp and accidentally shoots himself. It’s one of the most shocking—and slightly dark-humored—moments in the movie.
He didn't stop there. Gabel has a knack for getting into high-pedigree rooms:
- Interstellar: He’s an "Administrator" in Christopher Nolan’s space epic.
- A Most Violent Year: He played Julian, a truck driver caught in the middle of a high-stakes crime drama starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.
- Spooks: The Greater Good: He took a villainous turn as Adem Qasim, proving he could do "menacing" just as well as "genius."
Why Scorpion Changed Everything
Let’s be real: Scorpion is why we’re talking about him.
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The show was loosely (very loosely) based on the life of a real-life IT specialist. For 93 episodes, Gabel carried that show. He had to balance being a "genius who can’t relate to humans" with being a leading man people actually wanted to root for. His chemistry with Katharine McPhee was the engine of the series.
When the show was canceled in 2018, it left a huge hole for fans. It was one of those "comfort food" procedurals that worked because the cast felt like a real, messy family. Gabel’s performance was the anchor. He made the techno-babble sound real, which is no small feat when you're explaining how to hack a satellite with a paperclip.
Recent Projects and What’s Next
Since Scorpion ended, Gabel hasn't just been sitting around. He’s been selective.
In 2022, he starred in the Apple TV+ thriller Suspicion alongside Uma Thurman. He played Sean Tilson, a man accused of kidnapping the son of a high-profile American businesswoman. It was a return to his gritty, British thriller roots.
But here’s the cool part: he’s also moving behind the camera. He’s been writing, directing, and producing short films like Grimshaw and Game Show Hurt. He even started his own production company, Roughened Verse.
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And for the voice-acting fans? He voiced Star Boy in Justice League vs. the Fatal Five. It turns out he has the perfect voice for a superhero dealing with a mental health crisis. Who knew?
Recent and Notable Credits
- FBI (2024): He recently popped up as Hassan Billal in an episode titled "Creating a Monster."
- Game Show Hurt (2024): A project he wore all the hats for—writer, director, and actor.
- The Night Manager (2025/2026): Rumors and casting news have circled him for various prestige British dramas as he continues to split his time between LA and London.
The Versatility of Elyes Gabel
What’s interesting about Gabel is that he doesn’t have a "type." He can be the doctor, the soldier, the genius, or the criminal. Honestly, that’s probably why he’s stayed employed for over 20 years. He doesn't bring "Elyes Gabel" to the role; he disappears into it.
If you're looking to binge his work, start with Scorpion for the fun, but definitely track down A Most Violent Year or his episodes of The Borgias to see his range. He’s more than just a guy with a high IQ on a TV screen.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Watch the Shorts: Check out Gabel's directorial work on film festival circuits or his production company’s updates. It gives you a much better sense of his personal creative voice than a network TV show does.
- Follow the Music: Gabel is a talented musician (fronting El & The Broken Bones). His "Lacuna (Live)" sessions on YouTube are worth a watch if you want to see his soul-folk side.
- Stream "Suspicion": If you liked him in Scorpion but want something darker, this is the best modern entry point into his work.
The career of Elyes Gabel is a masterclass in the "working actor" journey—starting small, hitting the big time, and then using that leverage to tell the stories he actually cares about.