There’s no doubt that Sarah Lancashire and James Norton are the standout stars of Happy Valley, but its cast of supporting actors isn’t too shabby either.
For some, like not-so-little Rhys Connah, the BAFTA-winning show was their break-out role, but others are more recognisable. And if you’ve been wondering where you’ve seen gangster Darius Knezevic before, here's everything you need to know...
Who plays Darius Knezevic in Happy Valley?
Head of the crime family that has menaced the inhabitants of Hebden Bridge with their nefarious scheming. Darius Knezevic is played by 38-year-old Romanian actor Alex Secareanu.
What else has Alec Secareanu been in?
Happy Valley isn’t the first time actor Alec has found himself on the Yorkshire moors. In 2017 he starred in the critically-acclaimed God’s Own Country, named after the northern county’s nickname, where he played a Romanian farm hand who came to England to work on a family-run sheep farm for lambing season and embarked on a secret sexual relationship with the family’s son, Johnny (played by The Crown’s Josh O’Connor).
He's also starred in a number of films from his native Romania, 2020 horror film Amulet starring Imelda Staunton and Spanish language film Caníbal in 2013. He’s also no stranger to a police drama, starring in five episodes of the BBC’s Baptiste in 2019 playing another baddie, Constantine.
And while he’s most often cast as the rugged outsider thanks to his smouldering eyes and impressive facial fuzz, he appeared clean shaven in last year’s HBO workplace drama Ruxx (think Succession, but based in Budapest), where he played Andrei, a shrewd and sexy PR expert helping out lead protagonist Ruxandra Rusu.
Alec Secareanu Instagram
You can find Alec on the ‘gram at @alecsecareanu, but annoyingly he doesn’t appear to be too active on the site, with not one single grid post for Happy Valley despite it being hands down the biggest thing on telly this year (so far, obviously).