Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor, best known for his role as Michael Cutter on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Roache was born in Manchester, the son of Coronation Street actor William Roache and actress Anna Cropper. Roache was educated at Bishop Luffa Church of England School in Chichester, West Sussex and at the independent Rydal School in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. He studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He married Rosalind Bennett in Malvern, Worcestershire in 2002. In 1975, Roache appeared in Coronation Street playing Peter Barlow, the son of his father's character Ken Barlow. Roache is also a past member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Beginning in the 1990s, Roache began a career in film while remaining active in television and stage. In 1994, he appeared as Fr Greg Pilkington in Antonia Bird's Priest. He is best known to US audiences as Dr. Thomas Wayne, father of Batman, in Batman Begins (2005), or as Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter in the American TV series Law & Order (2008–2010) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011–present).