Paul McGann
Paul McGann | |
---|---|
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1982–present |
Known for | Eighth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who |
Spouse |
Annie Milner (m. 1992) |
Children | |
Relatives |
|
Paul John McGann (/məˈɡæn/ mə-GAN;[1] born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial The Monocled Mutineer (1986), then starred in the dark comedy Withnail and I (1987), which was a critical success and developed a cult following. McGann later became more widely known for portraying the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the 1996 television film Doctor Who. He is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the TV series Hornblower (1998–2003).
Early life
Paul John McGann was born in
McGann attended
Career
Early work and breakthrough
McGann's breakthrough role was in Give Us a Break, devised by Geoff McQueen, McGann played a good snooker player who got into scrapes with Robert Lindsay, who played his wideboy manager. The series was a comedy drama in the vein of the popular ITV series of the time, Minder. The series only lasted for one season and it was concluded by a one-off special. His first major dramatic role was the British World War I deserter and criminal Percy Toplis in the 1986 BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer. The film was based on the 1978 book of the same name, written by William Alison and John Fairley.[10]
The serial garnered controversy from British right-wing media,
Since 1989, McGann has concentrated primarily on television work, including Nice Town and Nature Boy for the BBC, and The One That Got Away and the second series of Hornblower for ITV. However, he has had small roles in a number of high-profile American films like The Three Musketeers and Alien 3. His role in Alien 3 was originally larger, but much of it was edited out of the final print. The cut footage can be seen in the extended version of the film.[citation needed]
In 1992, he was cast as
Doctor Who
McGann played the
The Doctor Who television film was a joint venture between the BBC,
McGann gave permission for his likeness to be used on the covers of the BBC's Eighth Doctor novel and he has reprised the role of the Eighth Doctor in an extensive series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions. A number of these plays have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 7 (later BBC Radio 4 Extra).
After months of speculation, on 14 November 2013 (coincidentally McGann's birthday), as part of the show's 50th Anniversary celebrations, McGann finally reprised his role as the Eighth Doctor, in the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor". In this appearance his incarnation of the Doctor finally regenerates, 17 years after his first television appearance, into a previously unknown Doctor played by John Hurt. Additionally, McGann briefly appeared in the anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.[16]
He made his first appearance on the main television series in a cameo in the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor", alongside other past Doctors.[17][18] He also featured in the documentary film Doctor Who Am I, supporting TV movie director Matthew Jacobs' embrace of the Doctor Who fandom and its conventions.[19]
Later career
In the years following his appearance as the Doctor, McGann continued to diversify his acting portfolio with the television and film roles he accepted. In 1997 he appeared as a concerned father in the film FairyTale: A True Story and later that same year as Rob in Downtime, then in 1998 he appeared as Capt. Greville in The Dance of Shiva.
In the 2000s McGann's film appearances began to increase with films like
He also gained acclaim for his portrayal of William Bush in the final four instalments of the
In 2006, he appeared in the television drama Tripping Over. In 2007, McGann starred alongside Dervla Kirwan, Lorraine Ashbourne and David Bradley in BBC One drama True Dare Kiss, written by Debbie Horsfield. In 2010, McGann played a major role in a feature-length episode of long-running BBC mystery series Jonathan Creek, as well as appearing as a regular in the crime drama Luther. In 2011, McGann played a major role as an Assistant Commissioner with something to hide in the final episode of Waking the Dead and also featured in Simon Gray's Butley alongside Dominic West at the Duchess Theatre in London.[20][21]
In 2017, McGann joined the cast of the long-running BBC series Holby City, playing neurosurgeon John Gaskell. In 2021, he hosted the British Podcast Awards Gold-winning Noiser podcast production Real Dictators, a history show about the up to date facts on dictators of the past.
Audio books and voice work
McGann is also known for audiobook narration having read several Pat Barker and Bernard Cornwell novels. He narrated the abridged audiobook of Jeff Noon's 1993 cyberpunk classic Vurt.
McGann continues to play the Eighth Doctor on audio. McGann's first Big Finish audio play appearance was in 2001 in the story
Five Eighth Doctor dramas were broadcast in
His voice featured in the 1997 video game Ceremony of Innocence, together with those of Isabella Rossellini and Ben Kingsley.
After hearing him sing in
McGann portrayed Ambassador Durian in The Minister of Chance, a fantasy audio drama released in six parts from 2011 to 2013. The series is a spin-off of the Doctor Who audio drama Death Comes to Time, but has no official connection to the franchise. In February 2014, a crowdfunded short film based on the first instalment of The Minister of Chance was released to those who had helped fund it.[22]
McGann portrays antagonist Noah Shackleton in the audio drama adaptation of The Phoenix Files. The Australian production is the largest audio drama ever produced in Australia with a cast of 42 actors. McGann appears in all three instalments of the science-fiction dystopian thriller series.[23]
McGann has done audio narration for BBC documentaries, including the 2014 BBC Scotland production, Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting.[24]
McGann is chief narrator in the popular A short history of… podcast series, which explores various historical topics in easily accessible episodes.
Personal life
McGann is married to Annie McGann. They have two sons: music producer Joseph and voice actor Jake.
Acting credits
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Withnail and I | "I" | |
Empire of the Sun | Lt. Price | ||
1989 | Tree of Hands | Barry | |
Streets of Yesterday | Yosef Raz | ||
The Rainbow | Anton Skrebensky | ||
Dealers | Daniel Pascoe | ||
1990 | The Monk | Father Lorenzo Rojas | |
Paper Mask | Matthew Harris | ||
1991 | Afraid of the Dark | Tony Dalton | |
1992 | Alien 3 | Golic | |
1993 | The Three Musketeers | Girard / Jussac | |
1995 | Catherine the Great | Grigory Potyomkin |
|
1997 | FairyTale: A True Story | Arthur Wright | |
Downtime | Rob | ||
1998 | The Dance of Shiva | Capt. Greville | Short film |
2001 | My Kingdom | Dean | |
2002 | Queen of the Damned |
David Talbot |
|
2003 | Listening |
The Man | Short film |
Otherworld | King Matholwch | Voice role | |
2005 | Gypo | Paul | |
2006 | Poppies | Tony Hudson | |
2007 | Always Crashing in the Same Car | Bill Mackinnon | Short film |
Voice from Afar | Actor | ||
2009 | Lesbian Vampire Killers | Vicar | |
2010 | Godard & Others | Torrence | |
2011 | Moving Target | Mr. Johnson | |
2012 | Notes from the Underground | Photographer | |
2013 | Art Is... | Lulu's Dad | |
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road | James Craven | Short film | |
2014 | The Minister of Chance | Ambassador Durian | |
2015 | Absence | Man | |
2016 | Brakes | Peter | |
Letters from Baghdad | Henry Cadogan | Voice role | |
2017 | B&B | Josh | |
Perplexed Music | Man | Short film | |
2021 | Swallow Your Dreams | James | |
2023 | The Undertaker | Arthur Morel |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Gaskin | Graham Gaskin | TV film |
1983–1984 | Give Us a Break | Mo Morris | 8 episodes |
1986 | The Importance of Being Earnest | John Worthing |
TV film |
The Monocled Mutineer | Percy Toplis | 4 episodes | |
1990 | Screen Two | Colin | Episode: "Drowning in the Shallow End" |
1992 | Nice Town | Joe Thompson | 3 episodes |
1995 | Catherine the Great | Grigory Potyomkin
|
TV film |
The Hanging Gale | Liam Phelan | 4 episodes | |
1996 | Doctor Who | Eighth Doctor | TV film |
The One That Got Away | Chris Ryan | ||
The Merchant of Venice | Bassanio | ||
1998 | Our Mutual Friend | Eugene Wrayburn | 4 episodes |
1999 | Forgotten | Ben Turner | 3 episodes |
2000 | Nature Boy | Steve Witton | 4 episodes |
Fish | Jonathan Vishnevski | 6 episodes | |
2001 | Hotel! | Ben Carter | TV film |
Sweet Revenge | Patrick Vine | 2 episodes | |
2002 | Blood Strangers | DC David Ingram | 2 episodes |
The Biographer | Andrew Morton | TV film | |
2001–2003 | Hornblower | Lieutenant Bush | 4 episodes |
2003 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Dr. Peter Lord | Episode: "Sad Cypress" |
2004 | Lie With Me | Gerry Henson | 2 episodes |
2005 | Kidnapped | Colonel MacNab | 2 episodes |
2005 | Fables of Forgotten Things | Clarence | TV short film |
Agatha Christie's Marple | Dickie Erskine | Episode: "Sleeping Murder" | |
2006 | Tripping Over | Jeremy | 6 episodes |
Sea of Souls | Christopher Chambers | Episode: "Rebound" | |
If I Had You | Philip Andrews | TV film | |
2007 | True Dare Kiss | Nash McKinnon | 6 episodes |
2009 | Collision | Richard Reeves | 5 episodes |
2010 | Jonathan Creek | Hugo Doré | Episode: "The Judas Tree" |
2010–2011, 2019 | Luther | Mark North | 10 episodes |
2011 | Waking the Dead | ACC Tony Nicholson | Episodes: "Waterloo", Parts 1 & 2 |
New Tricks | DCI James Larson | Episode: "Object of Desire" | |
2012 | Save Our Souls: The Titanic Inquiry | Sir Rufus Isaacs | TV film |
A Mother's Son | David | 2 episodes | |
2013 | Ripper Street | Stanley J. Bone | Episode: "The Good of This City" |
Moving On | Phil | Episode: "Blood Ties" | |
2013, 2022 | Doctor Who | Eighth Doctor | Episodes: "The Night of the Doctor" & "The Power of the Doctor" |
2013 | The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | Self | TV film |
2014 | The Bletchley Circle | John Richards | Episode: "Blood on Their Hands: Part 1" |
2016 | Moving On | None | Directed episodes "Passengers" and "Zero" |
The Musketeers | St. Pierre | Episode: "The Queen's Diamonds" | |
2017–2018 | Holby City | John Gaskell | 40 episodes |
2021, 2023 | Annika | Dr. Jake Strathearn | 6 episodes |
2022 | Anne | Sir Malcolm Thornton | Episode: #1.2 |
McDonald & Dodds | Archie Addington | Episode: "A Billion Beats" |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Much Ado About Nothing | Dogberry | Horseshoe, Basingstoke |
1997 | Loot | Dennis | Ambassadors |
1998 | The Seagull | Constantine | Royal Court Theatre |
1999 | A Lie of the Mind | Frankie | |
2003 | The Little Black Book | Jean-Jaques | Riverside Studios |
Mourning Becomes Electra | Captain Adam Brant | National Theatre | |
2005 | The Gigli Concert | Jimmy | Finborough Theatre |
2009 | Helen | Menelaus | Shakespeare's Globe |
2011 | Butley | Reg | Duchess Theatre |
2013 | Major Barbara | Undershaft | Abbey Theatre |
2014 | Three Sisters | Alexander Vershinin | Southwark Playhouse |
2017 | Gabriel | Von Pfunz | Theatre 6 |
2022 | The Forest | Man 2 | Hampstead Theatre |
Narration
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2004 | That'll Teach 'Em | Series 2 (5 episodes) |
2005 | Zero Hour | Series 2 |
Ghosts on the Underground | ||
2006–2007 | Real Crime | Series 5–6 |
2011 | Britain's Greatest Codebreaker |
|
2013 | Wildest Latin America | "Wildest Islands Vancouver Islands: Rivers of Life" |
Extraordinary People: The Boy with the Incredible Brain | ||
2014 | Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting | |
France: The Wild Side | ||
Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race [25] | ||
2015 | Shark [26] | |
Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship [27] | ||
2016 | Wild Sri Lanka | Disney+ |
Wildest Islands of Indonesia | ||
2016–2017 | Eden [28] | Series 1–2 |
2020 | Real Dictators [29] | Podcast; Series 1 |
2021–2022 | Short History Of... [30] | Podcast; Series 1–2 (41 episodes)[31] |
2021 | Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World |
Audio
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001–present | Doctor Who: The Audio Adventures | Eighth Doctor | 188 episodes |
2011–2013 | The Minister of Chance | Durian | 6 episodes |
2015 | The Diary of River Song
|
Eighth Doctor | Episode: "The Rulers of the Universe" |
2019 | You're the Boss | Bill | Track 5 on "Shuffle" by Jamie Lenman, reading of a scene from "Always Crashing in the Same Car" (2007) |
2019–2020 | The War Master | Eighth Doctor | Series 3, 5 (4 episodes) |
2020 | Susan's War | Episode: "The Shoreditch Intervention" | |
2023 | The Robots | Episode: "The Final Hour" | |
The Paternoster Gang | Episode: "Till Death Us Do Part" |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Ceremony of Innocence | Griffin Moss | Voice role |
2015 | Anno 2205 | Virgil Drake | |
Lego Dimensions | Eighth Doctor | Archive Audio | |
2023 | Mia and the Dragon Princess | Walsh |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | The Monocled Mutineer | Nominated | [32] |
1990 | Barcelona Cinema Festival | Best Actor | Paper Mask | Won | [32] |
1996 | Saturn Awards | Best Actor on Television | Doctor Who | Nominated | [32] |
2006 | Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival | Special Mention (shared with the cast) | Gypo | Won | [32] |
2013 | Crime Thriller Awards | Best Supporting Actor | A Mother's Son | Nominated | [32] |
2017 | Horrible Imaginings Film Festival | Best Actor in a Feature Film | B&B | Won | [32] |
2018 | Global Independent Film Awards | Best Ensemble Cast (shared with the cast) | Won | [32] | |
2021 | Liverpool Film Festival | Best Actor | Swallow Your Dreams | Won | [33] |
References
- ^ As pronounced by McGann in his 2009 Talksport interview.
- ^ "Paul McGann Biography (1959–)". filmreference.com. 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ McGann, Paul (29 July 2013). "Actor Paul McGann enters his second act". Irish Independent (Interview). Interviewed by Hourican, Emily. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Paul McGann | Doctor Who Interview Archive". Drwhointerviews.wordpress.com. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ a b Shennan, Paddy (30 July 2017). "Surviving famine, the Titanic and D-Day - the amazing story of the McGanns". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ a b Dwyer, Ciara (21 August 2017). "McGann: 'I have their blood in my veins - but I own my story'". Independent Ireland. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Paul McGann Biography (1959–)". Filmreference.com. 14 November 1959. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ a b Jones, Catherine (8 May 2013). "Liverpool actor Paul McGann talks about his 30-year stage and screen career ahead of Club Geek Chic In Conversation appearance at St George's Hall". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1980) An Entertainment, 19 November 1980 programme, GBS Theatre: London.
- ^ Barnett, Laura (3 August 2009). "Portrait of the artist: Paul McGann, actor". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ISBN 0-7146-4848-5.
- ^ "Your next box set: The Monocled Mutineer". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ "The Brit Pack". Brucepayne.de. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- )
- ^ "The Changing Face of Doctor Who - How the BBC recast TV's Time Lord". BBC Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010.
- ^ "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot", BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ Belam, Martin (23 October 2022). "Jodie Whittaker exits Doctor Who with surprise regeneration twist". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (23 October 2022). "Doctor Who brings back classic Doctors for centenary special". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Astley, Sabastian (27 October 2022). "Paul McGann: 'I thought Doctor Who was finished - and I was responsible'". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (20 February 2011). "Dominic West to revive classic stage role". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ Bishop, Caroline (29 June 2011). "Paul McGann". Official London Theatre.
- ^ "Pilot for unofficial Doctor Who spin-off Minister of Chance". denofgeek.com. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ "The Phoenix Files". Preachrs Podcast. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting". BBC Four. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "BBC Four - Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "BBC One - Shark". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship". Bfi. channel4.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Eden - On Demand - All 4". channel4.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Real Dictators". Noiser Podcasts. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Paul McGann. "The Gladiators". Short History Of... (Podcast). Noiser. Event occurs at 1:55. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "John Hopkins joins "Short History Of"". Noiser Podcasts. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Paul McGann: Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "LIVIFF2021 best actor Paul McGann in Swallow Your Dreams". Twitter. Liverpool Film Fest. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2022.