Paul McGann | |
|---|---|
 McGann at the 2015Florida Supercon | |
| Born | (1959-11-14)14 November 1959 (age 65) Kensington, Liverpool, England |
| Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Known for | Eighth incarnation of the Doctor inDoctor Who |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Susannah Harker (2006–2008) |
| Children | |
| Relatives |
|
Paul John McGann (/məˈɡæn/mə-GAN;[1] born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portrayingPercy Toplis in the television serialThe Monocled Mutineer (1986), then starred in the dark comedyWithnail and I (1987), which was a critical success and developed a cult following. McGann later became more widely known for portraying theeighth incarnation ofthe Doctor in the 1996 television filmDoctor Who, and itsaudio drama continuations. He is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the TV seriesHornblower (1998–2003).
Paul John McGann was born inLiverpool on 14 November 1959,[2] into aRoman Catholic family. His ancestors immigrated fromIreland in the mid-19th century, having left due to theGreat Famine.[3][4] His mother, Clare, was a teacher, and his father Joe, a soldier onGold Beach duringD-Day,[5] who died in 1984, was ametallurgist.[6][7][8] His cousin, Ritchie Routledge, was in the 1960s bandThe Cryin' Shames.[9] He has an older brother,Joe, and three younger siblings: brothersMark andStephen and sister Clare.[6][7] All three of his brothers are also actors and the four of them played brothers in the 1995 TV serialThe Hanging Gale. That same year, McGann also playedGrigori Potemkin in the television filmCatherine the Great alongside Mark and Stephen.
McGann attendedCardinal Allen Grammar School in the Liverpool suburb ofWest Derby. He was 17 and working in a shoe shop when he acted on the advice of one of his teachers and successfully auditioned for a place on the acting course at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art.[9] In 1980, the Principal of RADA,Hugh Cruttwell, selected a scene from an adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare'sMacbeth, which McGann co-wrote withBruce Payne, to be performed in front ofQueen Elizabeth II in one of her rare visits to the academy.Kenneth Branagh performed a soliloquy fromHamlet at the same event.[10]
McGann's breakthrough role was inGive Us a Break, devised byGeoff McQueen, McGann played a good snooker player who got into scrapes withRobert 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 theBritishWorld War I deserter and criminalPercy Toplis in the 1986BBC serialThe Monocled Mutineer. The film was based on the 1978 book of the same name, written by William Alison andJohn Fairley.[11]
The serial garnered controversy from British right-wing media,[12] though McGann's performance garnered acclaim.[13] In 1986, he was cast as the anonymous main character (Marwood) inBruce Robinson'scult film,Withnail and I. He also starred as Anton Skrebensky inKen Russell's 1989 adaptation ofD. H. Lawrence'sThe Rainbow. McGann's other early film appearances includeThe Monk,Dealers,Tree of Hands and the epic war filmEmpire of the Sun. McGann and other young British actors who were becoming established film actors such asTim Roth,Gary Oldman,Colin Firth andBruce Payne were dubbed the 'Brit Pack'.[14][15]
Since 1989, McGann has concentrated primarily on television work, includingNice Town andNature Boy for the BBC, andThe One That Got Away and the second series ofHornblower forITV. However, he has had small roles in a number of high-profile American films likeThe Three Musketeers andAlien 3. His role inAlien 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 asRichard Sharpe, the lead character in theSharpe series of made-for-TV films based onBernard Cornwell's novels; however he injured his knee while playing football just days into filmingSharpe's Rifles inUkraine. He was replaced bySean Bean and the role effectively kick-started Bean's career and is the one that he is most closely identified with.[citation needed]
McGann played theeighth incarnation ofthe Doctor, in theDoctor Who 1996 television film. The television film also starredEric Roberts,Daphne Ashbrook and featured the outgoingSeventh Doctor,Sylvester McCoy. McGann's brother,Mark McGann, also auditioned for the title role.[16]
TheDoctor Who television film was a joint venture between the BBC,Universal Studios and theFox Broadcasting Network. McGann had signed a contract to appear as the Eighth Doctor in a newDoctor Who television series, if Fox or Universal exercised their option. Thus, the television film was supposed to be a "back door pilot" in that, if it obtained respectable ratings, the new series would continue to be produced. The film was shown on 14 May 1996 in the US and on 27 May 1996 in the UK. Although it had 9.08 million viewers and was very successful in the UK, ratings were very low in the United States. As a consequence, Fox did not exercise its option to pick up the series and Universal could not find another network interested in airing a newDoctor Who series. Thus no new series was produced until 2005, after all the contractual rights had returned to the BBC.
McGann gave permission for his likeness to be used on the covers of the BBC'sEighth Doctor novel and he has reprised the role of the Eighth Doctor in an extensive series of audio plays byBig Finish Productions. A number of these plays have also been broadcast onBBC 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 apreviously unknown Doctor played byJohn Hurt. Additionally, McGann briefly appeared in the anniversary comedy homageThe Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.[17]
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.[18][19] He also featured in the documentary filmDoctor Who Am I, supporting TV movie directorMatthew Jacobs' embrace of theDoctor Who fandom and its conventions.[20]
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 filmFairyTale: A True Story and later that same year as Rob inDowntime, then in 1998 he appeared as Capt. Greville inThe Dance of Shiva.
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In the 2000s McGann's film appearances began to increase with films likeMy Kingdom (2001),Listening (2003) andGypo (2005). Perhaps his most iconic role sinceDoctor Who came in 2002, when McGann appeared in the film adaptation of the third story fromAnne Rice'sThe Vampire Chronicles,Queen of the Damned. McGann played the part ofDavid Talbot, a member of the secret organisation theTalamasca, which researches and investigates the supernatural. Talbot has appeared in many of Rice's novels and has become a central character over the years. The film also starredStuart Townsend,Marguerite Moreau and R&B singerAaliyah. McGann has also been in demand forvoice-over work in Britain in recent years, particularly on television documentaries and commercials.
He also gained acclaim for his portrayal of William Bush in the final four instalments of theITV/A&E television seriesHornblower, based on theHoratio Hornblower books byC.S. Forrester. He initially appears in the 2001 episode "Mutiny", with Bush being the 2nd Lieutenant of HMSRenown (and Hornblower's superior). In the 7th episode, "Loyalty", he agrees to join Hornblower as his 1st Lieutenant when Hornblower takes command of HMSHotspur. McGann again portrays Bush in the 2003 finale of the series, "Duty".
In 2006, he appeared in the television dramaTripping Over. In 2007, McGann starred alongsideDervla Kirwan,Lorraine Ashbourne andDavid Bradley in BBC One dramaTrue Dare Kiss, written by Debbie Horsfield. In 2010, McGann played a major role in a feature-length episode of long-running BBC mystery seriesJonathan Creek, as well as appearing as a regular in the crime dramaLuther. In 2011, McGann played a major role as an Assistant Commissioner with something to hide in the final episode ofWaking the Dead and also featured inSimon Gray'sButley alongsideDominic West at theDuchess Theatre in London.[21][22]
In 2017, McGann joined the cast of the long-running BBC seriesHolby City, playing neurosurgeonJohn Gaskell. In 2021, he hosted the British Podcast Awards Gold-winningNoiser podcast productionReal Dictators, a history show about the up to date facts on dictators of the past.
McGann is also known foraudiobook narration having read severalPat Barker andBernard Cornwell novels. He narrated the abridged audiobook ofJeff Noon's 1993 cyberpunk classicVurt.
McGann continues to play the Eighth Doctor on audio. McGann's first Big Finish audio play appearance was in 2001 in the storyStorm Warning. It was through the Big Finish audio plays that McGann's Doctor faced many classicDoctor Who villains like theDaleks (in various different audio plays, the first of which beingThe Time of the Daleks) and theCybermen (first encountered by the Eighth Doctor on audio inSword of Orion).
Five Eighth Doctor dramas were broadcast inBBC 7'sThe 7th Dimension slot between August 2005 and January 2006. They were in release order, starting withStorm Warning, althoughMinuet in Hell was judged unsuitable for the timeslot, and skipped. Two more Eighth Doctor audios,Shada andThe Chimes of Midnight, were broadcast in December 2005 and January 2006. All six of these stories were rebroadcast on BBC7 beginning in July 2006. In 2007 and 2008, a series of audio plays starring McGann as the Eighth Doctor andSheridan Smith as companionLucie Miller was broadcast on BBC7.
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His voice featured in the 1997 video gameCeremony of Innocence, together with those ofIsabella Rossellini andBen Kingsley.
After hearing him sing inThe Monocled Mutineer, composerBernard J. Taylor invited McGann to create the role of Benedict in the concept studio recording of theMuch Ado, a musical based onShakespeare'sMuch Ado About Nothing.
McGann portrayed Ambassador Durian inThe Minister of Chance, a fantasy audio drama released in six parts from 2011 to 2013. The series is a spin-off of theDoctor Who audio dramaDeath Comes to Time, but has no official connection to the franchise. In February 2014, a crowdfunded short film based on the first instalment ofThe Minister of Chance was released to those who had helped fund it.[23]
McGann portrays antagonist Noah Shackleton in the audio drama adaptation ofThe 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.[24]
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.[25]
McGann is chief narrator in the popularA short history of… podcast series, which explores various historical topics in easily accessible episodes.
In 1992, McGann married Annie Milner. They had two children: music producerJoseph and voice actorJake.
Between 2006 and 2008, McGann was in a relationship with actressSusannah Harker.
| 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 | KingMatholwch | 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 | Mia and the Dragon Princess | Walsh | |
| The Undertaker | Arthur Morel |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Play For Today | Norman | Whistling Wally |
| 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" (minisode) & "The Power of the Doctor" (cameo) |
| 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 | SirMalcolm Thornton | Episode: #1.2 |
| McDonald & Dodds | Archie Addington | Episode: "A Billion Beats" | |
| 2024 | Bookish | Mr Kind | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-5 | Loot | Dennis | Ambassadors Theatre andLyric Theatre |
| 1987 | A Lie of the Mind | Frankie | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1995 | Father and Son: Son and Father | New Vic, Bristol | |
| 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 |
| 2003-4 | 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 |
| 2024 | The River | The Man | Greenwich Theatre |
| 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[26] | ||
| 2015 | Shark[27] | |
| Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship[28] | ||
| 2016 | Wild Sri Lanka | Disney+ |
| Wildest Islands of Indonesia | ||
| 2016–2017 | Eden[29] | Series 1–2 |
| 2020 | Real Dictators[30] | Podcast; Series 1 |
| 2021–2022 | Short History Of...[31] | Podcast; Series 1–2 (41 episodes)[32] |
| 2021 | Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2021 | Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures | Eighth Doctor | 36 episodes |
| 2003-present | Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures | Eighth Doctor | 152 episodes |
| 2011–2013 | The Minister of Chance | Durian | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | 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" |
| 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 |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Doctors Say Thank You | Himself |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | The Monocled Mutineer | Nominated | [33] |
| 1990 | Barcelona Cinema Festival | Best Actor | Paper Mask | Won | [33] |
| 1996 | Saturn Awards | Best Actor on Television | Doctor Who | Nominated | [33] |
| 2006 | Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival | Special Mention(shared with the cast) | Gypo | Won | [33] |
| 2013 | Crime Thriller Awards | Best Supporting Actor | A Mother's Son | Nominated | [33] |
| 2017 | Horrible Imaginings Film Festival | Best Actor in a Feature Film | B&B | Won | [33] |
| 2018 | Global Independent Film Awards | Best Ensemble Cast(shared with the cast) | Won | [33] | |
| 2021 | Liverpool Film Festival | Best Actor | Swallow Your Dreams | Won | [34] |
Media from Commons
