James McAvoy (born 1979)
James Andrew McAvoy was born in Glasgow in 1979 and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He took his first steps in the acting business in theater performances such as “West Side Story” and “Romeo and Juliet”. McAvoy is known from films like “The Chronicles of Narnia: The King of Narnia” (2005) or “Beloved Jane” (2007), where he was in front of the camera with Anne Hathaway.
Janet Brown (1923-2011)
Janet McLuckie Brown was born in Rutherglen in 1923, where she also received training at the local academy. She started out with the BBC, but made a name for herself by roles in films such as the 007 flick “In Deadly Mission”. Her performance by Margaret Thatcher was celebrated internationally. The actress also appeared in the classic “Inspector Barnaby”. Brown died in Hove in 2011.
Gerard Butler (born 1969)
Gerard James Butler was born in Glasgow in 1969 and studied law at the local university. His law firm soon put him on the street because of too frequent absences. Without acting school, Gerard Butler made the leap to the top with roles in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), in “PS I Love You” (2007) or in “The Naked Truth” (2009). Curious: He was discovered in a café.
Robert Carlyle (born 1961)
Robert Carlyle was born in Glasgow in 1961 and trained as an actor at the Glasgow Arts Center. Carlyle started his career in a television series called “Just in Case Fitz”. Then came the big cinema with “Trainspotting – New Heroes”, “James Bond – The World Is Not Enough” and “Hitler – The Rise of Evil”. In the latter he played the main role of the dictator. The Scot has already sniffed the music business and played in an “Oasis” video (“Little by Little”).
Sean Connery (born 1930)
Scottish actor and Oscar winner Sir Thomas Sean Connery became world famous in the 1960s for the role of secret agent James Bond – 007. From the 1970s he developed more and more into a character actor. His most famous films include the James Bond films: “The Name of the Rose”, “The Untouchables”, “With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat”, “Tempting Trap” and “Forrester – Found”. At 69, he was voted Sexiest Man of the Century.
Billy Connolly (born 1942)
comedian, musician, presenter, actor. William Connolly was born in Anderston in 1942 and is also known in his homeland as “The Big Yin”. He started out as a welder, then devoted himself to folk music, started as a stand-up comedian in the 70s and finally landed hits like “Her Majesty Mrs. Brown” (1997) or “Last Samurai” (2003) as an actor. Connolly was honored for his commitment with an honorary doctorate and a coveted BAFTA award for his life’s work.
Alan Cumming (born 1965)
actor, director. Alan Cumming was born in Aberfeldy in 1965 and is one of the international greats in the film business. He studied at the Glasgow Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His participation in “Golden Eye” (1995), the Stanley Kubrick classic “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) and “Nicolas Nickleby” (2002) or “The Mask 2: The Next Generation” (2005) brought Cumming worldwide fame. The actor lives with a man.
Craig Ferguson (born 1962)
actor, presenter, director, comedian. Craig Ferguson was born in Glasgow in 1962 and started his show career as a drummer in a band and later as a comedian at festivals. He moved to America in the 90s. With his “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” on US television (CBS), he was very popular with audiences because he addressed social problems such as alcohol addiction. In the cinema he started with films such as “Grasgeflüster” (2000) and “The nacked truth” (2009).
John Fraser (born 1931)
John Fraser was born in Glasgow in 1931 and was one of Britain’s most important actors in his 30s. He played in legends on the screen such as “El Cid” (1961) by Anthony Mann or in “Sherlock Holmes’ greatest case” (1965). But star director Roman Polanski was also able to win him over for his film “Disgust” in 1965. In 2004, Fraser published his autobiography “Close Up,” in which he came out as gay.
Laura Fraser (born 1976)
Laura Fraser was born in Glasgow in 1976 and has three siblings. She studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and had her first roles in short films. She later appeared in “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1998), where she stood in front of the camera with Leonardi DiCaprio or “Titus” at the side of Anthony Hopkins. Fraser has been nominated several times for big prizes like the BAFTA or the Golden Bear.
Ewan McGregor (born 1971)
actor. Ewan Gordon McGregor was born in Grieff in 1971 and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He also got off to a flying start with his career when he starred in “Trainspotting – Neue Helden” (1996). Hollywood was conquered and McGregor convinced in films like “Better Live Unusually” or “Star Wars”. He immortalized himself with the lead role in “Moulin Rouge” alongside Nicole Kidman.
Paul McGuigan (born 1963)
Director Paul McGuigan was born in Bellshill in 1963. In 1998 he started his career with “The Acid House”. The world knows him best from his hit gangster film “Lucky Number Slevin” (2006), in which Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman starred. McGuigan later took on several episodes of “Sherlock” that were hugely successful on TV. In 2012 he also directed the NBC series “Mash”.
Phyllida Law (born 1932)
Phyllida Ann Law was born in Glasgow in 1932 and mostly starred in TV films and series. But she also had a lucky hand for the cinema and showed her acting talent in “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993), “Anna Karenina” (1997), “Grasgeflüster” (2000) and in “Days of Darkness – Day of Wrath” (2006). Oscar winner and Golden Globe winner Emma Thompson is their daughter.
Frank Lloyd (1886-1960)
actor, producer, director. Frank Lloyd was born in Glasgow in 1886 and started out in the theater. He was one of the greats in Hollywood, where he co-founded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1935 he released “Mutiny on the Bounty” – Lloyd’s most successful film. But also “Herrscher der Meere” (1939) and “The Invisible Agent” (1942) go to his account as a director and the latter as a producer. Lloyd died in Santa Monica in 1960.
Kelly Macdonald (born 1976)
Kelly Macdonald was born in Glasgow in 1936. Her success began with Trainspotting, as with so many Scottish actors. Since then there has been no stopping. This was followed by globally successful cinema hits such as “When Dreams Learn To Fly” (2004), “No Country for Old Men” (2007) and also “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (2011). MacDonald has already been nominated several times for prizes such as the Emmy and the Golden Globe Award.
Kevin Macdonald (born 1967)
director, producer, screenwriter. Kevin Macdonald was born in Glasgow in 1967. He received an Oscar in 2000 for his Munich 1972 documentary “One Day In September”. He celebrated other successes with films such as “The Last King of Scotland – In the Fangs of Power” (2006), which is about the dictator Idi Amin, or the historical film “The Eagle of the Ninth Legion” (2011).
David Mackenzie (born 1966)
David Mackenzie was born in Corbridge in 1966. He had his breakthrough in 2003 with “Young Adam”, in which Tilda Swinton also took part. He was hailed as the British Newcomer of the Year and won his first prize. Mackenzie initially experimented in the short film genre. It is remarkable that he lets his little brother Alastair play in almost all of his productions. His film “Toy Boy” (2009) with the womanizer Ashton Kutcher was received by international audiences, but was criticized in depth.
Peter Mullan (born 1959)
actor and director. Peter Mullan was born in Peterhead in 1959 and studied drama at the University of Glasgow. Mullan also had his first acting success with “Trainspotting – Neue Helden” (1996). This was later followed by roles in “My Name Is Joe” and “Harry Potter”. As a director, he convinced the jury of the Venice Film Festival with “The Merciless Sisters” (2002), for which he took home a Golden Lion.
Ian Richardson (1934-2007)
Ian William Richardson was born in Edinburgh in 1934 and graduated from drama school at the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art. He mostly performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but also made a name for himself as a television actor, for which he participated received a BAFTA award. Richardson was Sherlock Holmes and also convinced in the TV movie “A House of Cards” (1990). Richardson, who had two sons, died in London in 2007.
David Tennant (born 1971)
Tennant grew up as the son of a minister in Glasgow. He was drawn to acting from an early age. Although his parents tried to dissuade him, he finally prevailed.
He is best known for his roles in the British theater, in the science fiction series “Doctor Who” and in the film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.
Robert Urquhart (1921-1995)
Robert Urquhart was born in Ullapool in 1921 and made his first steps as an actor in the theater and later on television. His first film was called “You’re Only Young Twice” and was released in 1952. “The Knights of the Round Table” followed a year later. He celebrated his breakthrough when he worked on the classic “Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone” (1965-1968). Robert Urquhart died in Edinburgh in 1995.