Best of the Bróg

With Scotland being as far from sunny, star studded Hollywood as you can possibly get, it often comes as a surprise when we’re reminded of the amount of Scottish actors who have made it big in the acting world. With a number of Glasgow born actors and actresses slowly but surely making a name for themselves overseas in movies, I figured it would be a good idea to list a few of my favourites.

First off I should probably talk about my favourite Scottish actor which is undeniably James McAvoy. Whether he’s playing a faun from Narnia, a young Professor X with hair or a foul-mouth police officer in 2013 hit Filth, the guy always pulls it out of the bag. He’s diverse, talented and not exactly hard to look at either.

The 11-year-old in me would never forgive myself if I didn’t add John Barrowman to this list. First brought to my attention when he played Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and the spin-off Torchwood, I was unaware that he was born in Scotland but—given the accent—who would think that? However, he was indeed born in Glasgow before being raised in Illinois but given that he’s somewhat of a household name now, we like to always remind people that we had him first. 

With more Scottish actors than actresses making it big these days, I felt that it was important to add Kelly MacDonald to this list, a Glasgow born actress who has since made herself known through films such as Trainspotting, No Country For Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, even providing a voice for Merida, a rather unconventional Disney princess who is the lead character in 2012 hit Brave.

Probably most well known for his roles in Trainspotting and The Full Monty, Robert Carlyle is another actor that I had to add to my list, simply because he just so happens to star in one of my favourite TV shows Once Upon a Time where he plays sometimes-good-guy-sometimes-bad-guy Rumplestiltskin. The show is produced by American company ABC and stars a broad range of American actors but among these re English actors, Australian actors and Kiwi actors as well as our very own Robert who holds the banner for Scotland. 

Next up we have Peter Capaldi, probably most well known for his upcoming role as the 12^th Doctor in Doctor Who. Really though, if you’ve missed this vital piece of information, where on earth have you been recently? Also born in Glasgow, the actor has appeared in other movies and TV shows such as The Thick of It, In the Loop and The Fifth Estate.

Finally, my list would be incomplete if I didn’t include my most favourite Hobbit Billy Boyd. I’ll admit, I’ve only ever seen him in The Lord of Rings but given that his role as the perpetually hungry and mischievous Hobbit Peregrin Took is a scene stealer, does it really matter?