External links
- Duncan Duff at IMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Duncan Duff | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 June 1964 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | RADA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Rosalie Robinson |
| Children | 2 |
Duncan Duff (born 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) is a British stage, television and film actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London 1985 - 1987. He is best known for His role in Not Going out as Pete and for A Quiet Passion (2016), Wild Target (2010), Big Kids (2000), and Hamish Macbeth (1997).
Duff made his professional stage debut in 1987 with the highly acclaimed British Theatre Company Cheek by Jowl, founded by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, in a chilling production of Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse and on tour. He played the Thane of Angus and the cream faced loon, earning his Equity card and establishing himself as a prominent member of the company for the next four years. The following year he played Caliban in Cheek by Jowl’s The Tempest which opened at the Taormina Festival, Sicily, before playing to packed and appreciative audiences across the world. The most extraordinary venue was the Romanian National Theatre in Bucharest in the final year of the Ceausescu dictatorship where the play’s themes of enslavement and liberty were rapturously received and defiantly applauded by brave Romanians. The company were monitored by the Securitate, state police during their visit.
He also appeared in Cheek by Jowl’s productions of Philoctetes by Sophocles and Miss Sara Sampson by Gotthold Lessing. His fifth and final collaboration with the company was playing Horatio to Timothy Walker’s Hamlet in an internationally renowned production which played in London, UK, Europe, Hong Kong and Japan.
In 1992, Duff created the role of Willie Dobie in Scottish playwright Simon Donald’s vibrant new play, The Life of Stuff, at The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh with Shirley Henderson, which earned him high critical praise. Duff also appeared in the British premiere of Physical Jerks at Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, Life Goes On written by Adrian Hodges at The Haymarket Basingstoke, Three Sisters at Liverpool Everyman, Time and the Room at the Gate Theatre London and the eponymous role in Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler at Nottingham Playhouse. At the National Theatre, Duff played Bartolomeo Pergami in Nick Stafford’s new play Battle Royal directed by the brilliant Howard Davies starring Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale. In 2002, he was Jason opposite Maureen Beattie’s Medea in Theatre Babel’s shattering production of Liz Lochhead’s adaptation of Medea at the Edinburgh Festival, Glasgow Citizens, then the incomparable open air Roman theatre on Cyprus the four metro centres of India and Toronto’s Harbour Front Theatre.
On television, Duff played the dope-smoking Doc Brown in the cult BBC 1 series Hamish Macbeth devised by Daniel Boyle and set in the Highlands of Scotland, co-starring with Robert Carlyle for three series (1995 - 1997). He starred as Geoff Spiller in the short-lived but popular BBC comedy Big Kids with Imogen Stubbs (2000). For two years Duff was nefarious property developer Lewis Cope in BBC Scotland’s BAFTA Award winning drama River City (2002 - 2004) set in Glasgow.
Duff has displayed the range of his acting ability in strong leading roles in many TV dramas such as: Why We Went To War (2006) playing Jonathan Powell; Roman Mysteries (2007) portraying the Emperor Domitian; the first season of cult TV show Skins (2007) playing evangelistic Congratulations Leader Pete; Purves & Pekkala (2009) AKA New Town by award-winning auteur director Annie Griffin playing highly strung architectural preservationist Ernst de Bont; the beleaguered Governor of Boulogne in The Tudors (2010); odious TV presenter Tom Sutherland in the provocative BBC series Lip Service (2010).
Duff has also displayed his comedic touch in sitcoms: May To December (1994), The Creatives (1998), Not Going Out (2008). He was the anchor Richard Pritchard co-starring with Sharon Horgan in Broken News (2005) by award-winning comedy writer John Morton for BBC and Gus Plotpoint in Charlie Brooker’s Touch of Cloth (2013) for Sky. In the cinema he has appeared in comedy roles in Carry On Columbus (1992), Festival (2005) directed by Annie Griffin, Wild Target (2010) directed by Jonathan Lynn, and Burke & Hare (2010) directed by comedy legend John Landis. Duff has appeared in dozens of short films, keen to collaborate with emerging talent in front of and behind the camera. Two of these films have been nominated for awards: King’s Christmas (1986) being BAFTA nominated and The Girls (2007) BIFA nominated.
Duff portrayed: Austin Dickinson, the brother of American poet Emily Dickinson, played brilliantly by Cynthia Nixon, in British auteur director Terence Davies’ A Quiet Passion (2016), exquisitely shot by Florian Hoffmeister; also starring Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Catherine Bailey, Joanna Bacon and Emma Bell; described by Richard Brody of The New Yorker as “an absolute drop-dead masterwork”. A Quiet Passion has been warmly received at Festivals around the world and opened to rhapsodic reviews in the UK and US in April 2017.
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | The Wreck on the Highway | ||
| 1990 | Taggart | Porter | Episode:Hostile Witness |
| 1990 | This is David Harper | Lorry Driver | Episode:A List Of Abuses |
| 1991 | Casualty | Policeman | Episode: Something to Hide |
| 1992 | Between The Lines | Officer 1 | Episode:Out of the Game |
| 1992 | In Dreams | Vicar | |
| 1993 | Calling The Shots | Matt | |
| 1994 | May to December | Robbie | Episode:Son of my Father |
| 1995–1997 | Hamish Macbeth | Doc Brown | 19 episodes |
| 1998 | The Creatives | Greg Jackson | Episode:Come to Cummerton |
| 2001 | Casualty | Pete | Episode: For My Next Trick |
| 2000 | Big Kids | Dr. Geoffrey Spiller | |
| 2002 | River City | Lewis Cope | |
| 2004 | If... | George Rowling Q.C. | |
| 2005 | The Bill | Brian York | Episodes: - No. 299 / No. 300 |
| 2005 | Broken News | Richard Pritchard | 6 episodes |
| 2006 | Why We Went To War | Jonathan Powell | |
| 2006 | Rosemary & Thyme | Frank Minelli | Episode:Seeds of Time |
| 2006 | Not Going Out | Pete | Episode:Caretaker |
| 2006 | Doctor Who | Newsreader | Episodes: Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel |
| 2007 | Skins | Congratulations Leader | Episode:Cassie |
| 2007 | Roman Mysteries | Emperor Domitian | |
| 2009 | New Town | Ernst de Bont | |
| 2010 | The Tudors | The Governor of Boulogne | Episode:As It Should Be |
| 2010 | Taggart | Sammy Kirkwood | |
| 2010 | Lip Service | Tom Sutherland | |
| 2011 | Casualty | Professor Michael Fitch | Episode:Starting Out |
| 2012 | Silent Witness | Counsel 2 | |
| 2013 | Lee Nelson's Well Funny People | Football Team Manager | |
| 2013 | A Touch of Cloth | Gus Plotpoint | |
| 2014 | Waterloo Road | Arran Mackenzie | |
| 2020 | The Crown | Cecil Parkinson | Episode: War (Season 4, Episode 10) |
| Film | |||
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | King's Christmas | Trevor King | BAFTA Nominated |
| 1992 | Carry On Columbus | Inquisitor #2 | |
| 1998 | Middleton's Changeling | Antonio | |
| 2005 | Festival | Gordon Menzies | |
| 2007 | If I'm Spared | Tom | |
| 2007 | The Girls | Richard | BIFA Nominated |
| 2010 | Wild Target | The Jeweller | |
| 2010 | Burke & Hare | The Attendant | |
| 2011 | Island | Social Worker | |
| 2013 | Killer Moves | The Velvet Glove | |
| 2014 | Ivory Stage | Peter Grey | |
| 2016 | A Quiet Passion | Austin Dickinson | |
| 2016 | Clean Sheets | Will | |
| 2017 | Seeing Him | Mark | |
| 2017 | Rehab Matters | Robert | |
| 2018 | Sleep | Armando | |
| 2020 | Bay of Silence | Curator | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Alan Cumming is a Scottish actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for the West End production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1991). His other Olivier-nominated roles were in The Conquest of the South Pole (1988), La Bête (1992), and Cabaret (1994). Cumming won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for reprising his role as the Emcee on Broadway in Cabaret (1998). His other performances on Broadway include Design for Living (2001), and Macbeth (2013).
Sean Biggerstaff is a Scottish actor. He is best known for playing Oliver Wood in the Harry Potter film series, appearing in Philosopher's Stone (2001), Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He gained wider recognition for playing Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
Amanda Root is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her starring role as Anne Elliot in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Persuasion. A familiar face on both stage and screen, she worked regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company during her early career, performing as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, among other roles. In 2009, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Sarah in Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests.
Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen is a British actor. Despite being born in London, he considers himself Welsh due to both his parents being from Wales and only having moved to London for purposes of professional progression. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he is known for portraying Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones Sr. in George Lucas's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles between 1992 and 1993 and Paul Bowman-MacDonald in the BBC Scotland series Monarch of the Glen from 2002 to 2005. He starred as solicitor William Heelis in the film Miss Potter (2006) and commander Nathan Walker in Apollo 18 (2011). He plays the role of Elendil in the Amazon Prime fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present).
Declan Michael Martin Donnellan is an English film/stage director and author. He co-founded the Cheek by Jowl theatre company with Nick Ormerod in 1981. In addition to his Cheek by Jowl productions, Donnellan has made theatre, opera and ballet with a variety of companies across the world. In 1992, he received an honorary degree from the University of Warwick and in 2004 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France. In 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Goldsmiths' College, University of London. Donnellan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to theatre.
Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award nominations.
Iain Alan Sutherland Glen is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil film series (2004–2016) and as Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). Other notable film and television roles include John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon (1990), Larry Winters in Silent Scream (1990) for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, Manfred Powell in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Brother John in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), the title role in Jack Taylor (2010–2016), Sir Richard Carlisle in Downton Abbey (2011), James Willett in Eye in the Sky (2015), and Bruce Wayne in Titans (2019–2021).
Anne-Marie Duff is an Anglo-Irish actress and narrator.
Forbes (Robertson) Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is best known for his roles in classical theatre, musicals, comedies, and appearances in London's West End. He is also known for his comedy partnership with Alan Cumming. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life, a Scottish situation comedy in which they play the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight. Characters McCracken and Flight were heavily based on Victor and Barry, famous Scottish comedy alter-egos of Masson and Cumming. Masson also stars in the 2021 film The Road Dance, set on the Isle of Lewis as the Reverend MacIver.
Stephen James Mangan is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Seán Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups, Andrew in Bliss (2018), and Nathan Stern in The Split (2018–2022).
Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in Lovejoy (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place. Her other film appearances include Secrets & Lies (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Downton Abbey (2019) and Misbehaviour (2020).
Kevin Edward Allen is a Welsh actor, director, producer and writer. Allen came to prominence with the 1991 BBC film On the March with Bobby's Army, and for writing and directing his debut feature film, Twin Town, in 1997. He directed and co-wrote the movie adaptation of Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood", submitted for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Oscars ceremony but not nominated, the Hollywood feature films, The Big Tease and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, and the first series of ITV's Benidorm, along with numerous other films and documentaries.
Blythe Duff is a Scottish actress best known for her role as Jackie Reid in the ITV television series drama, Taggart.
Steven McNicoll is a Scottish actor, director, playwright and television presenter.
Nicholas Ronald Ormerod OBE is a British theatre designer and co-founder of the international theatre company Cheek by Jowl. In 1981 he founded Cheek by Jowl with Declan Donnellan, and they are the company's co-artistic directors. In addition to his Cheek by Jowl productions, Ormerod has made theatre, opera and ballet with companies across the world. He studied law at Trinity College, Cambridge before studying for BA in theatre design at the Wimbledon School of Art.
James McAvoy is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in The Near Room (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his film career began. His notable television work includes the thriller State of Play (2003), the science fiction miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003), and the drama series Shameless (2004–2005).
David Scott Ashton is a Scottish actor and writer. Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, 1964–67, he has acted in a wide variety of film, television, theatre and radio roles. He has also developed a parallel career as a writer of fiction, film and television screenplays and plays for theatre and radio. His radio play The Old Ladies at the Zoo, which starred Peggy Mount and Liz Smith, won the Radio Times Drama Award in 1985.
Jack Andrew Lowden is a Scottish actor. Following a four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace, which led to starring roles in feature films.
Hugh Ross is a Scottish actor, with a wide variety of British TV, film and theatre credits. He is known for his supporting roles in the films Trainspotting and Bronson; and for his performances as Major Mungo Munro in the Sharpe, and as Narcisse in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.
