Ron Donachie | |
---|---|
Born | Ronald Eaglesham Porter 26 April 1956 |
Nationality | Scottish |
Education | Madras College |
Alma mater | Glasgow University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse | Fiona Biggar (m. 1989) |
Children | 2, including Daniel Portman |
Ronald Eaglesham Porter (born 26 April 1956), known professionally as Ron Donachie, is a Scottish character actor. He has appeared in supporting roles in films The Jungle Book (1994), Titanic and television series Game of Thrones , in which he recurred as Ser Rodrik Cassel. He is however perhaps best known for portraying DI John Rebus in the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Sir Ian Rankin's Rebus detective novels, a role he reprised for the stage play Rebus: Long Shadows .
Ronald Porter was born in Dundee, Scotland and educated at Madras College, St Andrews [1] where he performed in three school plays: Serjeant Musgrave's Dance [2] in 1972, A Man For All Seasons [3] in 1973 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter was impressive from start to finish, handling a mammoth part with apparent ease, giving a sensitive, subtle and well-controlled performance, especially in the second act", and Taming of the Shrew [4] in 1974 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter's affability shines out like the proverbial beacon ... as the most experienced member of the cast, he has the confidence to be able to establish an immediate rapport with the audience. ... [He] turned in his usual high standard of performance as the enormously arrogant Petruchio".
His education continued at the University of Glasgow where he was President of the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council (1976–1977) and graduated MA (Hons) in English Literature and Drama in 1979. [5]
He joined John McGrath's 7:84 theatre group for their 1980–1981 touring production, John Burrows' One Big Blow , in which the cast mimicked a traditional colliery band by singing in six part harmony. Following the success of this play members of the cast founded the a cappella vocal group The Flying Pickets in 1982, but Donachie left before their 1983 Christmas number one hit.
Although Donachie has been prolific in television and films, these have all been ensemble or supporting parts. His leading roles on radio and the theatre have achieved acclaim:
"Ron Donachie plays [Rebus] in the BBC radio versions and he's really got the voice"
— Ian Rankin, author of the Rebus novels [6]
Ron Donachie plays her father with an authority that makes his role as a sexual predator even more creepy.
— Six Characters in Search of an Author – Mark Fisher, The Guardian [7]
When Ron Donachie takes the stage as Deputy Governor Danforth in the second half of Arthur Miller's classic, it's as if this 17th century parable of superstition and intolerance has a new centre of gravity. It's partly that Donachie seems three times bigger than everyone else, a bullish figure, no less fearsome for his legal attire. It's partly that his charismatic stillness commands attention and defies contradiction. But it's also that, in presenting himself as reasonable, considerate and fair, he puts you in mind of every leader who gets his way by masking ruthless force with politeness.
— The Crucible review – Mark Fisher, The Guardian [8]
Donachie married Fiona Biggar, a complementary therapist, [9] in 1989; the couple have two children: the actor Daniel Portman and Naomi Porter, a linguist. His brother, Stewart Porter, is also an actor and his sister-in-law is Scottish film costume designer Trisha Biggar.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Goodnight and God Bless | Bouncer | Episode: "Ronnie's Wonderful Day" |
1983 | Grey Granite | Provost James Speight | Episodes: "Duncalm" & "Stone Circle" |
1983 | Those Glory Glory Days | 1961 Spurs Team Member | Television film |
1984 | Sakharov | ||
Play for Today | Big Lick | Episode: "It Could Happen to Anybody" | |
Coronation Street | Joe Schofield | Episode: 2461 | |
1985 | Bulman | Bill Allison | Episode: "A Man of Conviction" |
1986 | The Monocled Mutineer | Strachan | Episodes: "Before the Shambles" & "When the Hurly-Burly's Done" |
Blood Red Roses | Charles Riggins | ||
1987 | Tutti Frutti | Dennis Sproul | All 6 episodes |
Taggart | Pat Connolly | Episode: "Funeral Rites" | |
Bust | Willie McGraw | Episode: "Family Business" | |
1988 | Down Where the Buffalo Go | Drunk on ferry | Television film |
The Great Escape II: The Untold Story | Al Hake | ||
City Lights | Shughie McGlinchey | Episode: "Catch 23" | |
God's Frontiersmen | Allen | Television dramatised documentary | |
1989 | The Justice Game | Alex Patterson | All 4 episodes, series 1 |
Snakes and Ladders | Mr Pym | Episodes 1, 2 & 6 | |
Mornin' Sarge | Stanley the Knife | Episode: "Stan the Knife" | |
The Pied Piper (Crossing to Freedom) | RAF corporal | Television film | |
1990 | The Gravy Train | Hatted Man | All 4 episodes |
Screen One | Big Mac | Episode: "Sweet Nothing" | |
Stay Lucky | Jock | Episode: "Burning Your Boats" | |
Rab C Nesbitt | James Balloon McSwaggerty | Episode: "Rat" | |
The Bill | Sgt. Willis | Episode: "Effective Persuaders" | |
Coasting | Frank | Episode: "Another Fine Mess" | |
1991 | Jute City | Ginger McCrindle | |
Boon | Dougie | Episode: "Stamp Duty" | |
Specials | Special Constable Freddy Calder | All 12 episodes | |
1992 | Me, You and Him | Todd | All 6 episodes |
Casualty | PC Pewsey | Episode: "Rates of Exchange" | |
1992 – 1993 | Take the High Road | Duncan Strachan | Recurring, 15 episodes |
1993 | Taggart | Marco Cellini | Episode: "Death Benefits" |
Strathblair | Bob Scott | Episode: "2.1" | |
1994 | Lie Down with Lions | Kelly | Television film |
1995 | The Gambling Man | Alec McLean | Television serial |
Cracker | Barney, the psychologically damaged war veteran | Episode: "Brotherly Love" | |
1996 | The Bill | William Hall | Episode: "Pointing the Finger" |
1995 – 1996 | Hamish Macbeth | Zoot McPherrin | Episodes: "West Coast Story" & "A Perfectly Simple Explanation" |
The Governor | Prison Officer Russell Morgan | Main cast, both series | |
1996 | Casualty | Ralph Sutcliffe | Episode: "Mother's Little Helper" |
1997 | Ivanhoe | Friar Tuck | Episodes 3, 4 & 6 |
Supply & Demand | Supt. Brent | Episode: "Supply & Demand" | |
The Bill | Mike Shearon | Episode: "Strange Meeting" | |
Ain't Misbehavin' | Billy the Book | All 3 episodes | |
1998 | Looking After Jo Jo | Des | Episodes: "Working Week" & "Sink the Belgrano" |
Magic with Everything | Police sergeant | Episode: "Imagine the Unimaginable" | |
Taggart | Hamish Baird | Episode: "Dead Reckoning" | |
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer | Leonard Bladon | Television film | |
1999 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Mazarini | 4 episodes |
Rab C Nesbitt | Huggett | Episode: "Commons" | |
Extremely Dangerous | Gebbert | All 4 episodes | |
2000 – 2001 | Starhunter | McDuff | Episodes: "The Divinity Cluster" & "Dark and Stormy Night" |
2000 | Too Much Sun | Arnold Wyckoff | Episode: "Hollywood Phonies" |
2001 | Taggart | Peter Jenkins | Episode: "Falling in Love" |
Rebus | CS Wilson | Episode: "Dead Souls" | |
Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes | Fergusson | Episode: "The White Knight Stratagem" | |
'Orrible | DI Chris Dodds | Episodes: "Dirty Dozen" & "New Best Friend" | |
2002 | Shackleton | Keltie | Television serial / film |
Nova | Chippy McNeish | Episode: "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance" | |
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | John Ross | Episode: "Payment in Blood" | |
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Dan Calhoun | Episodes: "Heavy Metal", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" & "A Bridge Too Far" | |
Silent Witness | DCI Luke Telford | Episode: "Tell No Tales" | |
2002 – 2004 | The Bill | DCI Andrew Ross | Recurring, 15 episodes |
2003 | The Key | MacKaveny | All 3 episodes |
Monarch of the Glen | Alec McTavish | Episode: "Series 5, episode 10" | |
2004 | The Genius of Mozart | Joseph Haydn | Episode: "The First Romantic" [11] |
2005 | Uncle Adolf | Martin Bormann | Television film |
The Commander | George Hart | Episodes: "Virus" & "Blackdog" | |
Heartbeat | Mr Gordon | Episode: "Services Rendered" | |
Where the Heart Is | Gavin Morley | Episode: "Legacy" | |
The Golden Hour | David Tremaine | Episode: "Episode 3" | |
Summer Solstice | Macgregor | Television film | |
2006 | Taggart | Harry Stein | Episode: "Law" |
Doctor Who | Steward | Episode: "Tooth and Claw" | |
The Chatterley Affair | Mr Allen Lane | Television film | |
2001 – 2007 | Rebus | DCS Wilson/DCS Jack Gunner | Episodes: "Dead Souls", "Let It Bleed", "Resurrection Men" & "The Naming of the Dead" |
2007 | Party Animals | Roger Brenton | Episode: "Episode 1" |
Recovery | Len Hamilton | Television film | |
Sea of Souls | Minister | Episode: "The Prayer Tree: Part 1" | |
Still Game | Cameron | Episode: "Fly Society" | |
Heartbeat | Ken Dekin | Episode: "Where There's Smoke" | |
2008 | Love Soup | Inspector Harbin | Episode: "The Menaced Assassin" |
2009 | No Holds Bard | Prison Officer | Television film |
2010 | Lewis | Professor Angus Rawbone | Episode: "Falling Darkness" |
The Deep | Sturridge | Television serial | |
2011 | Doctors | John Harold Doric | Episode: "Doric's Column" |
Garrow's Law | Sir Alexander Lamb | Episode: "Episode 3" | |
2011 – 2012 | Game of Thrones | Ser Rodrik Cassel | Recurring, 13 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award – nominated |
2012 | Waterloo Road | Billy Byrne | Recurring, 7 episodes |
Silk | Alasdair McKinley QC | Episode: "Wooden Overcoat" | |
Downton Abbey | Mr McCree | Episode: "A Journey to the Highlands" | |
2013 | Bob Servant Independent | Medical Director | Episode: "A Local Man" |
Shameless | 'Biddy' Baxter | Episode: "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" | |
The Field of Blood | DCI Sullivan | Episode: "The Dead Hour" | |
Atlantis | Theos | Episode: "The Earth Bull" | |
The Beautiful Spy | Major Bloomberg | Television film | |
2013 – 2014 | Blandings | Angus McAllister | Episodes: "Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend", "Throwing Eggs", "Sticky Wicket at Blandings" & "Custody of the Pumpkin" |
2014 | Bob Servant | Medical Director | Episode: "Court" |
2015 | Father Brown | Jock Hamilton | Episode: "The Owl of Minerva" |
Casualty | DI John Hartley | Episode: "The Rita Supremacy" [12] | |
2016 | Doctors | Jack Rayburn | Episode: "Play Date" |
Agatha Raisin | Ron Allen | Episode: "The Wellspring of Death" | |
2017 | River City | Dr Michael ‘Mikey’ Rosenburg | Recurring, 4 episodes |
The Loch | Iain Sutherland | Television serial | |
2018 | Vera | Jesse Hennings | Episode: "Blood and Bone" |
Starhunter ReduX | McDuff | Episodes: "The Divinity Cluster" & "Dark and Stormy Night" | |
Casualty | Ben Loksley | Episode: "Episode 39" [13] | |
2019 | Holby City | Richard MacDonagh | Episode: "Mothers and Their Daughters" |
2020 | Deadwater Fell | Callum McKenzie | Episodes: "Episode 1" & "Episode 2" |
2022 | Screw | Don Carpenter | 12 episodes [14] [15] |
Karen Pirie | Archie Duff | In this series his son Daniel Portman plays his character's son Colin Duff. | |
Granite Harbour | Clellan Coburn | [16] |
Date | Title | Role | Director | Company / Theatre | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Easter 1972 | Serjeant Musgrave's Dance [2] | Pte. Attercliffe | Ann & Bob Bridges | Madras College The Byre | ||||||||||||||||
Easter 1973 | A Man For All Seasons [3] | Sir Thomas More | ||||||||||||||||||
Easter 1974 | Taming of the Shrew [4] | Petruchio | ||||||||||||||||||
1980 – 1981 | One Big Blow | John Burrows | 7:84 theatre group tour | |||||||||||||||||
1981 – | Civilians | Bill Bryden | Scottish Theatre Company Theatre Royal, Glasgow | |||||||||||||||||
18 August 1981 – 26 September 1981 | The Threepenny Opera [17] | MacHeath | Alan J. Wands | Borderline Theatre Company
| ||||||||||||||||
– | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Giles Havergal | Glasgow Citizens Theatre | ||||||||||||||||
– | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore | Soranzo | Philip Prowse | |||||||||||||||||
– | The Merchant of Venice [18] | Shylock | ||||||||||||||||||
January 1989 – | The Alchemist | Sir Epicure Mammon | Robert David MacDonald | |||||||||||||||||
– | Douglas | Lord Randolph | ||||||||||||||||||
– | A Tale of Two Cities | Etienne Defarge | Philip Prowse | |||||||||||||||||
30 August 1984 – 22 September 1984 | Submariners [19] | Housey | Philip Partridge | Gateway Theatre, Chester | ||||||||||||||||
27 September 1984 – 20 October 1984 | Trafford Tanzi [20] | Dad | Noreen Kershaw | |||||||||||||||||
1 November 1984 – 24 November 1984 | Macbeth [21] | Macduff | Phil Partridge | |||||||||||||||||
– | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | ||||||||||||||||||
26 February 1985 – 30 March 1985 | Scrap [22] [23] | Mulligan | Chris Bond | Half Moon Theatre, London | ||||||||||||||||
11 July 1985 – 10 August 1985 | Destiny [24] | Major Rolfe | ||||||||||||||||||
November 1985 – 11 January 1986 | Dracula [25] [26] | Sir Robert Heward | ||||||||||||||||||
21 February 1986 – 15 March 1986 | A Streetcar Named Desire [27] | Stanley Kowalski | Ian Wooldridge | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||
6 October 1987 – 7 November 1987 | Macbeth [28] [29] | Macbeth | Chris Bond | Half Moon Theatre, London | ||||||||||||||||
May 1990 – | Mother Courage | Philip Prowse | Mermaid Theatre, London | |||||||||||||||||
31 October 1990 – 24 November 1990 | The Price | Victor Franz | Caroline Smith | Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough | ||||||||||||||||
11 April 2003 – 21 June 2003 | Scenes from the Big Picture [30] | Bobby | Nicholas Hytner | National Theatre, London | ||||||||||||||||
26 October 2007 – 17 November 2007 | Living Quarters [31] [32] | Commandant Frank Butler | John Dove | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||
15 February 2008 – 8 March 2008 | Six Characters in Search of an Author [33] [7] [34] | Father | Mark Thomson | |||||||||||||||||
16 January 2009 – 14 February 2009 | The Man Who Had All the Luck [35] [36] | Patterson Beeves | John Dove | |||||||||||||||||
4 May 2009 – 9 May 2009 | The Oddest Couple [37] | Ken | Eleanor Yule | Òran Mór, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
22 June 2009 – 4 July 2009 | Everything Must Go! [38] | Various | Lisa Goldman & Esther Richardson | Soho Theatre, London | ||||||||||||||||
25 September 2013 – 19 October 2013 | Dark Road [39] [40] | Black Fergus McLintock | Mark Thomson | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||
6 April 2015 – 11 April 2015 | Broth [41] [42] | Jimmy | Andy McNamme | Òran Mór, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
14 April 2015 – 18 April 2015 | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh | |||||||||||||||||||
18 February 2016 – 19 March 2016 | The Crucible [43] [8] | Deputy Governor Danforth | John Dove | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||
20 April 2016 – 14 May 2016 | The Iliad [44] [45] | Agamemnon / Priam | Mark Thomson | |||||||||||||||||
6 March 2017 – 11 March 2017 | The Beaches of St Valery [46] [47] [48] [49] | Callum / McGregor / McLean | Stuart Hepburn | Òran Mór, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
11 August 2017 – 26 August 2017 | Stand By [50] [51] | Joe Douglas | Summerhall, Edinburgh | |||||||||||||||||
12 November 2018 – 17 November 2018 | Oscar Slater – The Trial That Shamed a City [52] [53] | Arthur Conan Doyle | Stuart Hepburn | Òran Mór, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
29 January 2019 – 1 February 2019 | Rebus: Long Shadows [54] [55] | Inspector Rebus | Robin Lefevre | Theatre Royal, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
4 February 2019 – 9 February 2019 | New Theatre, Cardiff | |||||||||||||||||||
11 February 2019 – 18 February 2019 | Cambridge Arts Theatre | |||||||||||||||||||
25 February 2019 – 2 March 2019 | Theatre Royal, Newcastle | |||||||||||||||||||
4 March 2019 – 9 March 2019 | Theatre Royal, Bath | |||||||||||||||||||
12 March 2019 – 16 March 2019 | Rose Theatre, Kingston | |||||||||||||||||||
16 March 2020 – 17 March 2020 [Note 1] | The Beaches of St Valery [56] | Callum / McGregor / McLean | Stuart Hepburn | Òran Mór, Glasgow | ||||||||||||||||
Notes: |
Sir Ian James Rankin is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
Iain Robertson is a BAFTA award-winning Scottish actor. He portrayed "Lex" in the cult Glasgow gang film Small Faces. Robertson is also known for his work in the long-running children's drama Grange Hill and The Debt Collector, also starring Billy Connolly.
Paul Shelley is an English actor.
David Greig is a Scottish playwright and theatre director. His work has been performed at many of the major theatres in Britain, including the Traverse Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, Royal Lyceum Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and been produced around the world.
Colin George was a Welsh actor and director, who was the founding Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield (1971).
Steven McNicoll is a Scottish actor, director, playwright and television presenter.
Lynn Ferguson Tweddle is a Scottish writer, comedian, actress, and story coach. The younger sister of comedian Craig Ferguson, she is known for voicing the character of Mac in the animated film Chicken Run (2000), and its sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023).
Dunsinane is a 2010 play by David Greig. It premiered in a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Hampstead Theatre from 10 February to 6 March 2010, directed by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert and with leads including Siobhan Redmond and Jonny Phillips.
Thomas Welsh Watson was a Scottish-born stage, television and film actor.
Marilyn Elsie Imrie was a Scottish theatre and radio drama director and producer.
Martin Ledwith is a Scottish actor and acting coach, best known for his work in theatre and television.
Dark Road is a 2013 play written by Ian Rankin and Mark Thomson. It made its world premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in September 2013, and is expected to embark on a UK tour in 2014.
Kill Johnny Glendenning is a Scottish comedy crime thriller play written by D C Jackson. It made its world premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in September 2014, before transferring to the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow.
Joe Douglas is a British theatre director, playwright and performer. He was the Artistic Director of Live Theatre in Newcastle from 2018 to 2020.
David MacLennan, was a Scottish actor, director, producer and writer.
Juicy Fruits is a one-act comedy by Leo Butler that was produced by touring theatre company Paines Plough in 2011. The cast featured Denise Hoey and Clare Waugh and it was directed by George Perrin, touring nationally to Oran Mor in Glasgow, Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Royal Exchange, Manchester, and Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. The main part of the play takes place in a coffeeshop where two old University friends, Nina and Lorna, are reunited after many years. The action then jumps to the Borneo jungle at the play's climax.
Rebus: Long Shadows is a 2018 play written by Ian Rankin and Rona Munro. It is an installment of Rankin's Inspector Rebus series, written for the stage for the first time.
David Ireland is a Northern Irish-born playwright and actor, known for his award-winning plays Cyprus Avenue and Ulster American.
Jemima Levick is a British theatre director. From 2016 to 2021 she was artistic director of Edinburgh-based Stellar Quines Theatre Company, from 2021 - 2024 she was the Artistic Director of A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór. In April 2024 she became the Artistic Director of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow.
Lucianne McEvoy is an Irish stage, television and film actress.