John Macmillan (actor)
{{Short description|British actor}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| education = Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (BA)
| years_active = 2007–present
}}
John Macmillan (also credited as MacMillan) is a British actor. He began his career in theatre, earning an Ian Charleson Award nomination for his work in Hamlet and Macbeth. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance in the BBC Two adaptation of King Lear (2018).
His television work includes the BBC One drama Silk (2011–2014), the Netflix sitcom Chewing Gum (2015–2017), and the Channel 4 sitcoms Back (2017–2021) and Hang Ups (2018).
Early life
Macmillan attended the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Mbabane, Swaziland (now Eswatini).{{Cite web |last=Matambanadzo |first=Chris |date=2022-10-12 |title=House of the Dragon 'Ser Laenor Velaryon' Actor John Macmillan's Link To South Africa Revealed |url=https://iharare.com/house-of-the-dragon-ser-laenor-velaryon-actor-john-macmillans-link-to-south-africa-revealed/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=iHarare News |language=en-GB}} He has also lived in Johannesburg, Malawi, Zambia, and Oxford.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sueterryvoices.com/artist/john-macmillan|title=John Macmillan|website=Sue Terry Voices|accessdate=20 September 2022}} Macmillan trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4YK0wx6vrg9fg4zLsrsxPjs/john-bright|title=Silk - John Bright|website=BBC One|accessdate=21 September 2022}} In 2011, Macmillan opened a garden at Chatsworth Baptist Church School in West Norwood.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9080650|title=Batman actor opens new garden at West Norwood pre-school|journal=The Argus|first=Thais|last=Portilho-Shrimpton|date=13 June 2011|accessdate=20 September 2022}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Career
Macmillan began his career in theatre, going on the 2007 international tour of Cymbeline as Guideris.{{Cite web|url=https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/john-macmillan|title=John MacMillan|website=BBA Shakespeare|accessdate=21 September 2022}} The following year, he appeared in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida Theatre and Piranha Heights at Soho Theatre. He received an Ian Charleson Award nominations for his performances in the 2009 productions of Hamlet and Macbeth. That year, Macmillan made his screen debut with small roles in the horror film Heartless and the fifth series of the BBC One crime drama Hustle as Harry Fielding. In 2011, Macmillan starred in the short Friend Request Pending and appeared in the Joe Wright's 2010 action thriller film Hanna. That same year, he began starring as clerk Joe Bright in the BBC One drama Silk.
In 2015, Macmillan played staff nurse Joe Costello in the Sky One medical drama Critical (CR:IT:IC:AL), appeared in The Homecoming at Trafalgar Studios, and began playing Ronald, Tracey's long-term boyfriend in Michaela Coel's Netflix sitcom Chewing Gum. Macmillan played Victor in both the 2016 and 2017 productions of Yerma alongside Billie Piper.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/yerma|title=Yerma|website=Young Vic|date=26 July 2017 |accessdate=26 September 2022}} The cast and crew won an Obie Award in the Special Citations category. He starred in the one-man play Killer at Shoreditch Town Hall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.culturecalling.com/london/on-stage/features/an-interview-with-john-macmillan|title='I like to take journeys away from myself' – An Interview with John MacMillan|website=Culture Calling|first=Belphoebe|last=New|date=2017|accessdate=20 September 2022}} He starred as Troye King Jones in Simon Amstell's mockumentary film Carnage and began playing Julian in the Channel 4 sitcom Back. For his performance in the 2018 BBC Two television film adaptation of King Lear, Macmillan was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2018, Macmillan starred as Abs Walter in the Channel 4 sitcom Hang Ups and began appearing in the Black British sketch comedy Famalam.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/laenor-velaryon-house-dragon-actor-explained/|title=Who is Ser Laenor Velaryon and who plays him in House of the Dragon?|journal=Radio Times|first=Lewis|last=Knight|date=5 September 2022|accessdate=26 September 2022}}
Macmillan played Laenor Velaryon, Princess Rhaenyra's first husband, in the first season of the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel and adaptation of George R. R. Martin's companion book Fire and Blood.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1672989/Laenor-actor-replaced-House-of-the-Dragon-John-Macmillan|title=Why was Laenor replaced in House of the Dragon? Who plays Laenor?|journal=Daily Express|first=Neela|last=Debnath|date=24 September 2022|accessdate=26 September 2022}}
Acting credits
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2009
| She | |
| rowspan="3" | 2011
| Hanna | Lewis | |
| The Hype Man
| Miles | Short film; also directed, wrote and produced |
| Friend Request Pending
| Jason | Short film, part of Stars in Shorts |
| rowspan="2" | 2012
| Analyst | |
| A Scholarship
| Leon | Short film |
| 2013
| Officer | |
| rowspan="3" | 2014
| Paddy | The Sage | Short film |
| Maleficent
| Captain | |
| Fury
| Corporal | |
| 2017
| Carnage | Troye King Jones | Mockumentary |
| 2020
| Heaven Can Wait | | Short film, part of Boys on Film 20 |
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| The Dig | Dr. Rothman | |
| Ron's Gone Wrong
| Bubble Techs (voice) | |
| 2022
| The People We Hate at the Wedding | Ollie | Amazon Prime film |
| 2024
| King Guthrum | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2009
| Hustle | Harry Fielding | 2 episodes (series 5) |
| 2010
| Sherlock | Community Police Officer | Episode: "The Blind Banker" |
| 2011–2014
| Silk | John Bright | Main role |
| 2012
| Panto! | Finlay | Christmas special |
| 2014
| Archie | Episode: "Bermondsey Boy" |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Critical | Justin Costello | 9 episodes |
| Hoff the Record
| Marcus Fuster | Episode: "The Movie" |
| 2015–2017
| Ronald | 5 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| Richard | 1 episode |
| Barbarians Rising
| Mago | Episode: "Resistance" |
| Ordinary Lies
| Adam | Episode: "Holly" |
| 2017
| Solomon Franks | Episode: "Death by Persuasion" |
| 2017–2021
| Back | Julian | 8 episodes |
| 2018–2020
| Famalam | Various | Sketch comedy (13 episodes) |
| rowspan="3" | 2018
| Saul Green | Episode: "You Can Never Go Home" |
| King Lear
| Edmund | Television film |
| Hang Ups
| Adebowale "Abs" Walter | Main role |
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| Gareth Jarvis | 1 episode |
| Dial M for Middlesbrough
| Chad | Television film |
| 2020
| The Trouble with Maggie Cole | Jez | 2 episodes |
| 2021
| Byner | Episode: "True" |
| rowspan="2" | 2022
| 2 episodes |
| Ghosts
| Scott | Episode: "Speak as ye choose"{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22208736/?ref_=ttep_ep2|title="Ghosts" Speak as ye choose|website=IMDb |date=23 September 2022}} |
| rowspan="4" | 2023
| Dr Wedderburn | Episode: "Pet Project" |
| The Cleaner
| Strazzamo | Episode: "The Clown" |
| The Great
| John Quirkton | Episode: "Choose Your Weapon" |
| The Burning Girls
| Mike Sudduth | Main role |
=Stage=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role !Playwright ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2007
| Guiderius |Wiliam Shakespeare | International tour |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| The Last Days of Judas Iscariot | Bailiff / Simon the Zealot |Stephen Adly Guirguis | Almeida Theatre, London |
| Piranha Heights
| Medic |Phillip Ridley | Soho Theatre, London |
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| Hamlet | Rosencrantz |William Shakespeare | Donmar Warehouse, London / Broadhurst Theatre, New York |
| Macbeth
| Malcolm |William Shakespeare |
| 2012
|Children's Children |Castro |Matthew Dunster |Almeida Theatre, London |
| 2015
| Joey |Harold Pinter | Trafalgar Studios, London |
| 2016, 2017,
| Yerma | Victor |Simon Stone, after Lorca | Young Vic, London |
| 2017
| Killer | Various |Phillip Ridley | One man play; Shoreditch Town Hall, London |
| 2018
|Victor |Simon Stone |Park Avenue Armoury, New York |
| 2018
|Pinter Two: The Lover/ The Collection |Richard / James |Harold Pinter |Harold Pinter Theatre, West End, London |
| 2023
| Phaedra | Eric |Simon Stone, after Euripides, Seneca and Racine | Royal National Theatre, London |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2017
|Varl | |
| 2018
| Aiden | |
| 2019
| | |
| rowspan="3" | 2020
| Troy: A Total War Saga | | |
| Amnesia: Rebirth
| James Henry "Hank" Mitchell | |
| Spellforce 3: Fallen God
| Zazka | |
| 2022
| Varl | |
=Audio=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2016–2018
| Tommies | Juma Gubanda / Leland Moody | 5 episodes |
| 2020
| The Sandman | African Morpheus | 20 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! Ref. |
|---|
| 2009
| colspan="2" | Ian Charleson Awards | Macbeth and Hamlet | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Special Citations | Yerma | {{won}} | {{efn|Shared with the Yerma cast and crew.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.obieawards.com/2018/05/2018-obies-winners-performances/|title=2018 Obies Winners and Performances|website=Obie Awards|date=19 May 2018|accessdate=3 October 2022}} |
| Satellite Awards
| Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | King Lear | {{nom}} | {{cite web|url=https://www.pressacademy.com/2018-winners/|title=Satellite Awards 2018|website=International Press Academy|accessdate=27 October 2021}} |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3025293}}
- [https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/john-macmillan/ John Macmillan] at Curtis Brown
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, John}}
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:Black British male actors
Category:British male Shakespearean actors
Category:British male stage actors
Category:English people of Malawian descent