Paul Higgins (actor)
{{Short description|Scottish actor}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paul Higgins
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|12|3|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland
| occupation = Actor, Writer
| yearsactive =
| spouse = {{marriage|Amelia Bullmore|1993}}
| children = 2
}}
Paul Higgins is a Scottish actor, best known for appearing in the British television series The Thick of It, Utopia and Line of Duty.
Early life
Higgins was born in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but now he considers himself a lapsed Catholic.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/showbiz-news/celebrity-interviews/2008/11/27/paul-higgins-priesthood-just-wasn-t-for-me-so-i-chose-acting-86908-20928110/|title=Paul Higgins: Priesthood just wasn't for me – so I chose acting|publisher=Daily Record|location=Glasgow|date=27 November 2008|accessdate=19 September 2010|first=Paul|last=English}} As a teenager, he trained to be a priest, but gave his training up aged 17 when he began dating.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2007/aug/15/edinburghfestival2007.edinburghfestival1 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Paul | last=Higgins | title=Stuart Jeffries meets The Thick of It actor Paul Higgins | date=15 August 2007}}
Career
Higgins has appeared onstage in Paul and Black Watch, and in the film Complicity. He played Alan in Staying Alive, a hospital drama on ITV. He has also played Jamie McDonald, an aggressive press officer, in the BBC show The Thick of It and its spin-off feature-length film, In the Loop. In 2009, he appeared as Gil Cameron on the BBC drama Hope Springs. He played Michael Dugdale in Channel 4's acclaimed conspiracy thriller Utopia. In 2013 he appeared in series 1 of the BBC series Line of Duty and returned for season 4 in 2017. He wrote a play titled Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, which was performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland in November 2008.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=home_NobodyWillEverForgiveUs |title=No One Will Ever Forgive Us |author= |website=National Theatre of Scotland |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033817/https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=home_NobodyWillEverForgiveUs |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}
Personal life
Higgins is married to actress Amelia Bullmore, whom he met in 1992 while co-starring with her in A View from the Bridge in Manchester. Since December 2019 he has been Chair of ACT, the Actors' Children's Trust, and since September 2021 a Trustee of The Vegan Society.
Filmography
class="wikitable"
! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes | |||
1986-90 | Taggart | Alastair Finn/ David Crawford | TV series: 4 episodes |
1988 | The Play on One | Murdo Caldwell | TV series: 1 Episode ("A Wholly Healthy Glasgow") |
1990 | Boon | Simon | TV series: 1 Episode |
1994 | Being Human | Soldier | |
1996-1997 | Staying Alive | Alan McPherson | TV series: 12 episodes |
1998 | Bedrooms and Hallways | John | |
rowspan=2|2000 | Complicity | Andy | |
Beautiful Creatures | Aidan | ||
2005-2007 | The Thick of It | Jamie McDonald | TV series: 3 episodes |
2006 | Red Road | Avery | |
2008 | The Last Enemy | Professor Lawrence Cooper | TV series: 3 episodes |
rowspan=3|2009 | Hope Springs | Gil Cameron | TV series: 8 episodes |
In the Loop | Jamie McDonald | ||
Silent Witness | DS Nick Wallace | TV series: 2 episodes ("Safe") | |
2011 | Vera | Clive Stringer | TV series: 1 Episode |
2013 | The Wrong Mans | PC Hennessy | TV series: 1 Episode |
2012-2017 | Line of Duty | ACC Derek Hilton | TV series: 11 episodes |
2013-2014 | Utopia | Michael Dugdale | TV series: 11 episodes |
2015 | Couple in a Hole | John | |
2016 | Raised by Wolves | Sean | TV series: 4 episodes |
rowspan=2|2017 | Victoria & Abdul | Sir James Reid | |
Decline and Fall | Prison Officer | TV series: 1 Episode | |
rowspan=2|2018 | Apostle | Frank | |
The Party's Just Beginning | Liusaidh's Dad | ||
rowspan=2|2019 | Cold Call | Kirk Wiley | TV series: 4 episodes |
Greed | Jim McBride | ||
2021 | Beep | Father Sydney | TV movie |
2022 | Slow Horses | Struan Loy | TV series: 3 episodes |
2025 | Brian and Maggie | Geoffrey Howe | TV series: 2 episodes{{cite web|website=Channel 4|date=21 January 2025|title=Brian and Maggie Press Pack|url=https://www.channel4.com/press/press-pack/brian-and-maggie-press-pack|archive-date=24 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124122218/https://www.channel4.com/press/press-pack/brian-and-maggie-press-pack|access-date=12 February 2025}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0383467}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Paul}}
Category:20th-century Scottish male actors
Category:21st-century Scottish male actors
Category:Scottish male film actors