Biografia

Prolific theatre director who has directed many theatre productions in London including A Clockwork Orange, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Trainspotting.

Got his break appearing onstage in Richard III in London. His director was Brian Cox.

Has The Gaelic words 'Alba Gu Brath' (Scotland Forever) tattooed on his right arm.

Won A Scholarship To train At Mountview Theatre School In London.

Played Begbie opposite Gerard Butler's Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting in the mid 90's.

I was only on set for a week, but I learnt so much. What I noticed about The Dark Knight Rises was how high the stakes are - how important it is that you get it right. There's not a lot of mucking around or laughing and joking as there are on some other types of job, it's a very high stakes set and that's exactly how it should be, because there's a lot riding on it.

If I had to pick one single thing, it would be acting for camera. That's what I've always absolutely loved. When I did my first telly role in 1995, I kind of realised that was where my heart lay. But as an actor, unless you're very lucky or you evolve in a certain way, you have to move around to keep working. I've had a lovely and varied stage career, but perhaps now at 40 it doesn't fill me with as much excitement as my other ventures.

I've got nine tattoos, I'm 5'6", I'm Glaswegian and I'm stocky. In film you tend to work in the area you look like, and since I left Mountview (Theatre School) at 24, every so often I've played these darker roles. Thugs, drug dealers, wife beaters, junkies, whatever, so it's not an area I'm unfamiliar with!

Even though I was doing all the singing and dancing, at the back of my mind I wanted to do straight acting.

"I got on like a house fire with Noomi Rapace, which is funny when you consider most of my scenes involved rolling around the floor or throwing her over a table or her battering me with an iron.