Biography for
Angus Macfadyen (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

21 September 1963, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Attended the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland and the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England.

IMDb Mini Biography By: tknight

Mini Biography

Best known as Robert the Bruce in Braveheart (1995), Angus McFadyen has enjoyed a fine career in the film business. He has been in a variety of different films and television shows over his life, playing such well known roles as Blackbeard, Robert the Bruce, and Orson Welles.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland on the twenty-first of September in 1963, Angus lived a colourful childhood, being raised in such places as the Philippenes, Singapore, and France. Angus found himself back in Britain, however, when it came to education. He enrolled in the University of Edinburgh, and Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Angus' first role was the role of Philip in the film made for television, The Lost Language of Cranes (1991) (TV). The film centers on a young man (Angus) who must tell his parents that he is gay. Playing the role of his father was fellow Scottish actor Brian Cox. Angus then acted in the television film 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1993) (TV) and also on the television show "Takin' Over the Asylum" (1994) which was about a salesman who runs a radio station in an institution. This led to the biggest role of Angus's career.

In 1995, Mel Gibson's epic classic, Braveheart (1995) was released, with Angus in the role of Robert the Bruce. Next to the flamboyantly hero of William Wallace, Robert the Bruce was the human character, the man who wanted to make the right choice, but was drawn to compromise. The brilliant portrayal of the Bruce was sadly unnoticed by any awards, a tragic insult to Angus's brilliant performance.

After Braveheart (1995) won Best Picture, Angus's career was on a roll. He acted in independent film Nevada (1997), the action/fantasy Warriors of Virtue (1997), and the romantic comedy Still Breathing (1997). Regrettably, none of these matched up to Braveheart (1995)'s success. He moved on to Joseph's Gift (1998) which starred Freddy Rodríguez. Angus also co-starred alongside such names as Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta when he played Peter Lawford in the HBO film The Rat Pack (1998) (TV).

Angus also played the role of Orson Welles in Tim Robbins's third directorial film Cradle Will Rock (1999). Sadly, it was a flop, but Angus rebounded with the Shakespearan film Titus (1999) which also featured Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alan Cumming and Jessica Lange. Directed by Julie Taymor, who would go on to direct Across the Universe (2007), the film was a critical triumph but with mediocre box office results. With the new millennium, Angus once again took up a very well-known character: the Greek God Zeus in Jason and the Argonauts (2000) (TV).

After the noir film Second Skin (2000/I), Angus acted in a number of poorly received films. One such film was the action film Styx (2001) which starred Peter Weller. A year later, Angus was acting as the Vice-Counsel Dupont in Equilibrium (2002). The film, also starring Sean Bean, Christian Bale, and Emily Watson, is about a world set in the future, where a Facist regime forbids all emotions from being shown. The film, though clearly well-made and well-acted by all, was not successful critically or commercially. Although Equilibrium (2002) has since gained a cult following, Angus moved on to act in the television series "Miracles" (2003) which was about the supernatural.

After "Miracles", Angus acted as Marcus Crassus in a more historically accurate version of Stanley Kubrick's film Spartacus (1960), the character of Bill in "The Pleasure Drivers", and the lead in the dramatic film The Virgin of Juarez (2006). He then played the pirate warlord Blackbeard in a television film of the same name. The film received mixed reviews.

What then emerged was the second role of MacFadyen's career: the role of Jeff Reinhart in Saw III (2006). Reinhart is a man obsessed with revenge, and he is led into a series of traps that test his ability to forgive. The film was a smash hit for its 10 million dollar budget, earning almost two hundred million dollars worldwide. Angus co-starred in the box office bomb Redline (2007) the same year as he returned to the "Saw" franchise with the fourth film. It was also a success at the box office, though reviews for this film were lower than the previous films.

Angus continues making films, starring as the outlaw Will Tunney in his new western film Shadowheart (2009), which may be a reference to the film that made him famous. Angus has appeared on television in the series "Californication" and "Killer Wave". He has also acted in the upcoming mystery film "San Saba (2008)" and the thriller film Clean Break (2008). His character of Jeff makes a reappearance in Saw V (2008), and he will act in an upcoming action film Ironclad (2009) alongside such screen legends as Richard Attenborough and Pete Postlethwaite.

Hopefully he continues to make more films, and one of these days he will win a hard-earned and long-deserving award for his troubles and successes.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob Stage

Trivia

Was once engaged to Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Attended the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland and the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England

Appeared with Brian Cox a number of times, including his first film The Lost Language of Cranes (1991) (TV) and Braveheart (1995).

Is one of only two British actors to play 'Orson Welles', the other being Christian McKay.

His father was a doctor in the World Health Organization, which explained the moving around to different places when Angus was a child.

Speaks French fluently.

Personal Quotes

[About his role as Robert the Bruce] It's an interesting character because he's kind of, a bit of a lost soul. He wavers. He's constantly drawn to the darker aspects of compromise and keeping the wealth and preserving the castles, the lands which he has, and all the wealthy people in the county.

[When asked his opinion of his character in "Saw"] Yeah, well, I think it's kind of set up in the film that even though you think he could save them, even when he tries to, it's set-up so it all seems a little too late. That was something we were discussing was how long do you wait and pause? Because if you've done that in one room, you know you can't do that in the next because otherwise it's going to be too late for that person. So we were having lots of debates. And also because each scene, you can't play them all the same. You've got to build in each one. So did I like him? I don't think he liked himself very much.

[About Braveheart (1995)] It's an epic film. It really is life and death, and... darkness and the light.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z