Graham McTavish (born 4 January 1961) is a Scottish actor and author. He is known for his roles as Dwalin in ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'' film trilogy, Vlad Dracula Țepeș in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

animated franchise ''

Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...

'',

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

in various Marvel animated projects, William Munny, the Saint of Killers in the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

series ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

'', and as Dougal MacKenzie and William Buccleigh MacKenzie in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

series '' Outlander.'' He is also known for his roles in the video game franchise ''

Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across the wo ...

'' as the main antagonist

Zoran Lazarević Zoran Lazarević ( sr-cyr, Зоран Лазаревић; born 23 October 1947) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Playing career Lazarević was a member of Pirot until 1968 where he played with Svetislav Pešić. Lazarević ...

in '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'' and Charlie Cutter in '' Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception''. In 2020, McTavish and ''Outlander'' co-star

Sam Heughan Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

co-wrote ''Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other'', which hit No. 1 on the ''New York Times''' Best Seller Lists for hardcover nonfiction and for combined print and e-book nonfiction.

Early life

McTavish was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He is the son of Alec and Ellen McTavish. The family, especially his father, was politically active, and political discourse was common in their household. His family left Glasgow when McTavish was a child, and throughout his adult life, he has lived in places such as Canada, the United States, and England before settling in New Zealand.English, Paul (14 April 2015)
"Outlander star Graham McTavish says he is proud of his Scottish roots and loves the show's Scots-daft fans"
'' Daily Record'' (Scotland). During school, McTavish and a friend would write and perform comedy sketches, which led to his drama teacher asking him to step in to cover a role in Sheridan's ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' after the principal actor became ill. He went on to attend

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

, earning a degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. This degree course allowed him to perform in three

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

plays per year while at school, and led to McTavish earning his Equity card after performing in a play by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

Career

Early in his career, McTavish did theatre work with the repertory theatres of

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

and at the

Dundee Rep Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house ...

with colleagues that included Jimmy Logan and Robert Robertson.

Television

McTavish's first professional role, in 1986, was in episode two of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's mini-series '' Return to Treasure Island''. He next featured in 1988's ''Freedom Fighter'' (aka ''Wall of Tyranny''), which was broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and starred

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

as a man who helped those living in East Berlin cross the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

. Popular fantasy-adventure series '' Highlander'', which centered on an immortal man tasked with fighting evil, saw McTavish in the series four episode "Judgment Day" in 1996 and TV movie ''Merlin'' saw him co-star as Rengal in 1998. Between 1998 and 1999, he went on to appear in several episodic television series including a three-part episode of ITV's

based crime drama ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...

'',

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

medical drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'',

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's sci-fi sitcom ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

'', and ITV's police drama '' Heartbeat''. In 2000, McTavish guest-starred in ITV's mini-series '' The Stretch'', a two-part crime drama centering on crime boss Terry Green and his wife Sam. The next year guest-starred on a series two episode of BBC One's long-running medical drama ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

''. In 2002, he had guest spots on BBC One's comedy ''Celeb'', ITV's crime drama '' Rose & Maloney'', and ABC's fantasy mini-series ''

Dinotopia ''Dinotopia'' is a series of illustrated fantasy books, created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is set in the titular Dinotopia, an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and Sapience, sapient dinosaurs who have learned to H ...

''. The following year he featured in an episode of ITV's mystery drama ''

Rosemary & Thyme ''Rosemary & Thyme'' is a British television cosy mystery thriller series starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003. The third series ended in August 2007 ...

'', three episodes of ITV's gangster drama ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

'', and two episodes of BBC's mini-series ''

The Last King ''The Last King'' ( no, Birkebeinerne) is a 2016 Norwegian historical drama, directed by Nils Gaup. The story, inspired by true events, centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant, Haakon Haakonsson, the heir to t ...

'' (aka ''Charles II: The Power and the Passion''). BBC's crime drama '' Murphy's Law'' (2004), a serial revolving around an undercover police officer in London, saw McTavish guest-star in the series two episode "Bent Moon on the Rise", followed by a turn as Captain James Stagg in BBC's made for TV Film ''D-Day 6 June 1944''. McTavish returned to the crime drama ''

'' in 2005's episode "Mind Over Matter" and to medical drama ''

'' in the series nineteen episode "Baby Love". That same year he was cast in two separate series based upon events from the rise of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. First was a five episode role as General Rapax in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's mini-series ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

,'' which chronicled Octavius, who would become Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. Second was a two-episode stint as Urbo in HBO's Golden Globe nominated series ''

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

''. He went on to a recurring role in ITV's police procedural drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. McTavish finished out the year by starring in two made for TV movies, ''Good Girl, Bad Girl'', the story of a set of twins who tangle with a drug dealer, and ''

Sharpe's Challenge ''Sharpe's Challenge'' is a British TV film from 2006, usually shown in two parts, which is part of an ITV series based on Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels about the British soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. Contra ...

'', a drama surrounding a British Soldier (

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

) during the Napoleonic Wars. 2007 saw McTavish feature in numerous episodic television productions. He portrayed The Dark Spirit in a three episode guest appearance on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's web series ''Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side,'' which explored the world through the ghost's perspective. The series is a spin-off of their supernatural series ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ...

''. From there he had guest appearances in BBC One's dramas '' Jekyll'' and ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'', ITV's medical drama ''

The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...

'', CBS's FBI centered drama ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...

'', police procedural '' NCIS'', and family drama ''

Cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

''. The next year he landed the role of Ferguson in the fourth season of

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's popular drama ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...

''. In the fourth season of ABC's hit science fiction series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

,'' McTavish guest starred as Desmond's drill sergeant. He also appeared in ABC's supernatural thriller ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life ...

'' and CBS's crime drama ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''. In 2009, McTavish returned to CBS for a guest starring role, opposite

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...

, in the supernatural drama ''

''. McTavish portrayed Russian foreign minister Mikhail Novakovich in a seven episode stint on Fox's hit series '' 24'' in 2010''.'' He went on to appear in an episode of Fox's action comedy series '' The Good Guys,'' which revolves around two detectives stuck solving small crimes. In September 2013, it was announced that he had been cast as Dougal MacKenzie, war chief of the MacKenzie clan, in

's time-travel drama series '' Outlander''. The series is an adaption of the bestselling novels by author

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the ''Outlander'' series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantas ...

and premiered on 9 August 2014 to positive reviews from both critics and television audiences. McTavish would reprise the role throughout seasons one and two. In 2016, McTavish landed the recurring role of William Munny, the Saint of Killers in AMC's drama ''Preacher'', which is based upon

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dari ...

and

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...

comic book series a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

of the same name. 2018 saw McTavish feature in the recurring role of Andrew MacGregor in

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

's science fiction series ''

Colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

'', which explores earth after an alien attack. Season four of the

drama ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

'', with McTavish in the recurring role of Father Kinley, debuted in 2019. The series was based upon

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's Lucifer character from The Sandman comics. MacTavish returned to '' Outlander'' in 2020, in a surprise appearance as William Buccleigh MacKenzie, the son of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan (

Lotte Verbeek Lotte Verbeek (born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch actress, dancer and model. She is known for her role as Giulia Farnese in '' The Borgias'' television series created by Neil Jordan, and as Geillis Duncan in the Starz series '' Outlander''. Early li ...

). Later that year, he and ''Outlander'' co-star

announced that STARZ had ordered eight episodes of their travel documentary ''Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham,'' which premiered in February 2021. It was announced in March 2021 that McTavish had joined the cast of

's fantasy drama ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...

'', based upon author

Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books '' The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hun ...

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

, as master spy and Redanian Intelligence head Sigismund Dijkstra.

Film

For Queen and Country ''For Queen and Country'' is a 1988 crime drama film co-written and directed by Martin Stellman and starring Denzel Washington in Panavision. Washington stars as Reuben James, a Black British former paratrooper, who joined the British Army to esc ...

'' (1988), a social drama from director

Martin Stellman Martin Stellman (London, July 28, 1948) is a British screenwriter and director best known for creating and writing '' The Interpreter'', starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, and co-writing with Franc Roddam the 1979 British cult classic ''Quadro ...

, featured McTavish opposite

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

in his first professional film role. The next year he had a small part in

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

' mythological comedy ''

Erik the Viking ''Erik the Viking'' is a 1989 British comedy- fantasy film written and directed by Terry Jones. The film was inspired by Jones's children's book ''The Saga of Erik the Viking'' (1983), but the plot is completely different. Jones also appears i ...

'', which was written and performed in the style of a

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

film. Working once again with Jones, McTavish portrayed a drunken weasel in 1996's ''

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a theme park attraction and dark ride at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. It is loosely based on Disney's adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), one of two segments comprising the anima ...

'', an adaptation of

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as ''The Reluctant Dragon (short story), T ...

's children's classic ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

''. He went on to star in director Jeremy Freeston's 1997 adaptation of

's ''Macbeth'', opposite

Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. H ...

. McTavish performed in two documentaries on Shakespearean works in 1997. The first was Cromwell Productions' ''King Lear: A Critical Guide'', where he portrayed Albany. Second was ''Julius Caesar: A Critical Guide'', where he portrayed Brutus. He continued with Shakespeare in 1999 by portraying the

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover. History The Dukedom of Albany was first granted ...

in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', opposite

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...

McTavish's next feature film was 2002's ''

Ali G Indahouse ''Ali G Indahouse'' is a 2002 British comedy film written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer, directed by Mark Mylod, and starring Baron Cohen as Ali G, the character he originally played on the Channel 4 comedy series '' The 11 O'Clock Show'' ...

,'' where he portrayed a customs officer, followed by 2003's '' Dot the i'', where he portrayed a detective opposite Tom Hardy. He went on to portray a submarine captain in director

Jan de Bont Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch cinematographer, director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Speed'' (1994) and '' Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockb ...

's '' Lara CroftTomb Raider: The Cradle of Life''. The next year he was featured in Buena Vista Pictures' action adventure film ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

''. In 2008, McTavish starred opposite

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

in ''

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

'', the fourth film in the franchise based upon

David Morrell David Morrell (born April 24, 1943) is a Canadian-American novelist whose debut 1972 novel ''First Blood'', later adapted as the 1982 film of the same name, went on to spawn the successful ''Rambo'' franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. He h ...

's 1972 novel ''First Blood''. His next film, director Richard Wellings-Thomas' comedy '' Sisterhood'', saw McTavish in the role of Martin. 2009 saw several film roles for McTavish, including prison drama '' Green Street 2,'' independent horror film ''

Penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

,'' Jason Connery's thriller ''Pandemic,'' and the dramatic comedy '' Middle Men'', opposite Luke Wilson. In 2010, McTavish had a supporting role in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

'', based upon the true story of

Penny Chenery Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery (January 27, 1922 – September 16, 2017) (married names: Penny Tweedy until 1974 and later Penny Ringquist until 1980) was an American sportswoman who bred and owned Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown. T ...

and the racehorse who would win the first American

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

in twenty-five years. He would go on to feature in ''

The Wicker Tree ''The Wicker Tree'' is a 2011 British horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy. It contains many direct parallels and allusions to the 1973 film ''The Wicker Man'', which was also directed by Hardy, and is intended as a companion piec ...

'' (2011), Robin Hardy's sequel to his 1973 film ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

,'' and

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

' action film ''

Colombiana ''Colombiana'' is a 2011 French English-language action thriller film co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldaña with supporting roles by Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Lennie James, Callum ...

'', opposite

Zoe Saldana Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

. Between 2012 and 2014, he portrayed the dwarf Dwalin in director

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's Empire Award-winning ''The Hobbit'' trilogy. McTavish completed 2014 with a supporting role in the action adventure film ''

Plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

'', opposite

Ed Speleers Edward John Speleers (born 7 April 1988) is an English actor and producer. He is best known for playing the title role in the 2006 film ''Eragon'', the antagonist character Stephen Bonnet in the TV series '' Outlander'', as well as James "Jimmy" ...

, and director

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

's independent sci-fi thriller ''REALITi''. The next year he portrayed Ricky Conlan (

Tony Bellew Anthony Lewis Bellew (born 30 November 1982) is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, and challeng ...

)'s boxing trainer Tommy Holiday in ''

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

,'' the seventh film in the ''Rocky'' franchise. Disney's '' The Finest Hours'', based upon the true story of a daring

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

rescue in 1952, saw McTavish co-star opposite

Chris Pine Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and ''Won ...

and

Eric Bana Eric Banadinović, (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (19 ...

in 2016. He then appeared, as himself, in director Yaniv Rokah's documentary ''

Queen Mimi ''Queen Mimi'' is a 2015 documentary film about the life of Marie Haist, an octogenarian homeless woman who lived in a Santa Monica laundromat for 18 years, directed by Yaniv Rokah and produced by Elliot V Kotek. Release The film was selected ...

'', which recounted the life of a homeless woman in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2017, McTavish starred in director

Niall Johnson Niall Johnson (born in 1964) is an English screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his 2005 comedy film ''Keeping Mum ''Keeping Mum'' is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Ro ...

's western thriller ''The Stolen'', followed by a cameo as King Atlan in the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

film ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

''. Director Adam Sigal's independent film ''Sargasso'' saw McTavish in a starring role in early 2019. Later that same year, it was announced that McTavish would star, opposite Anne Heche, in Specter Pictures' upcoming horror thriller ''Chasing Nightmares''. McTavish is currently working on his directoral debut, titled ''This Guest of Summer'', which was partially funded through IndieGoGo, a crowd funding platform. Besides directing, he will also star in the film alongside fellow ''Outlander'' alumni

Stephen Walters Stephen Walters (born 22 May 1973) is an English actor. A regular in British television and film, he has played a wide range and variety of character roles in both drama and comedy. Walters is most commonly associated with unpredictable, compl ...

and Duncan Lacroix and fellow ''Hobbit'' alumni

Dean O'Gorman Dean Lance O'Gorman (born 1 December 1976) is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He also por ...

and Adam Brown.

Voice work

McTavish has done extensive voice work in animated series, films and video games.

Animation and films

McTavish's first voice work was in the recurring role of Sebastian Shaw in

Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...

' 2009 animated

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

series '' Wolverine and the X-Men''. McTavish continued in the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

by portraying the villain

in the direct-to-video animated feature '' Hulk Versus'' and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

's animated series '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. In 2010, he portrayed the lead role of Dante in '' Dante's Infero: An Animated Epic'', opposite

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

. The direct-to-video feature was a companion piece to

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

' video game ''

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, gui ...

'', which was based upon

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's fourteenth century

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

''. 2011 saw McTavish feature in director

Mike Disa Michael Disa (born February 14, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, and animator. He began working as an animator at Disney in the mid-1990s, where he was involved with several films up until the late-2000s. During this time, he also ...

's direct-to-video sci-fi animated feature '' Dead Space: Aftermath'' in the role of Captain Caleb Campbell. From there, between 2015 and 2017, he had a recurring voice role in

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's animated series ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' and a guest spot in an episode of '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'' (2016). McTavish would go on to feature in

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's animated series '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise,'' in the dual roles of Titus and Vernon, while he appeared as the voice of

Fergus McDuck File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...

, father of

Scrooge McDuck Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...

, in the 2017 ''

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

'' animated series episode "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" McTavish currently stars as

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

in Netflix's animated series ''

'', an adaptation of

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

horror

video game series This is a list of video game franchises, organized alphabetically. All entries include multiple video games, not counting ports or altered re-releases. 0–9 *''1080° Snowboarding'' *''1942'' *''3D Ultra Minigolf'' *'' 3-D Ultra Pinball'' *''7 ...

Video games

Guerrilla Games Guerrilla B.V. (trade name: Guerrilla Games) is a Dutch First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Amsterdam and part of PlayStation Studios. The company was founded as Lost Boys Games in January 2000 through the merger of ...

' action game '' Killzone: Liberation (2006)'', a sequel to its popular game ''Killzone'', was McTavish's first professional voice role in video games. He would go on, in 2009, to portray Commander Lucius in

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, M ...

' ''

Shadow Complex ''Shadow Complex'' is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Chair Entertainment in association with Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 in 2009. The game follows Jason and his girlfriend Clai ...

,'' Crimson in

Tecmo Koei is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Games ...

's ''

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2'', stylized as ''Ninja Gaiden Σ2'', is a port of the 2008 Xbox 360 video game '' Ninja Gaiden II'', and was developed by Team Ninja exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It includes the entirety of the original story m ...

,'' Arl Eamon Guerrin in

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...

's '' Dragon Age: Origins,'' Archer in

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

's '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,'' and Wilcox in

' ''

The Saboteur ''The Saboteur'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in December 2009. A mobile version of the game was developed a ...

''. McTavish also provided both the voice and motion capture work for the main antagonist Zoran Lazarević in action-adventure game '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.'' The next year he provided the voice of the main protagonist Dante Alighieri in ''

,'' Khan in ''

Metro 2033 Metro 2033 may refer to: * ''Metro 2033'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky * ''Metro 2033'' (video game), a 2010 first-person shooter video game based on the novel See also * ''Metro'' (franchise), originating from t ...

,'' the Decepticon

Thundercracker ''The Transformers'' is an American animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy line. The first television series in the ''Transformer ...

in '' Transformers: War for Cybertron,'' and Viktor Barisov in

's '' Singularity. In 2011, McTavish provided the voices of antagonist Joseph Bertrand III in ''

Infamous 2 ''Infamous 2'' (stylized as ''inFAMOUS 2'') is an action-adventure video game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 video game console. It is a sequel to the 2009 video game '' Infa ...

,'' an imperial guardsman in '' Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution'', a ClawHammer soldier in '' SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs,'' Caddoc in '' Hunted: The Demon's Forge,'' and Ivan Stagleishov in '' Ace Combat: Assault Horizon''. McTavish also provided both the voice and motion capture work for Charlie Cutter in '' Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception''. He would reprise this role in 2016's '' Uncharted 4: A Thief's End'' after voicing Sebastian Malory/Sir Percival in 2015's third-person action-adventure game '' The Order: 1886.'' McTavish has also provided additional voices for '' Medieval II: Total War,'' ''

Heavenly Sword ''Heavenly Sword'' is a 2007 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. Gameplay The game is an action-adventure title with heavy hack and slash game ...

'', '' 007: Quantum of Solace'', '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized,'' '' Call of Duty: Black Ops,'' and '' Star Wars: The Old Republic''.

Writing

In 2020, McTavish and fellow ''Outlander'' actor

published a book entitled ''Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other,'' which was inspired by their work on the upcoming

STARZ Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

docu-series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

''Men in Kilts''. The book reached the #1 spot on the ''New York Times''' Best Seller Lists for hardcover nonfiction and for combined print and e-book nonfiction, and also hit No. 1 on the ''Publishers Weekly'' Bestseller List for hardcover nonfiction, among other lists. In April 2015, McTavish was the 17th grand marshall of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Tartan Day Parade.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Written works by McTavish

* ''Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McTavish, Graham Living people Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male video game actors Scottish male voice actors 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors 1961 births