John Gordon Sinclair
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John Gordon Sinclair (born Gordon John Sinclair; 4 February 1962) is a Scottish actor, voice actor, singer, and novelist. He is best known for portraying Gregory in the 1981 film ''
Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...
''. There was a Gordon Sinclair already registered with
Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...
, so he took John Gordon Sinclair as his professional name. In 2019, Sinclair played Drew Cubbin in the BBC drama ''
Traces Traces may refer to: Literature * ''Traces'' (book), a 1998 short-story collection by Stephen Baxter * ''Traces'' series, a series of novels by Malcolm Rose Music Albums * ''Traces'' (Classics IV album) or the title song (see below), 1969 * ''Tra ...
''.


Life and career

Sinclair was born on 4 February 1962 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 ...
and started work as an apprentice electrician. At 15 he joined Glasgow's Youth Theatre after he visited one night and met Robert Buchanan, a fellow fan of
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group
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. As a result, he starred in a number of films by director
Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...
, perhaps the most notable of which is 1981's ''
Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...
'', shot when he was 19 years old. He reprised the role nearly two decades later in ''
Gregory's Two Girls ''Gregory's Two Girls'' is a 1999 Scottish film, set in Cumbernauld and also in various locations in Edinburgh. It is the sequel to ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), which also starred John Gordon Sinclair and Kennie Pullen and was written and directed ...
'' (1999), and also appeared in Forsyth's '' Local Hero'' (1983). His other film roles included appearances in ''
Britannia Hospital ''Britannia Hospital'' is a 1982 British black comedy film, directed by Lindsay Anderson, which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto. ''Britannia ...
'' (1982), '' The Girl in the Picture'' (1985), and ''
Erik the Viking ''Erik the Viking'' is a 1989 Cinema of United Kingdom, British comedy film, 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 comp ...
'' (1989). He has continued to act on stage and screen. Other roles include parts in ''Goodbye Mr Steadman'', ''
Mad About Alice ''Mad About Alice'' is a British sitcom that ran during 2004 for six episodes. It centres on the lives of a divorced couple and their young son. Despite no longer living together, Doug (Jamie Theakston) and Alice (Amanda Holden) remain in close c ...
(2004)'' and ''
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'' (2004). He was also in the first series of LWT's ''
Hot Metal ''Hot Metal'' (1986–88) is a British sitcom produced by London Weekend Television about the newspaper industry. Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom '' Whoops Apoc ...
'' (1986) and both the radio and television sitcom '' An Actor's Life For Me'' (1989–93). He played Dan Weir in ''
Espedair Street ''Espedair Street'' is a novel by Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1987. Plot introduction The book tells the (fictional) story of the rise to fame of Dan Weir ('Weird'), a bass guitar player in a rock and roll band called Frozen Gold, ...
'' (1998), the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
adaptation of the
Iain Banks Iain Banks (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, adding the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies (). After the success of ''The Wasp Factor ...
novel, as well as playing the lead part of
Dr Finlay Dr Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin. Short stories The character Dr Finlay first appeared in Cronin's novella ''Country Doctor'' and in several subsequent short stories published in ...
in the Radio 4 series entitled '' Adventures of a Black Bag'' (2001–02). He also made a brief appearance in one episode of '' Bergerac'' ("Ninety percent proof") in 1983. He appeared in the 1982 Scottish squad's
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
song "
We Have a Dream "We Have A Dream" was a special single released as the official song of the Scotland national football team for their 1982 World Cup Campaign. When first released, it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart. 2008 version The single was re-relea ...
", a number 5 hit in the UK, which was written and performed by B.A. Robertson, with Sinclair speaking his recollection of a dream about Scottish football success. He later revived this Scottish footballing connection by narrating the 2006–07
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
documentary series ''
That Was The Team That Was ''That Was The Team That Was'' is a Scottish television programme that documented successful time periods for Scottish football sides. The show was broadcast on BBC One Scotland every Friday night (when there was a series ongoing) and has recen ...
''. Sinclair played Frank McClusky, a leading character, in the 1990 John Byrne TV serial ''
Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancé ...
''. He played one of the main characters in the
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TV adverts in the late 1990s and early 2000s alongside
Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...
and
Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...
. He most recently appeared in the
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in '' The Producers'' playing the part of Leo Bloom alongside Fred Applegate. In 1998 he performed as one of the Penguins in the TV adaptation of ''
PB Bear and Friends ''PB Bear and Friends'' is a series of children's books by Lee Davis that has also been made into a British children's television series. Much like the ''Paddington Bear'' series, the characters are stuffed puppets that are animated with the sto ...
''. He voiced Tom Fetch in ''
Fetch the Vet ''Fetch the Vet'' is a British stop motion children's television programme created by Gail Penston and Stephen Thraves. 26 episodes were produced by Cosgrove Hall Films, Flextech Television, and London Weekend Television for ITV (TV network), ITV' ...
''. He voiced all the male characters (except for Finbar) in
HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Soph ...
's ''
Rubbadubbers ''Rubbadubbers'' is a 2003 British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series aired from 15 January 2003 to 3 November 2005 on BBC2 in the UK. Created by Peter Curtis, it features seven ...
''. He also played P.K. in the UK version of ''
Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...
''. He was awarded the
Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
in 1995 for Best Actor in a Musical for his 1994 performance in ''
She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...
''. Sinclair also performed the part of "Master of Ceremonies" in
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's premiere performance of ''
Tubular Bells II ''Tubular Bells II'' is the fifteenth studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Mike Oldfield. It was released on 31 August 1992 by Warner Music UK and is the successor to his debut album '' Tubular Bells'' (1973). After his contract with ...
'' at
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
in 1992. In 2013, he appeared in ''
World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...
''. In 2018 he played Richard, attorney for the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
(
Trine Dyrholm Trine Dyrholm (; born 15 April 1972) is a Danish actress, singer and songwriter. Dyrholm received national recognition when she placed third in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as a 14-year-old singer. Four years later, she again achieved national re ...
) in the film ''
Nico, 1988 ''Nico, 1988'' is a 2017 biographical drama film written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli. A co-production between Italy and Belgium, the film chronicles the last year of the life of German singer and model Nico. It had its world premiere at ...
''. He narrates '' Biggleton'' (series 2) on
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
, replacing
Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959)Holmes receives honorary degree
BBC ...
. In 2019 he appeared as Drew Cubbin, Emma's father and ex-partner of Marie Monroe in the TV series ''
Traces Traces may refer to: Literature * ''Traces'' (book), a 1998 short-story collection by Stephen Baxter * ''Traces'' series, a series of novels by Malcolm Rose Music Albums * ''Traces'' (Classics IV album) or the title song (see below), 1969 * ''Tra ...
''.


Other

His novel ''Seventy Times Seven'', a violent thriller set in 1992, was published in 2012.


Personal life

In 2004 he married Shauna McKeon. They have two daughters.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, John Gordon 1962 births Living people 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors Fraggle Rock Laurence Olivier Award winners Male actors from Glasgow Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male voice actors Scottish male writers Scottish thriller writers