Paul McGann came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial The Monocled Mutineer, then starred in the dark comedy Withnail and I, which was a critical success and developed a cult following.
34 Facts About Paul McGann
2.
Paul McGann is known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the series Hornblower.
3.
Paul McGann was born in Liverpool on 14 November 1959, into a Roman Catholic family.
4.
Paul McGann's ancestors immigrated from Ireland in the mid-19th century, having left due to the Great Famine.
5.
Paul McGann's mother, Clare, was a teacher, and his father Joe who died in 1984 was a metallurgist.
6.
Paul McGann has an older brother, Joe, and three younger siblings: brothers Mark and Stephen and sister Clare.
7.
Paul McGann was 17 and working in a shoe shop when he acted on the advice of one of his teachers and successfully auditioned for a place on the acting course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
8.
In 1980, the Principal of RADA, Hugh Cruttwell, selected a scene from an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, which Paul McGann co-wrote with Bruce Payne, to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II in one of her rare visits to the academy.
9.
The serial garnered controversy from British right-wing media, though Paul McGann's performance garnered acclaim.
10.
Since 1989, Paul McGann has concentrated primarily on television work, including Nice Town and Nature Boy for the BBC, and The One That Got Away and the second series of Hornblower for ITV.
11.
Paul McGann was replaced by Sean Bean and the role effectively kick-started Bean's career and is the one that he is most closely identified with.
12.
Paul McGann played the eighth incarnation of the Doctor, in the Doctor Who 1996 television film.
13.
Paul McGann had signed a contract to appear as the Eighth Doctor in a new Doctor Who television series, if Fox or Universal exercised their option.
14.
Paul McGann gave permission for his likeness to be used on the covers of the BBC's Eighth Doctor novels and he has reprised the role of the Eighth Doctor in an extensive series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions.
15.
Paul McGann has denied these rumours on the grounds of not having been asked back to play the part, but if he were to be asked, would be interested as long as he "didn't have to wear a wig".
16.
Also in November 2013, Paul McGann briefly appeared in the 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five Doctors Reboot.
17.
Paul McGann made his first appearance on the main television series in a cameo in the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor", alongside other past Doctors.
18.
Paul McGann featured in the documentary film Doctor Who Am I, supporting TV movie director Matthew Jacobs' embrace of the Doctor Who fandom and its conventions.
19.
Paul McGann played the part of David Talbot, a member of the secret organisation the Talamasca, which researches and investigates the supernatural.
20.
Paul McGann has been in demand for voice-over work in Britain in recent years, particularly on television documentaries and commercials.
21.
Paul McGann initially appears in the 2001 episode "Mutiny", with Bush being the 2nd Lieutenant of HMS Renown.
22.
Paul McGann again portrays Bush in the 2003 finale of the series, "Duty".
23.
In 2007, Paul McGann starred alongside Dervla Kirwan, Lorraine Ashbourne and David Bradley in BBC One drama True Dare Kiss, written by Debbie Horsfield.
24.
In 2010, Paul McGann played a major role in a feature-length episode of long-running BBC mystery series Jonathan Creek, as well as appearing as a regular in the crime drama Luther.
25.
In 2011, Paul McGann played a major role as an Assistant Commissioner with something to hide in the final episode of Waking the Dead and featured in Simon Gray's Butley alongside Dominic West at the Duchess Theatre in London.
26.
In 2017, Paul McGann joined the cast of the long-running BBC series Holby City, playing neurosurgeon John Gaskell.
27.
Paul McGann is known for audiobook narration having read several Pat Barker and Bernard Cornwell novels.
28.
Paul McGann narrated the abridged audiobook of Jeff Noon's 1993 cyberpunk classic Vurt.
29.
Paul McGann's voice featured in the 1997 video game Ceremony of Innocence, together with those of Isabella Rossellini and Ben Kingsley.
30.
Paul McGann portrayed Ambassador Durian in The Minister of Chance, a fantasy audio drama released in six parts from 2011 to 2013.
31.
Paul McGann portrays antagonist Noah Shackleton in the audio drama adaptation of The Phoenix Files.
32.
Paul McGann appears in all three instalments of the science-fiction dystopian thriller series.
33.
Paul McGann has done audio narration for BBC documentaries, including the 2014 BBC Scotland production, Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting.
34.
Paul McGann is married to Annie Milner, although they are separated.