Angus Macfadyen

Angus Macfadyen (born 1963) is a Scottish actor. His roles include Robert the Bruce, both in Braveheart and Robert the Bruce, Komodo in Warriors of Virtue, Vice-Counsel Dupont in Equilibrium, Jeff Denlon in the Saw franchise, Robert Rogers in the AMC historical drama Turn: Washington's Spies, McCreedy in Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo, and biologist James Murray in The Lost City of Z. He has made appearances on several television series such as Californication, Criminal Minds, Chuck, and Superman & Lois.

Early life Macfadyen was brought up in the Philippines, Africa, Singapore and France. His father was a doctor in the World Health Organization. Macfadyen attended the University of Edinburgh and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career 1990s Macfadyen's first role was Philip in the film made for television The Lost Language of Cranes (1991). He portrayed a young man who must tell his parents that he is gay. Playing the role of his father was fellow Scottish actor Brian Cox. Macfadyen then acted in five episodes of Soldier Soldier before appearing in the television film 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1993) and also on the television series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994) about a salesman who runs a radio station in a mental institution. That role led to his role as Robert the Bruce in Mel Gibson's film Braveheart (1995). In 1995 he also portrayed Richard Burton in the TV miniseries Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story.

After Braveheart won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Macfadyen acted in the independent film Nevada (1997), before giving the most over-the-top performance of his career in the action/fantasy Warriors of Virtue (1997). He also co-starred alongside Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta when he played Peter Lawford in the HBO film The Rat Pack (1998). His dark presence causes controversy in the local port town of New Providence, especially among Gov. Charles Eden (Chamberlain) and his adopted daughter Charlotte (Chastain), who is being wooed by Lt. Robert Maynard (Umbers).

His next big role was that of Jeff Denlon in Saw III (also 2006). Jeff 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 budget, earning almost $200 million worldwide. Macfadyen then co-starred in the box office bomb Redline and Saw IV (both 2007), which was also a box office success.

Macfadyen continued making films, starring as the outlaw Will Tunney in his western film Shadowheart (2009). He has appeared on television on the series Killer Wave (2007) and Californication (2008) He has also acted in the mystery film San Saba (2008) and the thriller film Clean Break (aka, Unnatural Causes, 2008).

2010s Macfadyen has appeared in two thrillers: Pound of Flesh (2010) alongside Malcolm McDowell, which revolves around a corrupt college professor, and the crime thriller Shadows of the White Nights (aka, Assassins Run, 2013) alongside Christian Slater. He starred as Lucas Blackstone in the Christian film Taken by Grace (also 2013). Additionally, Macfadyen guest-starred in an episode of USA Network's television series Psych, the Cameron Crowe feature film We Bought a Zoo (2011) starring Matt Damon, and the final season of Chuck as villain Nicholas Quinn. In 2012, he played Falstaff in H4, a modernized Shakespeare adaptation produced by Harry Lennix.

Macfadyen also starred as Robert Rogers in AMC's historical drama series Turn: Washington's Spies (2014–17), and Allan Pinkerton on the first-run syndicated series The Pinkertons (2014–15). He appeared opposite Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson as biologist James Murray in the 2016 biographical drama The Lost City of Z.

In 2021, Macfadyen was cast as Jor-El in Superman & Lois.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1991 The Lost Language of Cranes Philip Television film 1992 Soldier Soldier Lieutenant Alex Pereira Recurring role, 5 episodes 1994 Screen One Dexter 1 episode 1994 Takin' Over the Asylum Fergus Miniseries, 4 episodes 1995 Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story Richard Burton Television film 1998 The Rat Pack Peter Lawford Television film 2000 Jason and the Argonauts Zeus Miniseries, 2 episodes 2003 Miracles Alva Keel Main role, 13 episodes 2004 Spartacus Marcus Crassus Television film 2004 Five Days to Midnight Roy Bremmer Miniseries, 5 episodes 2005 Tilt Roy McEntyre 1 episode 2005–2006 Alias Joseph Erhmann 3 episodes 2006 Blackbeard Blackbeard Miniseries, 3 episodes 2007 Killer Wave John McAdams Miniseries, 2 episodes 2008 Eleventh Hour Jason Cooper 1 episode 2008 Californication Julian Recurring role, 6 episodes 2010 Lie to Me Jimmy Doyle Episode "Sweet Sixteen" 2010 Psych Logan Paget 1 episode, "Shawn and Gus in Drag (Racing)" 2011 Criminal Minds Sean McAllister 2 episodes 2012 Chuck Nicholas Quinn 4 episodes 2013 Republic of Doyle Gerald Byrne 1 episode 2014–2017 Turn: Washington's Spies Robert Rogers Main role, 31 episodes 2014–2015 The Pinkertons Allan Pinkerton Main role, 22 episodes 2019 Strange Angel Aleister Crowley Recurring role, 5 episodes 2021 Superman & Lois Jor-El Recurring role; 5 episodes 2023 Outlander Brigadier General Simon Fraser Recurring role, 3 episodes