Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. His credits include Riff-Raff, Shallow Grave (1994), Braveheart (1995), Trainspotting (1996), My Name Is Joe (1998), The Claim (2000), Neds (2010), War Horse (2011), The Fixer (2008), Top of the Lake (2013), Mum (2016–2019), Ozark (2017–2018), Westworld (2018–2020), Cursed (2020), The North Water (2021), The Underground Railroad (2021), The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–2024), After the Party (2023), Baghead (2023) and I Swear (2025).

He won a Golden Lion at 59th Venice International Film Festival for his direction of The Magdalene Sisters (2002).

Early life Peter Mullan was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, The seventh of eight children, Mullan was brought up in a working class Roman Catholic family. They later moved to Mosspark, a district in Glasgow. Mullan's father, an alcoholic, became increasingly tyrannical and abusive; he died from lung cancer when Mullan was 17.

For a brief period, Mullan was a member of a street gang while at secondary school, and worked as a bouncer in a number of south-side pubs. He was homeless for short periods at the ages of 15 and 18.

Mullan went on to the University of Glasgow to study economic history and drama, and where he also began acting on stage.

Career Acting Mullan continued stage acting after graduation. He had roles in films alongside actors such as Robert Carlyle in Riff-Raff (1991), with Mel Gibson in Braveheart (1995), and with Ewan McGregor in Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996).

Mullan's role as a recovering alcoholic in My Name Is Joe (1998) won him the Best Actor Award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

As a director, his film, Orphans (1998), won awards at the Venice Film Festival 1998 and Festival du Film de Paris 1999.

He won the World Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performances at 2011 Sundance Film Festival for his work on Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur (2011).

Directing Mullan is an arthouse movie director. In 2002, he returned to directing and screenwriting with the controversial film The Magdalene Sisters,

He also won a Golden Shell at San Sebastián International Film Festival for Neds (2010). He is in a relationship with New Zealand actress Robyn Malcolm, whom he met while filming Top of the Lake in 2013.

A self-described Marxist, Ahead of the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Mullan pledged support for the new Scottish Socialist Party and their leader Tommy Sheridan. Mullan took part in a 2006 occupation of the Glasgow offices of the UK Immigration Service, protesting against the UKIS's "dawn raid" tactics when deporting failed asylum seekers.

In January 2009, Mullan joined other actors in protesting against the BBC's refusal to screen a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza. They told BBC director general Mark Thompson: "Like millions of others, we are absolutely appalled at the decision to refuse to broadcast the appeal. We will never work for the BBC again unless this disgraceful decision is reversed. We will urge others from our profession and beyond to do likewise." Mullan appeared in an adaptation of Iain Banks's novel Stonemouth after the BBC aired a DEC appeal for Gaza in late 2014.

Mullan was a supporter of the Yes Scotland campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. In 2015, he criticised the BBC for "horrendous bias" against the Yes campaign and told the Radio Times that "to see the BBC used as a political cudgel against a legitimate democratic movement ... really broke my heart."

In September 2025, Mullan was attacked in Glasgow while attempting to intervene in an assault; the assailant was subsequently jailed for 18 months.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role NotesRef.1988The SteamieAndy 1990 The Big Man Vince 1991 Riff-Raff Jake European Film Award for Best European Film 2016 Edith Jake Short film Tommy's Honour Old Tom Morris 2017 Hostiles Lt. Col. Ross McCowan2018 Pearl AlThe Vanishing Thomas Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle Akela (voice) Voice and motion capture 2019 Chips Chips (voice) Short film2020 Fatbaws Unknown Marionette Dr. McVittie 2021 Don vs Lightning Don Short film 2022 The Hanging Sun Dad 2023 Baghead Owen Lark 2025 I Swear Tommy TrotterCompleted 2026 The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford Kenneth Filming Filming

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 1988 The Steamie Andy Television film1990 Your Cheatin' Heart Tonto Mini-series; Episodes 3–5 Taggart Peter Lewis / Peter Latimer Series 5, Episode 4: "Love Knot", and Series 6, Episode 7: "Rogue's Gallery" 1991 Jute City Mallet Episodes 1–3 1992 Rab C. Nesbitt Peter the Warlock Series 2, Episode 6: "Life Has Meaning"1993 Encounters Willy Series 2; Episode 3: "Opium Eaters" Seeker Reaper George Campbell Hay Bilingual drama about the life of Scottish poet George Campbell Hay (1915–1984) 1994 The Priest and the Pirate Billy Hill Television films1995 Ruffian Hearts Chez Harry Jimmy Series 2, Episode 6 1996 Nightlife Billy Television film1997 Sanders Sr. Television film. Whitbread First Novel Award for First Novel Outlander: Blood of My Blood Red Jacob MacKenzie 2026 Steal Sir Toby Gould Series 1, Episode 4 Ser Eustace Osgrey Season 2