Ron Donachie
Ronald Eaglesham Porter, known professionally as Ron Donachie, is a Scottish actor. He is known for starring as DI John Rebus in the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the Ian Rankin "Rebus" detective novels and for his supporting roles in films The Jungle Book, Titanic and television series Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.
Biography
Ronald Porter was born in Dundee, Scotland and educated at Madras College, St Andrews where he performed in three school plays: Serjeant Musgrave's Dance in 1972, A Man For All Seasons in 1973 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter was impressive from start to finish, handling a mammoth part with apparent ease, giving a sensitive, subtle and well-controlled performance, especially in the second act", and Taming of the Shrew in 1974 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter’s affability shines out like the proverbial beacon... as the most experienced member of the cast, he has the confidence to be able to establish an immediate rapport with the audience.... turned in his usual high standard of performance as the enormously arrogant Petruchio".His education continued at the University of Glasgow where he was President of the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council and graduated MA in English Literature and Drama in 1979.
He joined John McGrath's for their 1980–1981 touring production, John Burrows' One Big Blow, in which the cast mimicked a traditional colliery band by singing in six part harmony. Following the success of this play members of the cast founded the a cappella vocal group The Flying Pickets in 1982, but Donachie left before their 1983 Christmas number one hit.
Donachie married Fiona Biggar, a complementary therapist, in 1989; the couple have two children: the actor Daniel Portman and Naomi Porter, a linguist. His brother, Stewart Porter, is also an actor and his sister-in-law is Scottish film costume designer Trisha Biggar.
Although Donachie has been prolific in television and films, these have all been ensemble or supporting parts. His leading roles on radio and the theatre have achieved acclaim:
“Ron Donachie plays in the BBC radio versions and he’s really got the voice”
— Ian Rankin, author of the Rebus novels
Ron Donachie plays her father with an authority that makes his role as a sexual predator even more creepy.
— Six Characters in Search of an Author – Mark Fisher, The Guardian
When Ron Donachie takes the stage as Deputy Governor Danforth in the second half of Arthur Miller’s classic, it’s as if this 17th century parable of superstition and intolerance has a new centre of gravity. It’s partly that Donachie seems three times bigger than everyone else, a bullish figure, no less fearsome for his legal attire. It’s partly that his charismatic stillness commands attention and defies contradiction. But it’s also that, in presenting himself as reasonable, considerate and fair, he puts you in mind of every leader who gets his way by masking ruthless force with politeness.
— The Crucible review – Mark Fisher, The Guardian
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Director |
| 1983 | Ill Fares the Land | ||
| 1984 | Comfort and Joy | George | |
| 1986 | Heavenly Pursuits | Big Man in Bar | |
| 1987 | White Mischief | Club Manager | |
| 1988 | ' | Biker | |
| 1994 | ' | Sergeant Harley | |
| 1996 | Lucky Suit | Failed comedian | |
| 1997 | Fierce Creatures | Sergeant Scott | |
| 1997 | Titanic | Master at Arms | |
| 1999 | ' | Happy Feet | |
| 2000 | Beautiful Creatures | Police Pathologist | |
| 2002 | ' | Sportscaster | |
| 2002 | Al's Lads | Birch | |
| 2003 | Man Dancin | Billy Maddison | |
| 2005 | Man to Man | Sir Walter Stephenson | |
| 2005 | ' | Laurie | |
| 2006 | ' | Scobie | |
| 2008 | Made of Honour | Horse Owner | |
| 2008 | Stone of Destiny | Night Watchman | |
| 2008 | ' | Doctor Ferguson | |
| 2008 | Max Manus | Colonel J.S. Wilson | |
| 2011 | Blitz | Cross | |
| 2012 | Filth | Hector | |
| 2014 | What We Did on Our Holiday | Sergeant Murdoch | |
| 2015 | Sunset Song | Uncle Tam | |
| 2017 | Steel Rain | Michael Dobbs, US Secretary of State | Yang Woo-suk |
| 2018 | Outlaw King | Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow | |
| 2020 | '' | Col. Cleaver |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| Goodnight and God Bless | Bouncer | Episode: "Ronnie's Wonderful Day" | |
| Grey Granite | Provost James Speight | Episodes: "Duncalm" & "Stone Circle" | |
| Those Glory Glory Days | 1961 Spurs Team Member | Television film | |
| Sakharov | Television film | ||
| Play for Today | Big Lick | Episode: "It Could Happen to Anybody" | |
| Coronation Street | Joe Schofield | Episode: 2461 | |
| Bulman | Bill Allison | Episode: "A Man of Conviction" | |
| ' | Strachan | Episodes: "Before the Shambles" & "When the Hurly-Burly's Done" | |
| Blood Red Roses | Charles Riggins | ||
| Tutti Frutti | Dennis Sproul | All 6 episodes | |
| Taggart | Pat Connolly | Episode: "Funeral Rites" | |
| Bust | Willie McGraw | Episode: "Family Business" | |
| Down Where The Buffalo Go | Drunk on ferry | Television film | |
| ' | Al Hake | Television film | |
| City Lights | Shughie McGlinchey | Episode: "Catch 23" | |
| God's Frontiersmen | Allen | Television dramatised documentary | |
| ' | Alex Patterson | All 4 episodes, series 1 | |
| Snakes and Ladders | Mr Pym | Episodes 1, 2 & 6 | |
| Mornin' Sarge | Stanley the Knife | Episode: "Stan the Knife" | |
| ' | RAF corporal | Television film | |
| ' | Hatted Man | All 4 episodes | |
| Screen One | Big Mac | Episode: "Sweet Nothing" | |
| Stay Lucky | Jock | Episode: "Burning Your Boats" | |
| Rab C Nesbitt | James Balloon McSwaggerty | Episode: "Rat" | |
| ' | Sgt. Willis | Episode: "Effective Persuaders" | |
| Coasting | Frank | Episode: "Another Fine Mess" | |
| Jute City | Ginger McCrindle | ||
| Boon | Dougie | Episode: "Stamp Duty" | |
| Specials | Special Constable Freddy Calder | All 12 episodes | |
| Me, You and Him | Todd | All 6 episodes | |
| Casualty | PC Pewsey | Episode: "Rates of Exchange" | |
| – | Take the High Road | Duncan Strachan | Recurring, 15 episodes |
| Taggart | Marco Cellini | Episode: "Death Benefits" | |
| Strathblair | Bob Scott | Episode: "2.1" | |
| Lie Down with Lions | Kelly | Television film | |
| ' | Alec McLean | Television serial | |
| Cracker | Barney, the psychologically damaged war veteran | Episode: "Brotherly Love" | |
| ' | William Hall | Episode: "Pointing the Finger" | |
| – | Hamish Macbeth | Zoot McPherrin | Episodes: "West Coast Story" & "A Perfectly Simple Explanation" |
| – | ' | Prison Officer Russell Morgan | Main cast, both series |
| Casualty | Ralph Sutcliffe | Episode: "Mother's Little Helper" | |
| Ivanhoe | Friar Tuck | Episodes 3, 4 & 6 | |
| Supply & Demand | Supt. Brent | Episode: "Supply & Demand" | |
| ' | Mike Shearon | Episode: "Strange Meeting" | |
| Ain't Misbehavin | Billy the Book | All 3 episodes | |
| Looking After Jo Jo | Des | Episodes: "Working Week" & "Sink the Belgrano" | |
| Magic with Everything | Police sergeant | Episode: "Imagine the Unimaginable" | |
| Taggart | Hamish Baird | Episode: "Dead Reckoning" | |
| The Life and Crimes of William Palmer | Leonard Bladon | Television film | |
| ' | Mazarini | 4 episodes | |
| Rab C Nesbitt | Huggett | Episode: "Commons" | |
| Extremely Dangerous | Gebbert | All 4 episodes | |
| – | Starhunter | McDuff | Episodes: "The Divinity Cluster" & "Dark and Stormy Night" |
| Too Much Sun | Arnold Wyckoff | Episode: "Hollywood Phonies" | |
| Taggart | Peter Jenkins | Episode: "Falling in Love" | |
| Rebus | CS Wilson | Episode: "Dead Souls" | |
| ' | Fergusson | Episode: "" | |
| Orrible | DI Chris Dodds | Episodes: "Dirty Dozen" & "New Best Friend" | |
| Shackleton | Keltie | Television serial / film | |
| Nova | Chippy McNeish | Episode: "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance" | |
| ' | John Ross | Episode: "Payment in Blood" | |
| Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Dan Calhoun | Episodes: "Heavy Metal", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" & "A Bridge Too Far" | |
| Silent Witness | DCI Luke Telford | Episode: "Tell No Tales" | |
| – | ' | DCI Andrew Ross | Recurring, 15 episodes |
| ' | MacKaveny | All 3 episodes | |
| Monarch of the Glen | Alec McTavish | Episode: "Series 5, episode 10" | |
| ' | Joseph Haydn | Episode: "The First Romantic" | |
| Uncle Adolf | Martin Bormann | Television film | |
| ' | George Hart | Episodes: "Virus" & "Blackdog" | |
| Heartbeat | Mr Gordon | Episode: "Services Rendered" | |
| Where the Heart Is | Gavin Morley | Episode: "Legacy" | |
| ' | David Tremaine | Episode: "Episode 3" | |
| Summer Solstice | Macgregor | Television film | |
| Taggart | Harry Stein | Episode: "Law" | |
| Doctor Who | Steward | Episode: "Tooth and Claw" | |
| ' | Mr Allen Lane | Television film | |
| – | Rebus | DCS Jack Gunner | Episodes: "Let It Bleed", "Resurrection Men" & "The Naming of the Dead" |
| Party Animals | Roger Brenton | Episode: "Episode 1" | |
| Recovery | Len Hamilton | Television film | |
| Sea of Souls | Minister | Episode: "The Prayer Tree: Part 1" | |
| Still Game | Cameron | Episode: "Fly Society" | |
| Heartbeat | Ken Dekin | Episode: "Where There's Smoke" | |
| Love Soup | Inspector Harbin | Episode: "The Menaced Assassin" | |
| No Holds Bard | Prison Officer | Television film | |
| Lewis | Professor Angus Rawbone | Episode: "Falling Darkness" | |
| ' | Sturridge | Television serial | |
| Doctors | John Harold Doric | Episode: "Doric's Column" | |
| Garrow's Law | Sir Alexander Lamb | Episode: "Episode 3" | |
| – | Game of Thrones | Ser Rodrik Cassel | Recurring, 13 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award – nominated |
| Waterloo Road | Billy Byrne | Recurring, 7 episodes | |
| Silk | Alasdair McKinley QC | Episode: "Wooden Overcoat" | |
| Downton Abbey | Mr McCree | Episode: "A Journey to the Highlands" | |
| Bob Servant Independent | Medical Director | Episode: "A Local Man" | |
| Shameless | 'Biddy' Baxter | Episode: "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" | |
| ' | DCI Sullivan | Episode: "The Dead Hour" | |
| Atlantis | Theos | Episode: "The Earth Bull" | |
| ' | Major Bloomberg | Television film | |
| – | Blandings | Angus McAllister | Episodes: "Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend", "Throwing Eggs", "Sticky Wicket at Blandings" & "Custody of the Pumpkin" |
| Bob Servant | Medical Director | Episode: "Court" | |
| Father Brown | Jock Hamilton | Episode: "The Owl of Minerva" | |
| Casualty | DI John Hartley | Episode: "The Rita Supremacy" | |
| Doctors | Jack Rayburn | Episode: "Play Date" | |
| Agatha Raisin | Ron Allen | Episode: "The Wellspring of Death" | |
| River City | Dr Michael ‘Mikey’ Rosenburg | Recurring, 4 episodes | |
| Iain Sutherland | Television serial | ||
| Vera | Jesse Hennings | Episode: "Blood and Bone" | |
| Starhunter ReduX | McDuff | Episodes: "The Divinity Cluster" & "Dark and Stormy Night" | |
| Casualty | Ben Loksley | Episode: "Episode 39" | |
| Holby City | Richard MacDonagh | Episode: "Mothers and Their Daughters" | |
| Deadwater Fell | Callum McKenzie | Episodes: "Episode 1" & "Episode 2" |
Theatre
Radio
| Date | Title | Role | Director | Station |
| – | Citizens | Alec Kelly | BBC Radio 4 | |
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play | |
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play | |
| ' | Bellamy | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play | ||
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play | |
| Salmonella Men on Planet Porno | BBC Radio 3 The Wire | |||
| Fags, Mags and Bags: Mr Majhu Goes to Lenzie | Bob Shandy MP | BBC Radio 4 | ||
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play | |
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial | |
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial | |
| – | ' | DI Rebus | BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play | |
| Sir John Wedderburn | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama |