Scotland on Screen: Tony Curran

If ever there were to be a biopic on Tony Curran’s life, it might begin, “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be an actor.” Actually, Curran’s desire to tread the boards goes back even further. “I don't remember this, obviously. But when I was three, the insurance man came to our house. He was asking me what I wanted to be. ‘Do you want to be a doctor or a fireman or a footballer?’ Apparently, rather indignantly, I stood up and said, ‘I'm going to be an actor!’ That's what my mum tells me, anyway.” 

That three-year-old was right to be indignant. With over 40 movie credits and 60-plus TV roles, Curran is one of the most ubiquitous faces on our screens. His first taste of the business that is show came as a teen at secondary school. “The drama department at Holyrood [in Glasgow's Southside] did some plays with us. Guys & Dolls, I think, was the first play I ever did. And then we did The Crucible, so quite the range.” 

This versatility has stood Curran in good stead. He’s played all types of character since: an SAS trouper in Ultimate Force, Vincent van Gogh in Doctor Who, a ne'er-do-well being stalked by Kate Dickie in Red Road, not to mention dozens of smaller roles in huge films throughout the '00s and '10s – think Gladiator, Blade II, Miami Vice, X-Men: First Class. He was similarly busy in the 90s, turning up in the likes of Rab C. Nesbitt, Grange Hill, The Bill, Soldier Soldier…

“You’re forgetting the classic: Taggart,” interrupts Curran when I bring up his early career on UK telly. His role in 90s phenomenon This Life was a turning point, though. “That was a fun one,” he says. “My friend Eirene Houston actually wrote that character with me in mind; Lenny, the plumber. He ended up having this big love affair with Ferdy.” Lenny confused some viewers back in 1996 because he was a gay man who didn’t conform to the stereotypes that had dominated gay characters in popular culture at the time. "Lenny wasn't overtly gay. He was just a sort of regular guy. My friend Eirene had many friends like that so she wrote about it. So, yeah, This Life, it was ahead of its time in many ways.”

Curran has come a long way since his industrious tutelage on British TV. When we speak over video phone, he’s sitting in his car in LA, where he’s lived for two decades. Life seems pretty sweet, but despite his success, he’s not taking anything for granted. “I try not to be too conscious of this weird career that is acting,“ he explains. “I guess I say to myself, 'If you think about this too much, then it may go away.' So I try not to be conscious of being conscious,” he laughs. 

Tony Curran. Image credit: Curse These Eyes.

This isn’t to say Curran is some airhead who doesn’t take his craft seriously. That’s clear when we discuss his latest role in the racy new historical drama Mary & George. The title characters are Mary Villiers (played by Julianne Moore) and her beautiful second son, George (played by Nicholas Galitzine). Based on Benjamin Woolley's non-fiction book The King's Assassin, the show follows Mary as she sets a honey trap for King James VI of Scotland and I of England; she encourages George to seduce the king in a bid to wield his power and influence. 

Curran plays James, and it’s fair to say he did his research. As well as devouring Woolley’s book, he got the chance to pick the author’s brains in person. “It was around about this time last year, before we started shooting," recalls Curran. "I'd sit there with a notepad and just fire questions at [Woolley]. We talked about [King James's] relationship with the Duke of Buckingham and George Villiers and Mary Villiers. We talked about his relationship with his wife, Anne, his relationship with France and Spain and how he never wanted to go to war. We talked Jamestown, which was the first British colony in the Americas and named after him… the King James Bible…” 

Once Curran had digested all this information he was ready to forget it all on set. “I guess you prepare as much as you can and then you throw it out the window,” he explains. “I like to think that I work on instinct. For me, acting is about working with a director and working with the other actors, and just feeling it.”

He clearly has affection for this playful but troubled monarch. But when I ask if there’s a role he’s particularly proud of he points to his most recent one, in Mayflies, Andrea Gibb’s adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan's heartbreaking novel about male friendship. In the two-part drama, Curran is Tully, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and asks his best pal since childhood (played by Curran’s real-life pal Martin Compston) to help him end his life. “Tully, I really enjoyed him,” says Curran. “He was brave, but he was vulnerable as well. And he was gregarious and obviously very tragic – which is kind of similar to King James.

"I'll be honest, I don't say this often about my work, but yeah, I'm proud of those two performances.”

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Mary & George will be broadcast on Sky in early Mar; Mayflies is currently on BBC iPlayer
Filmography (selected): Outlaw King (2018), Calibre (2018), Thor: The Dark World (2013), X-Men: First Class (2011), Miami Vice (2006), Red Road (2006), Blade II (2002), Gladiator (2000), Shallow Grave (1994)
TV (selected): Mary & George (2024), Secret Invasion (2023), Mayflies (2022), The Flash (2021), Ray Donovan (2018), Doctor Who (2010), Ultimate Force (2002), This Life (1996)