Rory McCann
McCann in 2014
Born (1969-04-24) 24 April 1969 (age 54)
Glasgow, Scotland
OccupationActor
Years active1999–present
Height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[1]

Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series Game of Thrones, Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy Hot Fuzz (2007), Jurgen the Brutal in the adventure comedy Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and the voice of Megatron in Transformers: EarthSpark.

Early life

McCann was born in Glasgow, Scotland.[2] He has a sister, Sally-Gay McCann, born in 1972.[3]

Before becoming an actor, McCann was a painter who studied at the Scottish School of Forestry near Inverness. He also worked as a bridge painter (on the Forth Road Bridge), landscape gardener and carpenter.[4] Rory McCann was first trained as an actor by writer-artist Robert Parsifal Finch in The Actor's Workshop, Glasgow in 1998.[5][6]

Career

McCann's first acting job was as an extra on the film Willow (1988). He was fired because he laughed during the takes.[7] He appeared in an advertisement for Scott's Porage Oats, dressed in a vest and kilt.[7] As his first major acting role, McCann played a disabled personal trainer in the 2002 television comedy drama The Book Group, winning the Scottish BAFTA for the best television performance of 2002.[8]

Since then, he has taken television roles as Detective Inspector Stuart Brown in State of Play, Peter the Great in Peter in Paradise, and a priest in the award-winning British comedy-drama series Shameless.[6]

He made his Hollywood debut in the 2004 film Alexander, which required the actors to go through training in the African desert, and included shooting in Thailand, Morocco, and a London studio.[9] In 2007, he appeared as Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Hot Fuzz. In 2008, he played Moby in The Crew and Attila the Hun in the BBC docudrama Heroes and Villains.

McCann portrayed Sandor "The Hound" Clegane in 7 out of 8 seasons of the HBO series Game of Thrones.[10][11][12]

Other projects include a BBC TV series by writer Jimmy McGovern called Banished, set in Australia in the 18th century. McCann plays a blacksmith named Marston.[13]

In 2022 he became the narrator of the ITV1 series DNA Journey.

Personal life

McCann's younger sister, Sally-Gay McCann, works on costumes for film and television; he worked alongside her on Alexander and Game of Thrones.[3] McCann is a supporter of the Scottish Green Party, and appeared in its 2007 Scottish Parliament general election broadcast.[14]

In 1990, McCann broke multiple bones in a near-fatal rock climbing accident in Yorkshire.[15]

McCann is the former frontman of a defunct band called Thundersoup.[9] He plays the piano, guitar, banjo and mandolin.[16]

McCann lives a solitary, transient lifestyle.[7] He often lives on his boat or in places without modern conveniences.[17][18] In 2006, he went to Iceland with Gerard Butler to attend the premiere of Beowulf & Grendel. He ended up living in Iceland for a year, part of the time in a tent after losing his apartment, and working as a carpenter.[19][20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Pasty Faces Goon
2003 The Devil's Tattoo Eric
Young Adam Sam
2004 Alexander Craterus
2005 Beowulf & Grendel Breca
2006 Sixty Six Policeman
2007 Hot Fuzz Michael "Lurch" Armstrong
2008 The Crew Mobey
2009 Solomon Kane McNess
2010 Clash of the Titans Belo
2011 Season of the Witch Soldier Commander Credited as Rory MacCann
2015 Slow West John Ross
2017 XXX: Return of Xander Cage Tennyson "The Torch"
2019 Jumanji: The Next Level Jurgen The Brutal
2023 Jackdaw Armstrong

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Coming Soon Fergus Television film
2000 Randall & Hopkirk Bouncer Episode: "Mental Apparition Disorder"
Monarch of the Glen Roger Episode No. 1.6
2002 London's Burning Keith Episode No. 14.7
2002–2003 The Book Group Kenny McLeod Main role; 12 episodes
2003 State of Play Stuart Brown Episode No. 1.1
Rockface Adam Recurring role; 6 episodes
Peter in Paradise Peter the Great Television film
2006 Shameless Father Critchon 2 episodes
2008 Heroes and Villains Attila the Hun Episode: "Attila the Hun"
2011 The Jury Derek Hatch Main role (season 2); 5 episodes
2011–2014;
2016–2019		 Game of Thrones Sandor "The Hound" Clegane Main role; 38 episodes (seasons 1–4, 6–8)
2015 Banished Marston Main role; 4 episodes
2021 The Irregulars Arthur "the birdmaster" Hilton 2 episodes
2022 The Legend of Vox Machina Duke Vedmire (voice) 3 episodes[21]
Transformers: EarthSpark Megatron (voice) Main role; 6 episodes[22]
2024 Knuckles Miniseries

References

  1. ^ Collins, Sean (7 April 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Q&A: Rory McCann on 'The Hound' and Season Four". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Scott (15 September 2006). "Exclusive Interview: Rory McCann ('Shameless', Beowulf & Grendel', "Alexander')". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Rory McCann – What I know about women". The Scotsman. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  4. ^ McIver, Brian (31 March 2014). "Games of Thrones star Rory McCann on his meteoric rise from carpenter to fantasy TV star". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. ISSN 0956-8069. OCLC 500344244. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  5. ^ Everett, Charlotte (24 January 2022). "Game of Thrones' Rory McCann looks unrecognisable as porridge model two decades ago". Irish Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b Martin, Matilda; Stolworthy, Jacob (18 July 2017). "Game of Thrones cast: What else have the actors been in? From Emilia Clarke to Kit Harington". The Independent. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Boyer, Jen (25 April 2013). "'Game of Thrones': Meet the Hound, Scottish actor Rory McCann". LA Times. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  8. ^ MacLaren, Lorna (29 January 2003). "Why he's always up for it: From dubious tree surgeon and Forth bridge painter to giant of porridge commercials, Book Group star Rory McCann tells Lorna MacLaren of his next move". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  9. ^ a b English, Paul (1 January 2005). "Hulk Rory Leaves No Stone Unturned; Scott's Porage Oats Star Rory McCann Spills the Beans on how he won a part in Oliver Stone's movie Alexander by Telling the Great Man to take a Hike". Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Game of Thrones: Cast". HBO. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  11. ^ Towers, Andrea (4 April 2014). "'Game of Thrones': Rory McCann teases road trip of 'death and destruction' in season 4". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Rory McCann Joue Les Petits Rigolos à L'avant-Première de "Game of Thrones" à New York, le Mardi 18 ..." Pure/Trend. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  13. ^ Davey, Cathie (18 March 2014). "Cast announced for Jimmy McGovern's epic new series, Banished, for BBC Two". BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  14. ^ Scottish Green Party (11 April 2007). "First Vote Green on the 3rd of May 2007". YouTube. Retrieved 14 July 2014.[dead YouTube link]
  15. ^ Fulton, Rick (28 March 2002). "I fell into acting says Oats hunk; Scots actor and climber Rory McCann on the mountain plunge that changed his life". Daily Record (Scotland). Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  16. ^ Flett, Michael (19 March 2012). "Rory McCann - Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, Game of Thrones". Geek Chocolate. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  17. ^ Virtue, Graeme (19 March 2013). "Game Of Thrones' Hound on bumfluff, hugs and the magic of Wilko Johnson". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  18. ^ Lash, Jolie (23 February 2013). "Access Countdown To 'Game Of Thrones' Season 2: Q&A Rory McCann Talks Sandor Clegane (The Hound)". Access Hollywood. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  19. ^ Kristinn Haukur Guðnason (29 November 2019). "Heimsfrægur leikari bjó í tjaldi á Íslandi og stal sér til matar" (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  20. ^ Ellie Harrison (29 November 2019). "Game of Thrones star Rory McCann says he was living in a tent and 'stealing food' before he landed The Hound role". The Independent. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  21. ^ Moreau, Jordan (20 January 2022). "Critical Role's 'Legend of Vox Machina' Adds Stephanie Beatriz, David Tennant, Tony Hale and More as Guest Stars". Variety. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (22 July 2022). "'Transformers: EarthSpark': Paramount+ Series Sets Voice Cast, Teaser Trailer — Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

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