Paul McGann

Birthday: 14 November 1959, Kensington, Liverpool, England, UK

Height: 174 cm

Paul McGann was born on November 14, 1959 in Kensington, Liverpool, England. He is an actor and director, known for Alien³ (1992), Withnail & I (1987) and Queen of the Damned (2002). He has been married to Annie Milner since 1992. They have two children.

[on working with his brothers as a highlight of his career] When we did The Hanging Gale (1995), wor...Show more »

[on working with his brothers as a highlight of his career] When we did The Hanging Gale (1995), working together was a joy - it was easy - there's no professional rivalry. Show less «

Never having been a Doctor Who (1963) fan as a child; other than seeing them, I was never committed ...Show more »

Never having been a Doctor Who (1963) fan as a child; other than seeing them, I was never committed to them, and I'm still surprised year in, year out, at the involvement, the fervour, the zeal that the fans, the adherents, the people who are making the stories, and all these references, all this history, I'm still surprised at how complex and important it is. Show less «

I filled a CV in for something, for publicity purposes, only last week and I left Doctor Who (1996) ...Show more »

I filled a CV in for something, for publicity purposes, only last week and I left Doctor Who (1996) off. I only say that because there were times when I don't need to mention it, or perhaps, well, let's be brutally honest, it's not so cool to mention it. It depends who I'm talking to. Sometimes it's the first thing I mention. It depends, it just depends. Because it takes all sorts. Show less «

I'm not a sci-fi lover, I wasn't from the start. So perhaps I miss that passion for other worlds, ot...Show more »

I'm not a sci-fi lover, I wasn't from the start. So perhaps I miss that passion for other worlds, other dimensions, that sort of scope and that magnitude of storytelling, that's not my thing though I meet plenty of people whose thing it definitely is. Mine is more Earthbound than that; I prefer fiction, stories, things that are maybe rooted in our collective traits, simple, human, what makes us tick as human beings; I love a good novel. Show less «

[on Doctor Who (1996)] To be honest the film now is like a brief mad memory of some crazy holiday. I...Show more »

[on Doctor Who (1996)] To be honest the film now is like a brief mad memory of some crazy holiday. It just seemed to be over so quickly and there wasn't a lot of control. I just did what I was told and stood there and tried to survive. Show less «

[on his one-off performance as the Doctor in Doctor Who (1996)] I don't want to be remembered as the...Show more »

[on his one-off performance as the Doctor in Doctor Who (1996)] I don't want to be remembered as the George Lazenby of Doctor Who. Show less «

[on his life after an injury caused him to miss out on the "Sharpe" series] I was one of those peopl...Show more »

[on his life after an injury caused him to miss out on the "Sharpe" series] I was one of those people who wouldn't take out insurance unless someone held a gun to me. I breezed through life generally, most things. I am still confident, especially physically, but it knocks you. And I was skint, that was the abiding problem. It is hard being a dad sometimes, being the breadwinner. But we came through it. I'm fit again. The surgeon said the first part I'd get would probably be some swashbuckling epic and I got The Three Musketeers (1993). Show less «

Paradoxically, usually if you do really bleak pieces, they tend to be the happiest occasions off-set...Show more »

Paradoxically, usually if you do really bleak pieces, they tend to be the happiest occasions off-set and the opposite is generally true too. On projects that are really funny, people can be very tense. When I filmed a drama about the Irish famine with my brothers a few years ago, we had a scream, even though we couldn't have been working on a bleaker piece. Though it has been relentless and gruelling, filming The Forgotten (2009) has been an insightful and enjoyable experience. Show less «

[on Richard E. Grant] It's good when we're together. We're still mates. Our kids know each other. Ve...Show more »

[on Richard E. Grant] It's good when we're together. We're still mates. Our kids know each other. Very occasionally we're together in the same place - and then it's difficult to pay for a drink. I like that. Show less «

[on his response to being asked to do Doctor Who (1996)] I didn't want to do it as I didn't think I ...Show more »

[on his response to being asked to do Doctor Who (1996)] I didn't want to do it as I didn't think I was suitable at all. I thought they were having me on. At the time it was comic actors and comedians being touted for the job so I was just curious why they were asking me, I'm no comic actor. I managed to resist it for about a year and then took the job. Show less «

[on the fuss about being photographed kissing Catherine Zeta-Jones] If you're going to get photograp...Show more »

[on the fuss about being photographed kissing Catherine Zeta-Jones] If you're going to get photographed kissing the nation's sweetheart you're going to get it. It's fairly arbitrary - she's no longer the nation's sweetheart and nobody cares what I'm doing, so it's tomorrow's chip paper. It's really not worth losing any sleep over, nobody died. Show less «

Telly's powerful, telly can be great - it can be the best medium of all. I think in England we shoul...Show more »

Telly's powerful, telly can be great - it can be the best medium of all. I think in England we should look to it because we're really good at it. Show less «

If one of my kids turned around and said they wanted to be an actor, then I would try to stop them b...Show more »

If one of my kids turned around and said they wanted to be an actor, then I would try to stop them because I think that really only the ones that can't possibly be stopped or dissuaded should eventually be doing it. Show less «

Careers are what they are, they don't make any sense at all when you look back. We're not in charge ...Show more »

Careers are what they are, they don't make any sense at all when you look back. We're not in charge of them. Show less «

[on whether he expected to be cast as the Doctor] Are you crazy, of course not, no, not once, no nev...Show more »

[on whether he expected to be cast as the Doctor] Are you crazy, of course not, no, not once, no never. Not till Philip Segal phoned me up. I thought it was a case of mistaken identity. Show less «

Paul McGann

Paul McGann's FILMOGRAPHY

Paul McGann'S roles

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