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Graham McTavish
Graham McTavish Photo Op GalaxyCon Raleigh 2019.jpg
McTavish at the 2019 GalaxyCon Raleigh
Born
Graham McTavish

(1961-01-04) 4 January 1961 (age 63)
Glasgow, Scotland
Alma mater Queen Mary University of London
Occupation
  • Actor
  • author
Years active 1986–present
Spouse(s)
Gwen Isaac
(divorced)
Garance Doré
(m. 2023)
Children 2

Graham McTavish (born 4 January 1961) is a Scottish actor and author. He is known for his roles as Dwalin in The Hobbit film trilogy, Vlad Dracula Țepeș in the Netflix animated series Castlevania, Loki in various Marvel animated projects, The Saint of Killers in the AMC series Preacher, and Dougal MacKenzie and William Buccleigh MacKenzie in the Starz series Outlander. He is also known for his roles in the video game franchise Uncharted as the main antagonist Zoran Lazarević in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Charlie Cutter in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

In 2020, McTavish and Outlander co-star Sam Heughan co-wrote Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other, which hit No. 1 on the New York Times' Best Seller Lists for hardcover nonfiction and for combined print and e-book nonfiction.

Early life

McTavish was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is the son of Alec and Ellen McTavish. The family, especially his father, was politically active, and political discourse was common in their household. His family left Glasgow when McTavish was a child, and throughout his adult life, he has lived in places such as Canada, the United States, and England before settling in New Zealand. During school, McTavish and a friend would write and perform comedy sketches, which led to his drama teacher asking him to step in to cover a role in Sheridan's The Rivals after the principal actor became ill. He went on to attend Queen Mary University of London, earning a degree in English literature. This degree course allowed him to perform in three Shakespeare plays per year while at school, and led to McTavish earning his Equity card after performing in a play by Samuel Beckett.

Career

Early in his career, McTavish did theatre work with the repertory theatres of London's West End and at the Dundee Rep with colleagues that included Jimmy Logan and Robert Robertson.

Television

McTavish's first professional role, in 1986, was in episode two of Walt Disney's mini-series Return to Treasure Island. He next featured in 1988's Freedom Fighter (aka Wall of Tyranny), which was broadcast on ITV and starred Tony Danza as a man who helped those living in East Berlin cross the Berlin Wall. Popular fantasy-adventure series Highlander, which centered on an immortal man tasked with fighting evil, saw McTavish in the series four episode "Judgment Day" in 1996 and TV movie Merlin saw him co-star as Rengal in 1998. Between 1998 and 1999, he went on to appear in several episodic television series including a three-part episode of ITV's Glasgow based crime drama Taggart, BBC One medical drama Casualty, BBC Two's sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, and ITV's police drama Heartbeat.

In 2000, McTavish guest-starred in ITV's mini-series The Stretch, a two-part crime drama centering on crime boss Terry Green and his wife Sam. The next year guest-starred on a series two episode of BBC One's long-running medical drama Doctors. In 2002, he had guest spots on BBC One's comedy Celeb, ITV's crime drama Rose & Maloney, and ABC's fantasy mini-series Dinotopia. The following year he featured in an episode of ITV's mystery drama Rosemary & Thyme, three episodes of ITV's gangster drama Family, and two episodes of BBC's mini-series The Last King (aka Charles II: The Power and the Passion). BBC's crime drama Murphy's Law (2004), a serial revolving around an undercover police officer in London, saw McTavish guest-star in the series two episode "Bent Moon on the Rise", followed by a turn as Captain James Stagg in BBC's made for TV Film D-Day 6 June 1944.

Graham McTavish (and Gary Lewis) at Creation Entertainment's New Jersey Outlander Convention - 20 August 2018
Graham McTavish (R) and Gary Lewis (L) respond to questions during their panel at an Outlander convention in August 2018.

McTavish returned to the crime drama Taggart in 2005's episode "Mind Over Matter" and to medical drama Casualty in the series nineteen episode "Baby Love". That same year he was cast in two separate series based upon events from the rise of the Roman Empire. First was a five episode role as General Rapax in ABC's mini-series Empire, which chronicled Octavius, who would become Emperor Augustus. Second was a two-episode stint as Urbo in HBO's Golden Globe nominated series Rome. He went on to a recurring role in ITV's police procedural drama The Bill. .....

2007 saw McTavish feature in numerous episodic television productions. He portrayed The Dark Spirit in a three episode guest appearance on CBS's web series Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side, which explored the world through the ghost's perspective. The series is a spin-off of their supernatural series Ghost Whisperer. From there he had guest appearances in BBC One's dramas Jekyll and New Tricks, ITV's medical drama The Royal, CBS's FBI centered drama Numb3rs, police procedural NCIS, and family drama Cane. The next year he landed the role of Ferguson in the fourth season of Fox's popular drama Prison Break. In the fourth season of ABC's hit science fiction series Lost, McTavish guest starred as Desmond's drill sergeant. He also appeared in ABC's supernatural thriller Pushing Daisies and CBS's crime drama CSI: Miami. In 2009, McTavish returned to CBS for a guest starring role, opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt, in the supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer.

McTavish portrayed Russian foreign minister Mikhail Novakovich in a seven episode stint on Fox's hit series 24 in 2010. He went on to appear in an episode of Fox's action comedy series The Good Guys, which revolves around two detectives stuck solving small crimes. In September 2013, it was announced that he had been cast as Dougal MacKenzie, war chief of the MacKenzie clan, in Starz's time-travel drama series Outlander. The series is an adaption of the bestselling novels by author Diana Gabaldon and premiered on 9 August 2014 to positive reviews from both critics and television audiences. McTavish would reprise the role throughout seasons one and two. In 2016, McTavish landed the recurring role of William Munny, the Saint of Killers in AMC's drama Preacher, which is based upon Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's comic book series of the same name. 2018 saw McTavish feature in the recurring role of Andrew MacGregor in USA Network's science fiction series Colony, which explores earth after an alien attack. Season four of the Netflix drama Lucifer, with McTavish in the recurring role of Father Kinley, debuted in 2019. The series was based upon Neil Gaiman's Lucifer character from The Sandman comics.

MacTavish returned to Outlander in 2020, in a surprise appearance as William Buccleigh MacKenzie, the son of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek). Later that year, he and Outlander co-star Sam Heughan announced that STARZ had ordered eight episodes of the travel documentary Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham, and it premiered in February 2021. The show's second season premiered in August 2023, exploring McTavish's adopted home of New Zealand.

In 2021 McTavish also joined the cast of Netflix's fantasy drama The Witcher, based upon author Andrzej Sapkowski's book series, as master spy and Redanian Intelligence head Sigismund Dijkstra.

Film

For Queen and Country (1988), a social drama from director Martin Stellman, featured McTavish opposite Denzel Washington in his first professional film role. The next year he had a small part in Terry Jones' mythological comedy Erik the Viking, which was written and performed in the style of a Monty Python film. Working once again with Jones, McTavish portrayed a drunken weasel in 1996's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's children's classic The Wind in the Willows. He went on to star in director Jeremy Freeston's 1997 adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, opposite Jason Connery. McTavish performed in two documentaries on Shakespearean works in 1997. The first was Cromwell Productions' King Lear: A Critical Guide, where he portrayed Albany. Second was Julius Caesar: A Critical Guide, where he portrayed Brutus. He continued with Shakespeare in 1999 by portraying the Duke of Albany in King Lear, opposite Brian Blessed.

Graham McTavish at Calgary Expo 2015
McTavish listens to an audience question during his panel at the Calgary Expo 2015.

McTavish's next feature film was 2002's Ali G Indahouse, where he portrayed a customs officer, followed by 2003's Dot the i, where he portrayed a detective opposite Tom Hardy. He went on to portray a submarine captain in director Jan de Bont's Lara CroftTomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The next year he was featured in Buena Vista Pictures' action adventure film King Arthur. In 2008, McTavish starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, the fourth film in the franchise based upon David Morrell's 1972 novel First Blood. His next film, director Richard Wellings-Thomas' comedy Sisterhood, saw McTavish in the role of Martin. 2009 saw several film roles for McTavish, including prison drama Green Street 2, independent horror film Penance, Jason Connery's thriller Pandemic, and the dramatic comedy Middle Men, opposite Luke Wilson.

In 2010, McTavish had a supporting role in Disney's Secretariat, based upon the true story of Penny Chenery and the racehorse who would win the first American Triple Crown in twenty-five years. He would go on to feature in The Wicker Tree (2011), Robin Hardy's sequel to his 1973 film The Wicker Man, and Sony Pictures' action film Colombiana, opposite Zoe Saldana. Between 2012 and 2014, he portrayed the dwarf Dwalin in director Peter Jackson's Empire Award-winning The Hobbit trilogy. McTavish completed 2014 with a supporting role in the action adventure film Plastic, opposite Ed Speleers, and director Jonathan King's independent sci-fi thriller REALITi. The next year he portrayed Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew)'s boxing trainer Tommy Holiday in Creed, the seventh film in the Rocky franchise.

Disney's The Finest Hours, based upon the true story of a daring Coast Guard rescue in 1952, saw McTavish co-star opposite Chris Pine and Eric Bana in 2016. He then appeared, as himself, in director Yaniv Rokah's documentary Queen Mimi, which recounted the life of a homeless woman in Santa Monica, California. In 2017, McTavish starred in director Niall Johnson's western thriller The Stolen, followed by a cameo as King Atlan in the DC Comics/Warner Brothers film Aquaman. Director Adam Sigal's independent film Sargasso saw McTavish in a starring role in early 2019. Later that same year, it was announced that McTavish would star, opposite Anne Heche, in Specter Pictures' upcoming horror thriller Chasing Nightmares.

McTavish is currently working on his directoral debut, titled This Guest of Summer, which was partially funded through IndieGoGo, a crowd funding platform. Besides directing, he will also star in the film alongside fellow Outlander alumni Stephen Walters and Duncan Lacroix and fellow Hobbit alumni Dean O'Gorman and Adam Brown.

Voice work

McTavish has done extensive voice work in animated series, films and video games.

Animation and films

McTavish's first voice work was in the recurring role of Sebastian Shaw in Nicktoons' 2009 animated Marvel Comics series Wolverine and the X-Men. McTavish continued in the Marvel Universe by portraying the villain Loki in the direct-to-video animated feature Hulk Versus and Disney XD's animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In 2010, he portrayed the lead role of Dante in Dante's Infero: An Animated Epic, opposite Mark Hamill. The direct-to-video feature was a companion piece to Electronic Arts' video game Dante's Inferno, which was based upon Dante Alighieri's fourteenth century epic poem Divine Comedy.

2011 saw McTavish feature in director Mike Disa's direct-to-video sci-fi animated feature Dead Space: Aftermath in the role of Captain Caleb Campbell. From there, between 2015 and 2017, he had a recurring voice role in Nickelodeon's animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a guest spot in an episode of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2016). McTavish would go on to feature in Cartoon Network's animated series Transformers: Robots in Disguise, in the dual roles of Titus and Vernon, while he appeared as the voice of Fergus McDuck, father of Scrooge McDuck, in the 2017 DuckTales animated series episode "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" McTavish currently stars as Dracula in Netflix's animated series Castlevania, an adaptation of Konami's Gothic horror video game series.

Video games

Guerrilla Games' action game Killzone: Liberation (2006), a sequel to its popular game Killzone, was McTavish's first professional voice role in video games. He would go on, in 2009, to portray Commander Lucius in Epic Games' Shadow Complex, Crimson in Tecmo Koei's Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Arl Eamon Guerrin in BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, Archer in Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Wilcox in Electronic Arts' The Saboteur. McTavish also provided both the voice and motion capture work for the main antagonist Zoran Lazarević in action-adventure game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The next year he provided the voice of the main protagonist Dante Alighieri in Dante's Inferno, Khan in Metro 2033, the Decepticon Thundercracker in Transformers: War for Cybertron, and Viktor Barisov in Activision's Singularity.'

In 2011, McTavish provided the voices of antagonist Joseph Bertrand III in Infamous 2, an imperial guardsman in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution, a ClawHammer soldier in SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, Caddoc in Hunted: The Demon's Forge, and Ivan Stagleishov in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. McTavish also provided both the voice and motion capture work for Charlie Cutter in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. He would reprise this role in 2016's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End after voicing Sebastian Malory/Sir Percival in 2015's third-person action-adventure game The Order: 1886.

McTavish has also provided additional voices for Medieval II: Total War, Heavenly Sword, 007: Quantum of Solace, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Writing

In 2020, McTavish and fellow Outlander actor Sam Heughan published a book entitled Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other, which was inspired by their work on the upcoming STARZ docu-series Men in Kilts. The book reached the #1 spot on the New York Times' Best Seller Lists for hardcover nonfiction and for combined print and e-book nonfiction, and also hit No. 1 on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List for hardcover nonfiction, among other lists.

In April 2015, McTavish was the 17th grand marshall of New York City's Tartan Day Parade.

Personal life

McTavish was married to Kiwi filmmaker Gwen Isaac, with whom he has 2 children.

In January 2023, McTavish married Garance Doré at Borthwick Castle in Scotland.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 For Queen and Country Lieutenant
1989 Erik the Viking Thangbrand
1996 The Wind in the Willows Drunken Weasel (voice)
1997 King Lear: A Critical Guide Albany Short documentary film
Julius Caesar: A Critical Guide Brutus / Himself
1999 King Lear Duke of Albany
2002 Ali G Indahouse Customs Officer
2003 Dot the i Detective
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Submarine Captain
2004 King Arthur Roman Officer
2008 Rambo Lewis
Sisterhood Martin
2009 Hulk Versus Loki
(voice)
Direct-to-video
Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground Big Marc Turner Direct-to-video
Middle Men Ivan Sokoloff
Penance Geeves
Pandemic Captain Riley
2010 Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic Dante (voice) Direct-to-video
Secretariat Earl Jansen
2011 Dead Space: Aftermath Captain Caleb Campbell (voice) Direct-to-video
Colombiana Head Marshall Warren
The Wicker Tree Sir Lachlan Morrison
2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Dwalin
2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2014 Plastic Steve Dawson
Realiti Mandrake
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Dwalin
2015 Creed Tommy Holiday
2016 The Finest Hours Frank Fauteux
2017 The Stolen Bully
2018 Aquaman King Atlan
2021 Blood Red Sky Col. Alan Drummond
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Deglan (voice)
Chasing Nightmares Bill Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Return to Treasure Island Ned Episode: "Mutiny"
1988 Freedom Fighter Guard Television film
1996 Highlander: The Series Charlie Episode: "Judgement Day"
1998 Merlin: The Quest Begins Rengal Television film
1998–2005 Taggart Colonel Ian Sinclair, Robin Caldwell 4 episodes
Casualty Gerry Talbot, George Naseby 6 episodes
1999 Red Dwarf Senior Warden Ackerman 5 episodes
Heartbeat Derek Flowers Episode: "Tricks of the Trade"
The Knock Alan Fraser 1 episode
2000 The Stretch Andy McKinley Miniseries
2001 Doctors Paul Brookes Episode: "Change of Heart"
2002 Celeb Steve Episode: "The Party"
Rose and Maloney Jackson 2 episodes
Dinotopia Ajax Episode: "Handful of Dust"
2003 Rosemary & Thyme D.I. Taylor Episode: "The Language of Flowers"
Family Tony Bishop 3 episodes
Charles II: The Power and the Passion Captain 2 episodes
2004 Murder City Noel Fredericks Episode: "Mr. Right"
Murphy's Law Al Leyton Episode: "Bent Moon on the Rise"
D-Day 6 June 1944 Group Captain James Stagg Television film
2005 Empire General Rapax 5 episodes
Rome Urbo 2 episodes
2005–06 The Bill Peter Larson 6 episodes
2006 Good Girl, Bad Girl Gromek Television film
Sharpe's Challenge McRae Television film
2007 New Tricks Jason Ferris Episode: "Powerhouse"
Jekyll Gavin Hardcastle Episode: "Hyde"
Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side The Dark Spirit 3 episodes
Numb3rs John Corcoran Episode: "Thirteen"
NCIS Aleksei Episode: "Chimera"
The Royal Anthony Poole Episode: "Love & Ross"
Cane Neville Episode: "HurriCane"
2008 Lost Sergeant Episode "The Constant"
CSI: Miami Mitch Davis Episode: "All In"
Pushing Daisies Hansel Von Getz Episode: "Bad Habits"
Prison Break Ferguson 4 episodes
2009 Wolverine and the X-Men Sebastian Shaw (voice) 4 episodes
Ghost Whisperer Gordon Brady Episode: "The Book of Changes"
2010 24 Mikhail Novakovich 5 episodes
The Good Guys Dolph Episode: "Hunches & Heists"
2010–11 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Loki (voice) 4 episodes
2013 The Sixth Gun Silas Hedgepet Pilot
2014–2020 Outlander Dougal MacKenzie and William Buccleigh MacKenzie 19 episodes
2015–17 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Savanti Romero (voice) 5 episodes
2016 Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Kim (voice) Episode: "Camp Ping"
2016–2019 Preacher William Munny, the Saint of Killers 42 episodes
2017–2021 Castlevania Vlad Dracula Țepeș (voice) 10 episodes
2017 Transformers: Robots in Disguise Titus / Vernon (voices) Episode: "The Golden Knight"
2018 Colony Andrew MacGregor 3 episodes
2018-2020 DuckTales Fergus McDuck (voice) 2 episodes
2019 Lucifer Father Kinley and Dromos 6 episodes
2021, 2023 Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham Himself two seasons
2021–2023 The Witcher Sigismund Dijkstra 7 episodes
2022 House of the Dragon Ser Harrold Westerling 9 episodes

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2006 Killzone: Liberation HGH Support, HGH Generic, HGH Infantry
Medieval II: Total War Additional Voices
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition NEVEC Orbital Elevator Operator
2007 Heavenly Sword Additional Voices
2008 Lost Planet: Colonies NEVEC Orbital Elevator Operator
007: Quantum of Solace Additional Voices
2009 Shadow Complex Commander Lucius
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Crimson
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Zoran Lazarević Also motion capture
Dragon Age: Origins Arl Eamon Guerrin, Vartag Gavorn
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Archer
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized Bell, additional voices
The Saboteur Wilcox
2010 Dante's Inferno Dante Alighieri
Metro 2033 Khan
Transformers: War for Cybertron Thundercracker
Singularity Viktor Barisov
Call of Duty: Black Ops Additional Voices
2011 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution Imperial Guard Vehicles, Guardsman
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs ClawHammer Soldier No. 2, U.S. Commander
Hunted: The Demon's Forge Caddoc
Infamous 2 Joseph Bertrand III
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Ivan Stagleishov
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Charlie Cutter, Zoran Lazarević Also motion capture
Star Wars: The Old Republic Additional Voices
2015 The Order: 1886 Sebastian Malory / Sir Percival
2016 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Charlie Cutter, Zoran Lazarević Multiplayer only
2019 Guild Wars 2 Bangar Ruinbringer
2022 Marvel's Midnight Suns Johnny Blaze, Doctor Doom

Written works by McTavish

  • Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other (2020)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2011 BTVA Voice Acting Awards Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Nominated
2013 Online Film & Television Association Best Original Song (Performer) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey "Misty Mountains" Nominated
2017 Satellite Awards Best Ensemble (Television) Outlander Won
2017 BTVA Voice Acting Awards Best Vocal Ensemble in a New Television Series Castlevania Nominated
2017 BTVA People's Choice Voice Acting Awards Best Male Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Guest Role Castlevania (Dracula) Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Graham McTavish para niños

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