Bill Paterson (actor)

Bill Paterson
Bill Paterson
	Paterson in December 2006
Born	William Tulloch Paterson; 3 June 1945 (age 79); Glasgow, Scotland
Alma mater	Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–present
Spouse	Hildegard Bechtler (m. 1984)
Children	2
Website	billpaterson.co.uk

William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor with a career in theatre, film, television and radio. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. He has appeared in films and TV series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019), Inside No. 9 (2018), Good Omens (2019), and Brassic (2020). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs.

Early life

William Tulloch Paterson was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1945.^[1] Paterson was raised in Dennistoun by his father, a plumber, and his mother, a hairdresser.^[2] He states that his interest in acting began with a school trip to the Citizens Theatre in the Gorbals in 1961.^[2] However, after school he chose to initially pursue a career based on an interest in architecture and spent three years as a quantity surveyor's apprentice before deciding to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.^[3]^[2]^[4]^[5]

Career

1967–1977: Theatre debut and early roles

Paterson made his professional acting debut in 1967,^[4] appearing alongside Leonard Rossiter in Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre.^[2] In 1970, Paterson joined the Citizens' Theatre for Youth. He remained there as an actor and assistant director until 1972, when he left to appear with Billy Connolly in the musical comedy The Great Northern Welly Boot Show at the Edinburgh Festival in 1972.^[6]^[2] Paterson would work with Connolly again, some years later, when he performed in Connolly's play An Me Wi' a Bad Leg Tae. After having seen Paterson perform at the Festival, John McGrath invited him to join his theatre company, 7:84, touring the United Kingdom and Europe with plays such as The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil.^[2]^[4] He was a founding member of 7:84, and made his London debut in 1976 with the company. He appeared in the Edinburgh Festival and London with John Byrne's first play, Writer's Cramp.

1978–1989: TV and film debuts

He first appeared in the West End when he took over the lead role in Whose Life Is It Anyway? at the Savoy Theatre in 1979. Paterson's career began to centre as much on television than the theatre. His first appearances in 1978 were as a police Sergeant of Scotland Yard in The Odd Job^[7] and then in BAFTA award winning drama Licking Hitler. He then played King James in the UK television serial Will Shakespeare the same year. Paterson would later recall that the biggest regret of his career was during this period, when in 1978 he failed to attend an audition for a role in the film Alien.^[5] He provided the voice of the Assistant Arcturan Pilot in Episode 7 of the original BBC Radio 4 version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 1978.^[8] He played Lopakhin in the BBC production of The Cherry Orchard in 1981. Paterson did not, however, entirely neglect the theatre, and in 1982, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance as Schweyk in another Brecht play, Schweik in the Second World War at the National Theatre. He was in the original National Theatre production of Guys and Dolls (1982).^[4]

The early 1980s also saw Paterson beginning to appear in films, including The Killing Fields, Comfort and Joy and A Private Function (all 1984).^[4] Other film credits include Dutch Girls (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1987).

In television, his extensive and award-winning TV career includes a memorable portrayal of property villain Ally Fraser in series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986). He also appeared in Smiley's People (1982), The Singing Detective (1986), Traffik (1988).

1990–2009: Career actor

Paterson performed in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court and Duke of York's (1991–92). Other theatre roles in this period include Ivanov at the Almeida, London and Maly Theatre, Moscow (1997).

In 1990, he performed the role of Mr Jenkins, father to a child who gets turned into a mouse in, The Witches (1990). He went on to act in Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), Chaplin (1992), Sir Ian McKellen's Richard III (1995).^[9] In 1997, he appeared as Brian, a cafe owner who knows the Spice Girls, in Spice World.^[10] He also performed in The Crow Road (1996), a miniseries from the novel by Iain Banks^[2] and Doctor Zhivago (2002).

He later performed in the films Bright Young Things (2003), Miss Potter (2006), How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) and Creation (2009).^[11] In television, much of his later work has been for the BBC, starring as Dr Douglas Monaghan in three seasons of the supernatural drama series Sea of Souls (2004–2007).^[2] He also played the role of Dr Gibson in the 1999 production of Wives and Daughters, and appeared in the 2008 BBC production of the Charles Dickens novel Little Dorrit as Mr Meagles, as DS Box in the first series of Criminal Justice (2008), and as Dr James Niven in Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen.

Paterson has also narrated for various television and radio programmes. In 2005, he would take a role as Rob McKenna, a lorry driver and unknowing Rain God, in Fits the 19th, 20th, and 22nd of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Quandary Phase. In 2003, Paterson began broadcasting radio stories about his childhood in Glasgow, Tales From the Back Green on BBC Scotland, which led to them being published by Hodder in 2008 and appearances at many book festivals throughout the UK. He narrated the 2009 BBC TV programme 1929 – The Great Crash which recalled the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and compared it to the recent financial turmoil of 2008. From 2009 to 2010, he appeared as George Castle, the head of the CPS in Law & Order: UK.^[12] He also played the key role of SIS Chief Percy Alleline in the 2009 BBC Radio 4 version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.^[13]

In 2010, Paterson starred in Doctor Who as Professor Edwin Bracewell, in the episode "Victory of the Daleks", with his character making a second appearance in the opening half of the season finale, "The Pandorica Opens".^[14]^[15] Later in the year, Paterson narrated the BBC Four wildlife documentary Birds Britannia.

2011–2022: TV, film and radio

In 2011, Paterson starred in Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me.^[16] His most recent theatre is Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre in the summer of 2010. He also narrated the BBC's annual coverage of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and in 2013 appeared as Adam Smith in The Low Road at the Royal Court.

Paterson played lawyer Ned Gowan in the 2014 Starz period TV series, Outlander.^[17] In 2014, Paterson landed a part as Douglas Henshall's father in TV series Shetland.^[18]

In 2015, he starred alongside Brian Cox in a performance of Waiting for Godot at the Royal Lyceum Theatre.^[2] In 2015, Paterson was presented with the lifetime achievement of the Scottish BAFTAs.^[6]^[19]

In 2016, he narrated The Farmers' Country Showdown, a series for the BBC following the agricultural show season and broadcast early in 2017.^[20] In 2016, Paterson performed with his friend Simon Callow in The Rebel.^[21] He also appeared as the Scottish character Private Frazer in the remake film Dad's Army.^[22]^[23]

Beginning with the first season in 2016 and ending with the second season in 2019, Paterson played the father of the main character and her sister in the British TV show Fleabag.^[2]^[4] In 2019, Paterson also performed in the four-part BBC drama Guilt.^[4]

In 2022, Paterson performed in the fantasy drama House of the Dragon as the character Lord Lyman Beesbury.^[24] He is the narrator of the British TV show The Repair Shop.^[25]

Personal life

In 1980, while filming The Lost Tribe, Paterson purchased a holiday home in Fordyce with fellow actor Miriam Margolyes.^[a]^[26]

In 1984, Paterson married German stage designer Hildegard Bechtler. They have a son and daughter.^[27]^[2] Since leaving Glasgow he has spent much of his life living in London and currently resides in North London near Tufnell Park.^[2]^[27]^[9]

Paterson has published a series of book stories based on his childhood in Glasgow entitled Tales From The Back Green.^[9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974/1977 1978/1980 1981/1983	Play for Today	7:48/Luke Archie MacLean/Actor Tony/Ron Brackett	TV
1976	The Flight of the Heron	Sergeant	TV
1977	Backs to the Land	Forbes	TV
1978	ITV Playhouse	Gary	TV
	Life of Shakespeare	King James I	TV
	The Odd Job	Sergeant Mull
1979	One Fine Day	Second Man in Lift	TV film
	Telford's Change	Kevin	TV
	Scottish Playbill		TV
1979–1981	Crown Court	Dr. Rutherford	TV
1980	The Lost Tribe	Moshe Kaydan	Miniseries
1981	The Cherry Orchard	Lopakhin	TV film
1982	Smiley's People	Lauder Strickland	Miniseries
1983	The Ploughman's Lunch	Lecturer
1983	One of Ourselves	Mr. Daly	TV film
1984	Comfort and Joy	Alan
	The Killing Fields	Dr. MacEntire
	Scotland's Story	David Kirkwood/Thomas Muir	TV
	A Private Function	Morris Wormold the Meat Inspector
1985	Dutch Girls	Mole	TV film
1986	Auf Wiedersehen, Pet	Ally Fraser	TV
	Defence of the Realm	Jack MacLeod
	God's Chosen Car Park	Victor Rosen	TV film
	The Singing Detective	Dr. Gibbon	TV
1987	Screenplay		TV
	Friendship's Death	Sullivan
	Coming Up Roses	Mr. Valentine
1988	The Modern World: Ten Great Writers	Titorelli	TV
	Hidden City	Anthony
	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	Henry Salt
1989	The Return of the Musketeers	Charles I
	The Rachel Papers	Gordon Highway
	Traffik	Jack Lithgow	TV
	Boon	Peter Mortan	TV
1990	God on the Rocks	Mr. Marsh	TV film
	The Witches	Mr. Herbert Jenkins
	The Play on One	Alex McPherson	TV
	Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale	Jordan
	Truly, Madly, Deeply	Sandy
	Just Ask for Diamond	Chief Inspector Snape
1991	Shrinks	Matt Hennessey	TV
	The Object of Beauty	Victor Swayle
	Murder Most Horrid	Chief Inspector	TV
1992	Tell Tale Hearts	Anthony Steadman	Miniseries
	Chaplin	Stage Manager
	In Dreams	Dr. Gold	TV film
1993	Screen One	PC Howard Mullen	TV
1994	Hard Times	Stephen Blackpool	TV
1995	Jackanory	Storyteller	TV
	The Turnaround	James Webb
	Oliver's Travels	Baxter	Miniseries
	Richard III	Sir Richard Ratcliff
	The Ghostbusters of East Finchley	Mr. Small	TV
1996	The Writing on the Wall	Bull	TV film
	The Crow Road	Kenneth McHoan	TV
	Sharman		TV
	Victory	Captain Davidson
1997	Melissa	DCI Cameron	Miniseries
	Spice World	Brian
	Mr. White Goes to Westminster	Ben White	TV film
1998	Hilary and Jackie	Cello Teacher
	Out of Sight	Marcus Mildew	TV
	Oi! Get Off Our Train	Walrus (Voice)	Television Short
1999	Chrono-Perambulator	Professor Teddy Knox	Short film
	Heart	Mr. Kreitman
	The Match	Tommy
	Sunshine	Minister of Justice
	Wives and Daughters	Mr. Gibson	Miniseries
2000	Complicity	Wallace Byatt
2000	The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne	Sir Nicol McLean	TV
2004	Foyle's War	Patrick Jamieson	TV
2004–2005	Shoebox Zoo	Narrator	TV
2004–2006	Sea of Souls	Dr. Douglas Monaghan	TV
2005	Rag Tale	Lucky Lloyd
2006	Amazing Grace	Henry Dundas
2006	Miss Potter	Rupert Potter
2008	Little Dorrit	Mr. Meagles	TV
2009	Creation	Dr. Gully
2009	Into the Storm	Clement Attlee
2009–2011	Law & Order: UK	George Castle	TV
2010	The Gruffalo	The Gruffalo (voice)	Short film, Gaelic version
	Doctor Who	Professor Edwin Bracewell	"Victory of the Daleks" "The Pandorica Opens"
	Agatha Christie's Marple	Mr. Bradley	"The Pale Horse"
2011	The Man Who Crossed Hitler	Kurt Ohnesorge	TV
2011	Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me	Judge	TV
2012	Dirk Gently	Professor Jericho	TV
2012	Falcón	Ignacio Ortega	Episode "The Silent and the Damned"
2014	37 Days	Lord Morley	TV series
2014–2015; 2017	Outlander	Ned Gowan	TV series; Main role; 8 episodes (Seasons 1 & 3)
2014	Shetland	James Perez	Episode "Blue Lightning" (Parts 1 & 2)
2015	The Vote	Simon Weatherstone
2016	Dad's Army	Private Frazer	Film adaptation of original BBC sitcom
2016	The Rebel	Charles	TV
2016–2019	Fleabag	Dad	TV
2017	The Man Who Invented Christmas	Mr. Grimsby	Film
2018	Inside No. 9	Mr. Green	TV
2019	Good Omens	R.P. Tyler	TV
2019	Guilt	Roy Lynch	TV
2020	Brassic	Tom Tillerton	TV
2020	Rebecca	Dr. Baker	Film
2021	Ted Lasso	Richard Cole (voice) (uncredited)	Episode "Do the Right-est Thing"^[28]
2022	The Sandman	Dr. John Hathaway	TV series
2022	House of the Dragon	Lyman Beesbury	TV series; 8 episodes
2024	Halo	Ackerson's Father	Episode "Visegrad"

Notes

^ The purchase of the house was revealed in Miriam & Alan: Lost in Scotland and Beyond, when Margolyes and Alan Cumming visit Fordyce and are joined by Paterson.

References

^ "Paterson, William Tulloch". Who's Who. London: A. & C. Black. 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Bill Paterson interview - back as Dad in the new series of Fleabag". The Scotsman. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - Alumni". rcs.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Fleabag star Bill Paterson on his new TV role". The Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Portrait of the artist: Bill Paterson, actor". The Guardian. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Bafta winner Bill Paterson on acting with Billy Connolly". The Telegraph. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "The Odd Job". TimeOut. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Secondary Phase, Fit The Seventh". BBC.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Scotsman Sessions #255: Bill Paterson". The Scotsman. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ Spice World (1997), retrieved 14 February 2019
^ "Bill Paterson". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017.
^ "Law & Order: UK". TVGuide.com.
^ "The Complete Smiley: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Episode 2". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
^ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 5, Victory of the Daleks". BBC.
^ "Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang ★★★★". Radio Times.
^ "Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
^ Ferguson, Brian (10 June 2014). "Bill Paterson lands key part in Outlander TV show". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
^ "BBC One - Shetland - Bill Paterson". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
^ "Actor Bill Paterson: I love Scot Squad, I think it's just fantastic". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "BBC One - The Farmers' Country Showdown, Series 1 30-Minute Versions, Pigs". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
^ "The Rebel Series 2 Interview: Bill Paterson". UKTV. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Dad's Army review: who don't you think you are kidding?". Guardian. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Dad's Army Cast Then and Now: See Which Actors Played the Iconic Roles in the Film Adaptation". Hello Magazine. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "House Of The Dragon Cast: Where Have You Seen The Stars Before?". Huffington Post. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Who narrates The Repair Shop?". Metro. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ "Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland review – a large pile of anticlimaxes". The Guardian. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "How We Met: Hildegard Bechtler and Billy Paterson". The Independent. 27 February 1994. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
^ Lawrence, Bill (9 August 2021). "Tweet from Ted Lasso show creator Bill Lawrence". Twitter. Retrieved 18 December 2021. ['if the voice of Richard Cole was the wonderful Bill Paterson'] Yes. We messed up and he wasn't in the credits.

External links

[Margolyes-26] The purchase of the house was revealed in Miriam & Alan: Lost in Scotland and Beyond, when Margolyes and Alan Cumming visit Fordyce and are joined by Paterson.

[1] "Paterson, William Tulloch". Who's Who. London: A. & C. Black. 2008.

[Scotsman2-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Bill Paterson interview - back as Dad in the new series of Fleabag". The Scotsman. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[3] "Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - Alumni". rcs.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.

[TheHerald-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Fleabag star Bill Paterson on his new TV role". The Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Guardian-5] "Portrait of the artist: Bill Paterson, actor". The Guardian. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Telegraph-6] "Bafta winner Bill Paterson on acting with Billy Connolly". The Telegraph. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[TimeOut-7] "The Odd Job". TimeOut. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[8] "BBC Radio 4 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Secondary Phase, Fit The Seventh". BBC.

[Scotsman3-9] "The Scotsman Sessions #255: Bill Paterson". The Scotsman. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[10] Spice World (1997), retrieved 14 February 2019

[11] "Bill Paterson". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017.

[12] "Law & Order: UK". TVGuide.com.

[13] "The Complete Smiley: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Episode 2". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

[14] "BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 5, Victory of the Daleks". BBC.

[15] "Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang ★★★★". Radio Times.

[16] "Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.

[Scotsman1-17] Ferguson, Brian (10 June 2014). "Bill Paterson lands key part in Outlander TV show". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

[18] "BBC One - Shetland - Bill Paterson". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

[GlasgowTimes-19] "Actor Bill Paterson: I love Scot Squad, I think it's just fantastic". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[20] "BBC One - The Farmers' Country Showdown, Series 1 30-Minute Versions, Pigs". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

[Rebel-21] "The Rebel Series 2 Interview: Bill Paterson". UKTV. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Guardian2016-22] "Dad's Army review: who don't you think you are kidding?". Guardian. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Hello-23] "Dad's Army Cast Then and Now: See Which Actors Played the Iconic Roles in the Film Adaptation". Hello Magazine. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[HuffPost-24] "House Of The Dragon Cast: Where Have You Seen The Stars Before?". Huffington Post. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Metro-25] "Who narrates The Repair Shop?". Metro. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Guardian2021-27] "Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland review – a large pile of anticlimaxes". The Guardian. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

[Independent-28] "How We Met: Hildegard Bechtler and Billy Paterson". The Independent. 27 February 1994. Retrieved 2 August 2019.

[29] Lawrence, Bill (9 August 2021). "Tweet from Ted Lasso show creator Bill Lawrence". Twitter. Retrieved 18 December 2021. ['if the voice of Richard Cole was the wonderful Bill Paterson'] Yes. We messed up and he wasn't in the credits.

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Bill Paterson (actor)

Early life

Career

1967–1977: Theatre debut and early roles

1978–1989: TV and film debuts

1990–2009: Career actor

2011–2022: TV, film and radio

Personal life

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

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