John Hannah (born 23 April 1962) is a Scottish actor and voice over artist. He came to prominence in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as Matthew. His other film appearances include Sliding Doors (1998), The Hurricane (1999), and The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008). His television roles include: Dr Iain McCallum in McCallum (1995–1998); D.I. John Rebus in Rebus (2000–2001); Jack Roper in New Street Law (2006–2007); Jake Osbourne in Cold Blood (2007–2008), Quintus Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus (2010–2011), Jack Cloth in A Touch of Cloth (2012–2014), Jason's father (Aeson) in the BBC series Atlantis (2013–2015), Dr Holden Radcliffe in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–2017), Colin in Overboard (2018), and Archie Wilson in the BBC series Trust Me.

Early life and education

Hannah was born in East Kilbride in Lanarkshire, the youngest of three children; he has two older sisters. His mother, Susan, was a cleaner at Marks & Spencer, and his father, John, a toolmaker. He attended Heathery Knowe Primary School then Claremont High School in East Kilbride and went on to an apprenticeship as an electrician. In East Kilbride, he participated in the East Kilbride Rep Theatre Club. At the suggestion of a colleague, after completing his apprenticeship he then attended the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career

After graduation, Hannah had parts in theatre productions, films and television, including leading roles such as Robert in the television adaptation of Frederic Lindsay's novel Brond (Channel 4, 1987). He became known internationally with his appearance as Matthew in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He played a psychopathic killer alongside Helen Baxendale in Truth or Dare, and a mystery-solving pathologist in McCallum. On 24 December 1997, Hannah and Scottish Films producer Murray Ferguson established a production company called Clerkenwell Films. Clerkenwell's first big production was the Rebus series, including Black And Blue and The Hanging Garden. However, Rebus was later taken in-house by STV Productions, and Hannah was replaced in the leading role in the series by Ken Stott. Hannah played the Monty Python-quoting love interest of Gwyneth Paltrow in the romantic comedy Sliding Doors (1998). He starred in the axed U.S. series MDs (2002), well as making guest appearances in various other series. He played a comic role as the brother of the female lead in The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). In 2007–08, he played a starring role in the ITV crime drama Cold Blood. He was the voice of the Co-operative Group adverts in Europe. He played the part of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, the owner of a gladiator training house, in Spartacus: Blood and Sand and the prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Hannah played the recurring role of scientist Holden Radcliffe on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a recurring role during season three and got promoted to series regular during season four in 2016. From 2017 he played Archie Wilson in the BBC series Trust Me. Hannah plays the role of Dr. Jedidiah Bishop on the medical drama Transplant on CTV Canada. He is also the narrator of BBC reality series Race Across the World, where five pairs of Brits travel across the world without taking a plane for just the price of the flight.

Personal life

Hannah married actress Joanna Roth in 1996. The pair met several years before during a studio production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. In many of his interviews, he mentions stories from their relationship, such as their visit to London's Sri Siam restaurant where he proposed to her in writing on the tablecloth. They live in Richmond, London with their two children.

Theatre

Filmography