Shamelessly, Dougray acted as Grand Marshal of the Parade, following within the footsteps of such luminaries as Billy Connolly, Sean Connery, Alan Cumming and KT Tunstall.
Provocatively, to some Individuals at any charge, he took the chance to cock a snook at yon Donald Trump, telling The Herald he detests the man, whereas not holding it towards people in powerful financial circumstances who again the doubtful dude out of desperation.
He says New Yorkers are “nice folks” – not in my expertise they ain’t – as are the Scots, with their egalitarian coronary heart and soul. Sure, everybody’s equally prone to be accused of hate crimes.
He was born Stephen Dougray (French grandmother’s surname) Scott on November 25, 1965 in Glenrothes, the youngest of 4 youngsters to Elma, a “glamorous and charming” nurse, and Alan Scott, a travelling salesman of fridges and freezers.
Dad had been a Glasgow-based actor beforehand, and Dougray believes he took on the “position” of travelling salesman, successfully giving his first appearing classes when the boy accompanied him throughout north Scotland: “A few of my happiest childhood reminiscences.”
The household lived in a council home, with dad dependent wholly on fee to make a dwelling. Mum had a “posh Kelvindale accent” and wore white gloves, however his nice aunts in Glasgow have been rougher: they might “put their cigarettes out by stubbing them on their arms”.
Onto a promise
After attending Auchmuty Excessive College, younger Dougray studied appearing at Fife School – coupla Icons studied there; seems like an honest place – earlier than progressing to the Royal Welsh School of Music & Drama in Cardiff, the place he was named most promising drama pupil.
Early tv credit included Soldier Soldier, The Rover, Taggart, and Lovejoy. In 1997, he made his movie debut in black comedy Twin City, set in Swansea.
His worldwide breakthrough got here the next yr when he performed Prince Henry to Drew Barrymore’s Cinderella in Ever After. This position concerned sporting a codpiece, which he vowed by no means to do once more.
After that, Tom Cruise picked him personally to play the villain in Mission: Unattainable 2. Right here’s the place it will get fascinating. He was additionally forged to play Wolverine within the unique X-Males film, however Mission ran over schedule, and he was pressured to drop out of the mission, being changed within the long-clawed position by Hugh Jackman, who by no means seemed again.
Scott later claimed Cruise stopped him taking the position: “We have been doing Mission: Unattainable and he was like, ‘You’ve received to remain and end the movie’, and I stated I’ll, however I’ll go and try this as effectively. For no matter motive he stated I couldn’t. He was a really highly effective man.”
Then there was Bond. Scott seems to have been thought of for the position in Die One other Day, however Pierce Brosnan put the kibosh on that by deciding to present it one other go.
The Scot’s title got here up once more for On line casino Royale, however that position finally went, with Dougray’s good needs, to Daniel Craig.
He turned down the prospect to play Aragorn within the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, as he didn’t fancy spending two years filming three motion pictures again to again in New Zealand.
The Lord Of The Rings is the best story ever informed, however Scott was in a position to entry a poor second to that title in 2006, when he appeared as bigger-bearded Moses in ABC miniseries The Ten Commandments.
Determined act
Additionally in 2006, he appeared in short-lived NBC sequence Heist, and within the third season of Determined Housewives as Teri Hatcher’s new love curiosity. In 2007, he performed the heavy in Hitman, based mostly on the video video games of the identical title and, in 2009, gained reward for his efficiency as an ex-con in RTÉ-ITV drama Father & Son.
The yr 2011 was a difficult one, with Scott that includes in Love’s Kitchen alongside his spouse Claire Forlani, as soccer supervisor Matt Busby within the BBC drama United, and as Arthur Miller, no much less, within the star-studded My Week With Marilyn.
There’s a pile of different stuff that I ain’t going to record right here. Appearing: it’s only one factor after one other.
Scott has known as methodology appearing “a label I don’t actually perceive, as a result of there’s a technique to all people’s appearing”, including: “When it comes to leaping into a personality’s pores and skin, I attempt to immerse myself within the position as a lot as doable to deliver me nearer to them.”
In 2021, he opened the Scottish wing of London manufacturing firm Buccaneer, which received going with an adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Crime, incomes Scott a Bafta within the UK and a global Emmy within the US for his position as Ray Lennox, an Edinburgh cop on the path of a assassin.
An adaptation of one other Welsh novel, The Blade Artist, based mostly on Trainspotting character Franco Begbie, can also be within the works.
Like Begbie, and certainly most main Scottish cultural figures, Scott is a passionate supporter of Hibernian FC. His Glaswegian father was a former Rangers supporter turned “mad, mad Hibee”. Dougray’s grand uncle was a scout for the Edinburgh membership.
Modest objectives
Scott says soccer makes him really feel extra ardour than appearing, and would select a night with Sir Alex Ferguson over Robert De Niro any time.
In 2001, he skipped out of the worldwide premiere of Enigma in Edinburgh to observe Rangers v Hibs in a close-by boozer, leaving a bewildered Kate Winslet and Saffron Burrows behind.
He additionally tried explaining “the Hibs factor” to Tom Cruise – with no success.
Politically, in addition to disrespecting high statesman Donald Trump, he votes Labour in London, the place he now lives after some years in Los Angeles, however he helps independence, and in Scotland would vote SNP, saying Scotland may “take care of ourselves. We may outlast the English purely based mostly on Irn-Bru income”.
Extra significantly, Scott has stated: “We’ve a specific imaginative and prescient of the world, which is why I feel it is smart to have independence, and we now have many nice tales to inform.”
