Brian McCardie

Scottish actor and writer (1965–2024)

Actor
writer

Years active1989–2024

Brian McCardie (22 January 1965 – 28 April 2024) was a Scottish actor and writer, known for his role as John Thomas "Tommy" Hunter in the BBC police procedural series Line of Duty.

Early life

Brian McCardie was born on 22 January 1965 in Glasgow, Scotland. He attended St. Brendan's, then St. Athanasius Primary Schools before going on to attend Our Lady's High School in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.^[1] His parents moved from Motherwell to Carluke, South Lanarkshire while he was at school and he developed an interest in theatre, starring in a production of the musical "Godspell" with a local drama group consisting of youngsters from local schools.^[2]

Career

McCardie began his career in 1989, appearing in an episode of EastEnders as Seb. In 1990, he appeared in the television film Forget About Me as Bunny, before going on to appear in Waterfront Beat between 1990 and 1991 as PC Ronnie Barker.^[3] He portrayed Alasdair, alongside Liam Neeson in 1995's blockbuster, Rob Roy.^[4]

McCardie portrayed organised crime boss John Thomas "Tommy" Hunter in Line of Duty between 2012 and 2014.^[5] He also appeared in the BBC One three-part drama Time in 2021, as Jackson Jones, written by Jimmy McGovern, directed by Lewis Arnold and starring Stephen Graham and Sean Bean.^[6] He also appeared in Sky Atlantic's Domina, set in Ancient Rome, playing Cicero.^[7] He performed his self-penned one-man play Connolly at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast but the cancellation of 2020's Edinburgh Festival meant he lost the opportunity to present it in a six-week run in Edinburgh's Cowgate, where James Connolly was born and raised.^[8]

McCardie performed readings of his own poems at various venues around Ireland and was filming them for distribution online.^[9]

Death

McCardie died on 28 April 2024, at the age of 59.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Selected filmography

Forget About Me (1990, TV Movie) – Bunny
Waterfront Beat (1990–1991, TV Series) – PC Ronnie Barker
Tonight at 8.30 (1991, TV Series) – Bill – 1st Soldier
Murder Most Horrid (1991, TV Series) – Supermarket Assistant
Doctor Finlay (1993, TV Series) – Archie Henderson
Taggart (1994–2010, TV Series) – Thomas Keenan / Fisher / Martin McLean / Alex Currie
Dirty Old Town (1995, TV Movie) – Vic Leigh
Rob Roy (1995) – Alasdair McGregor
Kidnapped (1995, TV Movie) – David Balfour
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) – Angus Starling
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) – Merced
200 Cigarettes (1999) – Eric
Kavanagh QC (1999, TV Series) – Philip Boxer
Rituals and Resolutions (1999, Short) – Will
Beyond the City Limits (2001) – Sergei Akotia
Mr. Barrington (2003) – Mr Barrington
Solid Air (2003) – Robert Houston Junior
The Bill (2004, TV Series) – Taffy Saunders
Ellie Parker (2005) – Acting Student
Murphy's Law (2006, TV Series) – Billy Johnstone
Low Winter Sun (2006, TV Movie) – Det Con Joe Geddes
Lilies (2007, TV Mini-Series) – Dadda Moss
The Whistleblowers (2007, TV Series) – Tim Robey
Rebus (2007, TV Series) – Brian Robertson
Shameless (2008, TV Series) – Paddy McGrath
Kiss of Death (2008, TV Movie) – Michael Bovery
Heroes and Villains (2008, TV Series documentary) – Hernán Cortés
The Damned United (2009) – Dave Mackay
Wasted (2009) – Party Host
Seaside Stories (2009) – Dr. Forbes
Soulboy (2010) – Fish-shop Bobby
Anywhere But Here (2010, TV Movie) – Peter McBride
Thorne: Sleepyhead (2010, TV Mini-Series) – Frank Calvert
Accused (2010, TV Series) – DI Warren
The Witcher 2 (2011, Video Game) – (English version, voice)
The Ripper (2011, Computer Game) – The Reverend (voice)
Case Histories (2011, TV Series) – Terence Smith
Titanic (2012, TV Mini-Series) – First Officer Murdoch
Vexed (2012, TV Series) – Robert Randell
Doors Open (2012, TV Movie) – Charlie Calloway
Line of Duty (2012–2014, TV Series) – Tommy / John Thomas Hunter
The Crash (2013, TV Series) – Charlie Harris
MI High (2013, TV Series) – Mr. McNab
For Those in Peril (2013) – Dr. Forbes
The Groundsman (2013, Short) – Steve
Filth (2013) – Dougie Gillman
Ghosts (2014) – Jacob Engstrand
Peterman (2014) – Bill
Wasted Time (2014) – Danny
The Musketeers (2015, TV Series) – Sebastian Lemaitre
Dropping Off Michael (2015, Short) – Duncan
Holby City (2015, TV Series) – Archie Pugh
Outlander (2015, TV Series) – Sir Marcus MacRannoch
Snatch (2016, TV Series) – Uncle Dean
Scarlet (2016, Short) – Fisherman
Rebellion (2016, TV Mini-Series) – James Connolly
The Job (2016) – Geoff
Fortitude 2 (2017, TV Series) – Lazlo Hindemith
Come Out of the Woods (2017, Short) – PC Brian Cassidy
Walk Like a Panther (2018) – Ziggy Barrow
Ordeal by Innocence (2018, TV Mini-Series) – Bellamy Gould (Transmission BBC 1 Easter 2018)^[13]
Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018, DPS Productions, TV Movie) – Sir Hugh Persimmion
Moscow Noir (2018, 8 Part TV Series) – Lord Pendergast
Giri/Haji (2019, 8 Part Series) – Jack Sister Pictures
Last of The Czars (2019, Netflix/Nutopia, 6 Part Series, TV Series documentary) – Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin
Our Ladies (2019) – Police Sergeant
Charles lst (2019, TV series) – Sir John Pym
Domina (2021, TV series) – Cicero
Time (2021, TV series) – Jackson Jones
Six Four (2023, 4 Part TV Series) – Bill Martin
Mia and The Dragon Princess (2023) – Skipper Matthews
The Long Shadow (2023, 7 Part TV Series) – Steve
Damaged (2024) – Avery

References

^ "Client Details: Brian McCardie" Archived 30 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine UnitedAgents.co.uk. Retrieved: 3 March 2010
^ Fleming, by Keiran (30 April 2024). "Glasgow Line of Duty actor Brian McCardie passes away suddenly as heartfelt tributes paid". Glasgow Live. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Brian McCardie | United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Rob Roy". IMDb. 14 April 1995. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Line Of Duty actor Brian McCardie dies aged 59". Sky News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Time star reveals clues that his Line of Duty character isn't actually dead". HELLO!. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Exclusive – Tommy Hunter star Brian McCardie on playing TV baddies in Line of Duty and Time: "Maybe someday I'll work my way up to being a Bond villain"". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Connolly". Fair Pley. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Brian McCardie on his quiet life as an ad-libbing naturalist on Bute". The Herald. 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ Dingwall, John (30 April 2024). "Outlander and Line of Duty star Brian McCardie dies aged 59". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ "Line of Duty actor Brian McCardie dies at 59". BBC. 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ Carmichael, Josh (30 April 2024). "Time and Line of Duty actor Brian McCardie dies aged 59". The Herald. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ Billen, Andrew (31 March 2018). "Ordeal by Innocence: the Christie Mystery that almost got away". The Times. No. 72497. Saturday Review. pp. 4–5. ISSN 0140-0460.