Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish actor. His roles have included Julien in Julien Donkey-Boy and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in Trainspotting and its 2017 sequel T2 Trainspotting.

Ewen Bremner
Bremner at the Berlinale 2017
Born (1972-01-23) 23 January 1972 (age 52)[1]
Years active1985–present
Children1

Early life

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Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance at screen acting by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable roles was as a Glasgow schoolboy in Charles Gormley's Heavenly Pursuits (1986). He also played the lead in the BBC Scotland feature-length adaptation of the William McIlvanney short story "Dreaming" (1990).[2]

Career

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Bremner portrayed Spud in Danny Boyle's film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel Trainspotting,[3] and later Mullet, a street thug in Guy Ritchie's Snatch. In the 1994 stage version of Trainspotting, Bremner played the lead role of Mark Renton, the role played by Ewan McGregor in the 1996 film. He has played supporting roles in blockbusters such as Pearl Harbor[4] and Black Hawk Down.

In 2017, he produced the short film No Song to Sing.[5]

Personal life

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He has one daughter, with actress Marcia Rose, whom he met during the filming of Skin.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Notes
1986 Heavenly Pursuits Stevie Deans
1993 Naked Archie
1994 Prince of Jutland Frovin
1995 Judge Dredd Junior Angel
1996 Trainspotting Daniel "Spud" Murphy
1998 The Acid House Colin 'Coco' Bryce Segment: "The Acid House"
1999 Julien Donkey-Boy Julien
2000 Paranoid Gordon
Snatch Mullet
2001 Black Hawk Down SPC Shawn Nelson
Pearl Harbor Red
2003 Skagerrak Gabriel
16 Years of Alcohol Jake
The Rundown Declan Plays an Irish character
2004 The Reckoning Simon Damian
Around the World in 80 Days Inspector Fix
Alien vs. Predator Dr. Graeme Miller
2005 Match Point Inspector Dowd
2006 Marvelous Lars
2007 Death at a Funeral Justin
Hallam Foe Andy
2008 Fool's Gold Alfonz
Faintheart Julian
2010 You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Henry Strangler
2011 Perfect Sense James
Page Eight Rollo Maverley
2012 Great Expectations Wemmick
2013 Jack the Giant Slayer Wicke
Snowpiercer Andrew
2014 The Veil of Twilight Rabbi Dunbar
Exodus: Gods and Kings Expert
Get Santa PC Finkerton
2017 T2 Trainspotting Daniel "Spud" Murphy BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor[7]
Wonder Woman Charlie
Mary and the Witch's Flower Flanagan Voice role, English dub
American Renegades Jim Rainey
2019 First Cow Lloyd
2021 Creation Stories Alan McGee [8]
2022 Freedom's Path Silas

Television

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Year Film Role Notes
1990 Taggart Jason 1 episode
1991 Screen Two Sammy Nelson 1 episode
1994 A Touch of Frost Gordon Hicks 1 episode
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries Walter McNabb 1 episode
1994 - 1996 The Bill Paul Tovey / Sean Lewis 2 episodes
1997 Harry Enfield and Chums various characters 5 episodes
2001 Langt fra Las Vegas John Twain D'Wain 1 episode
2004 Coming Up Johnny 1 episode
2005 Elizabeth I King James VI Miniseries, 2 episodes
2006 The Virgin Queen Sir James Melville Miniseries, 2 episodes
The Lost Room Harold Stritzke Miniseries, 1 episode
2008 My Name Is Earl Raynard 1 episode
2009 Spooks Ryan Baisley 1 episode
The Day of the Triffids Walter Strange Miniseries, 1 episode
2010 Strike Back Gerald Baxter 2 episodes
Dive Stewart Television film
Moving On Adam 1 episode
2012 Blackout Jerry Durrans Miniseries, 3 episodes
Accused Frank Best 1 episode
2014 Turks & Caicos Rollo Maverley Television film
Salting the Battlefield Rollo Maverley Television film
A Poet in New York John Malcolm Brinnin Television film
2015 Banished Reverend Johnson Miniseries, 7 episodes
2016 Houdini and Doyle Sherlock Holmes 1 episode
2017 Will Richard Topcliffe Main role, 10 episodes
2022 House of the Dragon Assassin Uncredited cameo, 1 episode
2022 - 2023 Our Flag Means Death Buttons Main role

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022 Peabody Awards Entertainment Our Flag Means Death Nominated [9]

References

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  1. ^ Pendreigh, Brian (2000). The Scot Pack: The Further Adventures of the Trainspotters and Their Fellow Travellers. Mainstream Pub. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-84018-310-8. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Ewen Bremner:Biography". MSN Movies. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Ewen Bremner". Guardian Unlimited Film. Guardian Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2019.[verification needed]
  4. ^ "Ewen Bremner Picture from the Movie". All Movie Photo. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Ewen Bremner delighted with short film after accidental move behind camera". The Herald Scotland. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  6. ^ Daily Record Editors (1 July 2011). "Organisers' surprise as youngster turns up to pick up film critic award.. accompanied by film star dad Ewen Bremner". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ "T2 Trainspotting big winner at Scottish Baftas". BBC. 6 November 2017.
  8. ^ ""It's a bit freaky" - Ewen Bremner on how he came to star in Alan McGee biopic Creation Stories". The Scotsman. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  9. ^ Voyles, Blake (20 September 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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