Born October 19, 1954 in Edinburgh, Kenneth Campbell Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.
Ken, born to a Scottish father who was a teacher and educational administrator and Sicilian mother, Antonia Sansica who is a lecturer. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. Stott was educated at George Heriot’s school. For three years in his youth, he was a member of a band called Keyhole, members of which later went on to form the Bay City Rollers. After attending Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, Stott began working in the theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but for some years, his earnings from acting were minimal and he was forced to support himself by also working as a double glazing salesman. This is echoed in the character he plays in Takin’ Over the Asylum.
Stott’s early work focused on theatre with a notable leading role in the dramatization of Dominic Behan’s play about the Northern Ireland troubles ‘The Folk Singer; (Belfast Lyric Theatre). Stott appeared in small roles in BBC series such as Secret Army (1977), The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (King Lear, 1982), and Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective (1986). He was also featured in an advert for the British COI’s “Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives” campaign, playing a fireman. He eventually began to earn starring roles on television in the 1990s.
His highest-profile television roles have included the leading character, DCI Red Matcalfe, in the BBC crime drama series Messiah (BBC One, 2001-date); as a drunk who fantasises about finding redemption by joining the Salvation Army in Promoted to Glory (ITV, 2003); as Adolf Hitler in Uncle Adolf (ITV, 2005) and as a fictional Chancellor of the Exchequer in Richard Curtis’s The Girl in the Café (BBC One, 2005). As of 2006, he is starring in the detective series Rebus, a television adaptation of the Ian Rankin novels.
On film, he has tended to play mostly supporting parts, such as DI McCall in Shallow Grave (1994), Ted in Fever Pitch (1997), Marius Honorius in King Arthur (2004), an Israeli arms merchant in Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) and Trufflehunter, a badger loyal to Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008). However, he has had occasional starring roles in the cinema, most notably opposite Billy Connolly and Iain Robertson in The Debt Collector (1999) and Plunkett and Macleane of the same year. Most recently, he has been cast as Balin in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Hobbit. Stott played a supporting role as Dexter Mayhew’s father in “One Day” (2011) starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.
Stott has also continued to act in the theatre, and in 1997 was nominated in the best actor category at the Laurence Olivier Awards for his role in the play ‘Art’ in 1996. He is a popular choice for voice work, as narrator for series such as Trawlermen, a documentary following North Sea trawlers, and Send in the Dogs, following the work of UK Police Officers and their K9 partners. Aged thirty, Stott married a director’s assistant named Elizabeth, and they had one child, Bill, in 1985. However, the marriage later broke up and Stott’s current partner is the actress Di Sherlock.
Ken Stott Photo Gallery
