Paul McGann

Paul McGann
McGann at the Florida SuperCon, June 2015
Born	(1959-11-14) 14 November 1959 (age 57) Kensington, Liverpool, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Annie Milner (m. 1992–2006)
Partner(s)	Susannah Harker (2006–2008)
Children	Joseph McGann (born 1988) Jake McGann (born 1990)
Family	Joe McGann (brother) Stephen McGann (brother) Mark McGann (brother) Clare McGann (sister)

Paul John McGann (born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the 1986 television serial The Monocled Mutineer. He later starred in the 1987 dark comedy Withnail and I, and as the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who television film, a role he reprised in more than 70 audio dramas and the 2013 mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor". McGann is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush, Horatio Hornblower's best friend, in the television adaptation based on C.S. Forrester's books.

McGann was born in 1959 in Liverpool, into a Roman Catholic family. His mother, Claire, was a teacher, and his father was a metallurgist. His cousin Ritchie Routledge was in the 1960s band The Cryin' Shames. McGann's parents encouraged him and his siblings to develop their talents from an early age. McGann's talents were further developed when he attended Cardinal Allen Grammar School in West Derby, Liverpool. He was 17 and working in a shoe shop when, acting on the advice of one of his teachers, McGann successfully auditioned for a place on the acting course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

McGann's brother Joseph was born in 1958 and he has three younger siblings: Mark (born in 1961), Stephen (born in 1963) and Clare McGann (born in 1965). All three of his brothers are also actors and the four of them starred together (as four brothers) in the 1995 TV serial The Hanging Gale about the Irish Famine. The same year he played the role as Grigori Potemkin in TV film Catherine the Great, also with Mark and Stephen.