Hilton McRae (born 28 December 1949) is a Scottish actor, working in theatre, television and film.

Career

McRae was part of the radical theatre group 7:84 before graduating from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, and by 1977 he had joined the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. He has concentrated mainly on avant-garde and political theatre. His most mainstream American film role was as Arvel Crynyd in '' Return of the Jedi''; he was uncredited for his brief appearance. In the UK he had substantial roles in '' The French Lieutenant's Woman'' and '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan''. He has performed in several musicals on the London stage, including ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' and ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'', in which he played the part of The Engineer. He performed the role of Mr Stopnick in the UK premiere of ''

Caroline, or Change ''Caroline, or Change'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics and book by Tony Kushner. The score combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music. The show ran both Off-Broadway and on Broadway ...

'' at the National Theatre, which won the Best Musical Award from the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

newspaper the

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

. In 2008 he played the part of Scarecrow in the Southbank's production of '' The Wizard of Oz''. In 2006, he acted in ''Rabbit'', a play by Nina Raine which opened at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London, and then transferred to the Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall. McRae starred in the play '' The Kreutzer Sonata'', based on Tolstoy's novella, which opened at the Gate Theatre in London in 2009 with McRae in the solo role. The play was revived for a second run in 2012. The production also later transferred to New York City. McRae's performance received acclaim both in the UK from many top publications, and in the U.S. from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

Personal life

McRae was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. He is married to actress Lindsay Duncan, with whom he has a son, Cal McRae (born September 1991). A close friend and University of Edinburgh classmate of Ian Charleson, McRae contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, ''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''.McKellen, Ian; Bates, Alan; Hudson, Hugh; et al
''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''
London: Constable and Company, 1990. pp. 13–20.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Hilton 1949 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Living people People from Dundee Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male voice actors Male actors from Dundee 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors