Brian Lachlan MacKinnon (born 3 June 1963) is a Scottish impostor who gained notoriety by returning to his former school by posing as a teenager when he was 30 years old.

Early life

McKinnon was born in Glasgow to working class parents; his father was a lollipop man and his mother worked at a care home. He originally attended

Bearsden Academy Bearsden Academy is a non-denominational, state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. History Bearsden Cross site (1911–1958) In 1911, the school was situated on the corner of Roman Road and Drymen Road north of Bea ...

from 1974 to 1980, then went on to study medicine at

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He left after failing exams due to an illness. He then returned to Bearsden and found work as a janitor at a health club.

Imposture

Using the name Brandon Lee, McKinnon reenrolled at Bearsden Academy as a fifth year student in 1993, claiming to be a sixteen year old Canadian. He said that he moved to Scotland to live with his grandmother after his mother, an opera singer, died in a car crash. MacKinnon became popular with his classmates. He earned five As in his Higher Grade examinations and was accepted at

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

to study medicine. McKinnon was exposed as a fraud by an anonymous phone call to education authorities and newspapers. He was consequently expelled from University of Dundee.

Media

McKinnon is the author of two autobiographies: the first, entitled ''Margin Walker'', he published on the internet in the late 90s; the second, entitled ''Rhesus Negative'' was published by Austin Macauley Publishers in 2016. In the late 90s, a movie based on MacKinnon’s life was in development. It was to be entitled ''Younger Than Springtime'', starring and directed by

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

, but it never materialized. A documentary entitled '' My Old School'', directed by MacKinnon’s former classmate Jono McLeod, was released in 2022. MacKinnon agreed to be interviewed for the documentary, but refused to appear on camera. Alan Cumming portrayed McKinnon, lip syncing his audio interview.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKinnon, Brian 20th-century Scottish autobiographers 21st-century Scottish autobiographers 1963 births Alumni of the University of Dundee Alumni of the University of Glasgow Impostors People educated at Bearsden Academy People from Glasgow Living people