Jamie Quinn is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Private Kevin "Mac" McDowell in ''

Bluestone 42 ''Bluestone 42'' is a British sitcom about a British bomb disposal detachment in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick, first broadcast on 5 March 2013 on BBC Three. The third and final series began on 9 March 2015 and ended on 13 April 2015. In ...

'', Fergie in ''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scotland, Scottish sitcom produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis (Still Game character), Jack Jarvis, ...

'' and Ian Baird in '' Two Doors Down''. He is the singer-songwriter and guitarist in the band Penny Mob.

Early life and education

Quinn was born in

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

and grew up in

Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Airdrie (; ; ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow. , it had a population of 37,130. Airdrie developed as a market town in the late 17th ce ...

. He attended St. Ambrose High School in Coatbridge. He was given the nickname "Penny Chew" whilst at school due to the fact that he had appeared in a TV advert for S1jobs where he stood at an ice cream van and delivered the line "Just a penny chew then Mr.". Quinn trained at the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

Career

Quinn began his acting career as a child appearing in commercials, short films and productions at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow. Quinn first gained national recognition in 2002 playing the role of Fergie in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

sitcom ''

'', a role which he played for seven series until 2016, he was also credited as "Young Derek" and "Young Ned" in some episodes. In total Quinn appeared in 12 episodes of the show. On stage, he appeared in the role of Fraz in the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

-winning 2010/11 production of ''

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

'' with the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

in a UK/US tour. The play opened at the

SEC Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest Exhibition center, exhibit ...

, then transferred to the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

, London and St. Ann's Warehouse in New York. From 2013 to 2015, Quinn starred in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

comedy ''

'', playing the role of Private Kevin "Mac" McDowell. In 2014 he appeared in ''Still Game: Live'' at

The SSE Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. The arena was initially named The Scottish Hydro Arena after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro Electric. During construction, Scottish ...

. Quinn played George "Spanky" Farrell, a 1950s working class

Teddy Boy The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly United Kingdom, British youth subculture originating in the early 1950s to mid-1960s and then revived in the 1970s who were interested in rock and roll and Rhythm and blues, R&B music, wearing clothes part ...

, in the 2015 revival of the classic play ''The Slab Boys'' (the first in ''

The Slab Boys Trilogy ''The Slab Boys Trilogy'' is a set of three plays by the Scottish playwright John Byrne. The trilogy was originally known as ''Paisley Patterns''. The three plays which make up the trilogy are: ''The Slab Boys'', ''Cuttin' a Rug'', and ''Still ...

'') at the

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and playwright in residence Paul Vincent Carroll is based in Glasgow, Scotland, as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat ...

, Glasgow, directed by

David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director from Glasgow. His acting credits include '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), '' Rob Roy'' (1995), '' The Jackal'' (1997), '' Tri ...

and designed by playwright and artist John Byrne. From 2015 to 2023, Quinn played the role of Ian Baird in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

sitcom '' Two Doors Down''. In 2016 Quinn appeared in the role of Aidan in the world premiere UK tour of the play ''Petrification''. It opened at the Newcastle

Live Theatre Company Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...

. In 2017 he appeared in the

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

film ''On the Road'', alongside the British Rock band

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are a Rock music, rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo made up of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice playe ...

. The film premiered at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

. In 2018 Quinn starred in the

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the scien ...

directed feature ''

The Party's Just Beginning ''The Party's Just Beginning'' is a 2018 comedy-drama film written and directed by Karen Gillan, in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, Paul Higgins and Siobhan Redmond. The film had its world premier ...

''. It premiered at the

Glasgow Film Festival The Glasgow Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Glasgow, Scotland. The festival began in 2005. By 2015, the festival had seen audience figures top 40,000 for two consecutive years. It is now considered one of the top film festivals ...

. In the same year, Quinn also voiced the cook Thorn in the French-British animated series '' Lilybuds''. The series was produced by Zodiak Kids and was shown in several countries including France, the UK, Canada, Latin America and the Middle East. Quinn is the singer-songwriter and guitarist in the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band Penny Mob. In 2022 he appeared in the role of Thomas Marshall in the world premiere of the play ''Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor'' at the Park Theatre in London. In 2024 Quinn voiced the role of Owl in the animation feature film '' Fox and Hare Save the Forest''. The film had its world premiere at the

74th Berlin International Film Festival The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o was named the Jury President for the main competition. This ye ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Male actors from Glasgow Alumni of the Drama Centre London Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish male child actors {{Scotland-actor-stub