Ronald Eaglesham Porter (born 26 April 1956), known professionally as Ron Donachie, is a Scottish character actor. He has appeared in supporting roles in films ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' (1994), ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' and television series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'', in which he recurred as Ser Rodrik Cassel. He is however perhaps best known for portraying DI John Rebus in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

dramatisations of Sir Ian Rankin's ''

Rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...

'' detective novels, a role he reprised for the stage play '' Rebus: Long Shadows''.

Biography

Early life and career

Ronald Porter was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Scotland and educated at Madras College,

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

where he performed in three school plays: '' Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' – The Madras College Archive
/ref> in 1972, '' A Man For All Seasons'' ''A Man For All Seasons'' – The Madras College Archive
/ref> in 1973 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter was impressive from start to finish, handling a mammoth part with apparent ease, giving a sensitive, subtle and well-controlled performance, especially in the second act", and ''

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a Frame story, framing device, often referred to as the Induction (play), inducti ...

'' ''Taming of the Shrew'' – The Madras College Archive
/ref> in 1974 for which the newspaper review said "Ron Porter's affability shines out like the proverbial beacon ... as the most experienced member of the cast, he has the confidence to be able to establish an immediate rapport with the audience. ... eturned in his usual high standard of performance as the enormously arrogant Petruchio". His education continued at the

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 ...

where he was President of the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council (1976–1977) and graduated MA (Hons) in English Literature and Drama in 1979. He joined John McGrath's 7:84 theatre group for their 1980–1981 touring production, John Burrows' '' One Big Blow'', in which the cast mimicked a traditional colliery band by singing in six part harmony. Following the success of this play members of the cast founded the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

'' The Flying Pickets'' in 1982, but Donachie left before their 1983 Christmas number one hit.

Acclaim

Although Donachie has been prolific in television and films, these have all been ensemble or supporting parts. His leading roles on radio and the theatre have achieved acclaim:

"Ron Donachie plays ebusin the BBC radio versions and he's really got the voice"
—
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
, author of the ''
Rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...
'' novels

Ron Donachie plays her father with an authority that makes his role as a sexual predator even more creepy.
— '' Six Characters in Search of an Author'' – Mark Fisher, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''

When Ron Donachie takes the stage as Deputy Governor Danforth in the second half of Arthur Miller's classic, it's as if this 17th century parable of superstition and intolerance has a new centre of gravity. It's partly that Donachie seems three times bigger than everyone else, a bullish figure, no less fearsome for his legal attire. It's partly that his charismatic stillness commands attention and defies contradiction. But it's also that, in presenting himself as reasonable, considerate and fair, he puts you in mind of every leader who gets his way by masking ruthless force with politeness.
— ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'' review – Mark Fisher, ''The Guardian''

Personal life

Donachie married Fiona Biggar, a complementary therapist,"Game of Thrones' Daniel Portman: 'People expect Podrick – that's not what they get'" – Chris Wiegand, The Guardian, 19 August 2019
/ref> in 1989; the couple have two children: the actor

Daniel Portman Daniel Porter (born 13 February 1992), known professionally as Daniel Portman, is a Scottish actor. He is best known for playing the role of Podrick Payne in the television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). He has since appeared as Stu ...

and Naomi Porter, a linguist. His brother, Stewart Porter, is also an actor and his sister-in-law is Scottish film costume designer Trisha Biggar.

Film

Television

Theatre

Radio

References

External links

*
Ron Donachie at Theatricalia

Ron Donachie at CDA Theatrical Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donachie, Ron 1956 births Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male radio actors Male actors from Dundee People educated at Madras College Alumni of the University of Glasgow Living people