8 February 2025
  • 8 February 2025

Craig McGinlay talks exclusively to Mill

on 24 December 2024 0

Born and bred in Paisley, Craig McGinlay has grown from sports scientist to a mainstay across TV and film. In an exclusive interview, he tells us about his origins, the plans going forward and much more…

Craig McGinlay never expected to be where he is now. A Foxbar native who spent his youth at the now defunct Ferguslie tennis club, Craig’s journey appeared to lead towards the pitch, rather than anywhere near movie sets. Now, he’s just back from Ireland after stepping into the shoes of two vastly different characters. 

“I was working on Blue Lights earlier this year and just wrapped up a job on Borderline, a new show that’s about to come out on MGM Plus and Amazon,” Craig revealed. “So, I’ve gone from playing an orange loyalist in one project to ‘Reverend Adam’ in the new one (laughs). Two very different roles which I played about two weeks apart, so it was a quick turnaround. It’s all part of the job though!”

Evidently Craig will turn his hand to anything and upon inspection, this clear versatility may come about from his truly non-traditional, almost serendipitous route into the industry. 

“I was a sports scientist and strength and conditioning coach,” Craig reflected. “Before that, I played rugby and injured my shoulder playing an international game during the under 20s World Cup in Italy.

“After that, I became a sports scientist because I was fascinated with that side of things, particularly working with athletes towards injury prevention. I worked with a lot of professional athletes, including Olympians in hockey, swimming and badminton, as well as teams in football and rugby, including St Mirren under Danny Lennon.

“It was so random,” he said of his first experience in front of the camera. “I was working with the athletes during the Commonwealth Games and they were filming an advert. At some point, someone came up to me and said ‘oh, the weightlifter hasn’t shown up, would you mind filling in?’ I said ‘sure, why not?’ It was fun and a little paid gig.

“I didn’t envision it as anything further, but the producer and director said ‘hey, we’re doing this short film and we think you’d be good for the lead role. At the time, I was honest and said ‘listen, I’m not an actor but I’d love to give it a try’. Long story short, I got the role and the film won best thriller at festivals in LA and Calgary. Suddenly, I was out in Hollywood and the whole thing was just a crazy experience for someone who’d never had any training.” 

Although his path to the performing arts came about through happenstance, what many people close to Craig McGinlay didn’t know was that he’d actually been nursing dreams of taking to the big screen long before they came to fruition. In fact, it was a certain spandex-sporting crime-fighter that had entranced him from a young age. 

Craig McGinlay

Blue Lights, Season Two, playing hitman, Craig McQuarrie ©BBC

“I’d always wanted to act since I was a wee boy, but I didn’t have any family in it or anything like that. Likewise, my school didn’t put an emphasis on drama, it was very much ‘you’re going to be an accountant, a lawyer or a doctor’ and I went down the rugby path.

“I loved Christopher Reeve growing up,” Craig recalled. “I watched those Superman films over and over again. So, that was the kind of genesis for me in terms of an interest in acting, action, stunt work and just throwing yourself into roles. I actually ran about the house in a Superman costume all the time as a wee boy. My parents probably saved a fortune on clothes, because I just wore that constantly (laughs). My gran would patch up all the elbows and the knees.” 

Following that initial experience, Craig McGinlay took another leap when he joined an extras agency. From there, small background roles gave him the chance to get used to the experience on set. Soon, a role would not only place him in the vicinity of not only a sporting icon, but a legendary director and his team who’d soon snap him up and light the way for his cinematic debut. 

“They ended up getting me a role in an advert for a Whiskey company [Haig Club]. David Beckham was the face of the brand and I was one of his pals in it. Amazingly, Guy Richie, who is one of my favourite filmmakers, directed it alongside people like John Mathieson, the cinematographer from Gladiator.

“Mark Wolff was also involved and he does all the aerial shots on the [James] Bond films alongside a lot of others. So, I remember just looking around this set to see David Beckham on a motorbike, Guy Richie behind the camera, John Mathieson at the monitor and Marc Wolff flying a helicopter through the Scottish highlands. At that point, I was like ‘that’s it, I’m no longer dipping my toe in the water, I need to go for this’. So, I got home, found myself an agent and moved to London.” 

It was on the set of that advert where the casting director who helmed Guy Richie’s new project spotted an innate talent in Craig McGinlay. Before long, this would result in a big screen role as Sir Percival in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

“I wouldn’t be acting if it wasn’t for these guys,” he declared. “There’s no question. Initially, I had a very small role but then they gave me a much bigger part. I was there for four months working at Warner Brothers studios with people like Eric Bana, Jude Law and Charlie Hunnam.

“ It was an amazing workshop for me. Because, at that point, working with just one A-lister would’ve been amazing. But, because I hadn’t trained, being in this role where I was one of the knights who’s always kinda there just gave me a massive insight into everything. I got to see how they all prepare. 

“Jude was an absolute gentleman,” Craig said of his brief time under the acclaimed actor’s wing. “He was so welcoming and patient with me being so new to it all. From the table read where we first went through it all, having him talk to me so pleasantly and then morph into this whole new character just blew me away. 

“That’s always been something that’s fascinated me,” Craig continued. “There’s actually a famous scene in the Superman movies where he’s in Lois Lane’s apartment as Clark Kent and then he takes the glasses off, puffs out his chest, opens up his posture and he is Superman. Then, he goes back into the clumsy Clark again. Even back then, that bit of acting was so transformative for me as a wee boy and I find it so impressive when guys can do that.”



From the outset, that ability to completely embody another person at the drop of a hat had amazed Craig. Now that he’s in the business, he has no intention of going down the method acting route, particularly with some of the imposing, complex men he’s played such as Craig McQuarrie from Blue Lights. 

“That’s how I want to be. I don’t want to take work home with me. Even working on Blue Lights, I didn’t want to take that guy home (laughs). I had the tattoos and stuff, so the make-up team asked me if I wanted to keep them on with a sealant so that I’d just be good to go. They probably thought I was a pain in the arse, but I wanted them off every night. I just found it helpful to hang it all up at the end of the day.”

Despite the fact that he casts a formidable shadow on screen, Craig McGinlay is very eager to ensure that he isn’t typecasted, delving into everything the acting world has to offer. 

“I want to be versatile,” he proclaimed. “Because I was a fit guy who’d had to bulk up for the first few roles, it made sense to be in that zone. But, now, I’ve played the husband role or even detectives and now a reverend in this new project. I still love doing all the action and people I’m inspired by in that world.

“If someone said ‘do you want to play a comic book role?’ Then of course I would. That said, I enjoy dipping into the independent stuff and I’d love to do more theatre too if that presented itself. Maybe even something in Paisley! I want to challenge myself.” 

This philosophy has led him across the world, leading to his performance as Hugo in Netflix’s You through to the devious MacNeill in Outlander. He even has a spell portraying Colonel Freddy Young in the Bollywood film Shamshera alongside legends of the genre.

“I had to learn Hindi for that and initially, I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But, my opening scene was with the De Niro of Bollywood, Sanjay Dutt. I had to do this monologue to him and I knew that you just can’t mess it up as the fans hate that. They actually dub a lot of western actors, but I just drilled it in and thankfully, the reviews were good for my Hindi!”

Craig McGinlay

Shamshera Film, YRF (Yash Raj Films), Craig playing leading role Colonel Freddy Young, late 19th century British soldier

Although his sporting career was cut short, Craig insists he gets the same thrill when he excels in his new role. In truth, he actually finds a lot of crossover. 

“When you nail it, I get the same feeling as when I used to score a try in rugby. I actually think there’s so many transferable skills. When we have to get amped up for a big fight scene or something like that, I prepare the same way as I did for games in the changing room. This means doing things like press-ups, high knees on the spot, punching bags, just getting your sweat going.

“You’ve got to get yourself fired up. At the same time, you’re playing a character. On a rugby pitch, you smash someone in a big tackle, but that’s not me day-to-day. By the end, you’re shaking hands and hugging, so it’s the same on a film set. 

“The longer I’ve been in the business, the more I realise a lot of people haven’t trained,” Craig says, touching on his non-traditional origins as an actor. “On King Arthur, I met Djimon Hounsou [Gladiator, Blood Diamond, others] who was telling me about how he went from sofa surfing to becoming a Calvin Klein model and finally an actor. Now, he’s been nominated for two Academy Awards. So, I find things like that inspiring.” 

Now armed with a team in the US, Craig McGinlay seems on the precipice of big things and after being shortlisted years ago, he’s still campaigning for the role of 007 in a future instalment of the franchise. 

“It’s actually my mum and my gran,” Craig joked of the push for the role. “Of course, that would be a dream role and I’d love to play a Bond type of role. That’s the goal, because why not? A lot of people would say you can’t say that? But I’ve already done more than I imagined. I think it’s a distant dream” he concluded, “but you never know man!” 


Q&A with Craig McGinlay

Favourite golf course to play? The Old Course, St Andrews. I grew up going there and getting the chance to play in the Dunhill Links tournament was amazing. 

Squats or Bench? Neither! (laughs). Do something that’s transferable. Free weights and move. 

Favourite workout song? Now We Are Free from the Gladiator original soundtrack. I love epic film scores.


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