‘Hey, they were in Game of Thrones’—Where else have you seen these 50 GoT cast members?
43) RORY McCANN
Let’s start with something interesting: the Scottish-born McCaan is an outdoorsman, and he was helping paint the bridge over the River Forth when he got some notice as the ruggedly handsome and sometimes barely-clothed TV spokesman for Scott’s Porridge Oats.
Try to not think about that for a while.
Early in his career, McCaan sat down with the the Scottish Herald (2003) and talked about his fear tackling his first starring TV role in The Book Group (2002-2003):
"There were times at the start of it all when I would be standing, terrified in front of the cameras and people I considered ‘real’ actors. I had no idea what was happening, what the guy with the clipboard did, or if people in the studio were looking at me because it was their job to look at me or because they thought I was making a mess of things."
Fortunately, he figured it out: he won a 2002 Scottish BAFTA Award for best TV performance as a wheelchair-bound lifeguard.
McCaan parlayed his newfound fame into lots of TV roles, such as Peter the Great in Peter in Paradise (2003), Adam in Rockface (2003), Derek Hatch in The Jury (2011) and Marston in Banished (2015, above). Burly film roles also ensued, including Crateros in Alexander (2004), Belo in Clash of the Titans (2010, with Thrones castmate Alexander Siddig) and John Ross in Slow West (2015).
You might also remember McCaan from his funky role as Michael Armstrong in Hot Fuzz (2007, above). Yarp!
In 2017, McCaan graces the big screen as Tennyson Torch in XxX: Return of Xander Cage.