Paul McGann

Biography

Paul McGann (born November 14, 1959) is an English actor who made his name on The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role. He is also known for his role in Withnail and I, and for portraying the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie as well as other media that features his incarnation of the character.

Known For

Agatha Christie's Poirot

Horizon

Holby City

Agatha Christie's Marple

New Tricks

Play for Today

Waking the Dead

Screen Two

All Movies (114)

• Good Behaviour2026 · as Richard
• The Marbles2025 · as Lord Byron (voice)
• Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War2025 · as The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Doctor Who at the Proms2024 · as The Doctor (8) (archive footage)
• Churchill’s Forgotten War2024 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Day of the Sun Dog2023 · as Jaggers
• The Undertaker2023 · as Arthur
• Talking Doctor Who2023 · as Self / The Doctor (8) (archive footage)
• Mia and the Dragon Princess2023 · as Walsh
• Doctor Who Am I2022 · as Self
• Swallow Your Dreams2022 · as James
• The Big Night In2020 · as Self
• The Doctors: The Paul McGann Years2019
• The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On2019 · as Self
• Swans: Mystery of the Missing2019 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Picasso's Last Stand2018 · as Narrator
• Oi For England's Green and Pleasant Land2018 · as Himself
• Perplexed Music2017 · as Man
• Brakes2017 · as Peter
• Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence2017 · as Narrator (voice)
• Nero's Sunken City2017 · as Narrator (English Voice)
• B&B2017 · as Josh
• Unfinished: The Making of Massive Attack2016 · as Narrator (Voice)
• Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song2015 · as The Doctor (8) (picture) (uncredited)
• China - Treasures of the Jade Empire2015 · as Narrator
• Absence2015 · as Man
• The Other Prince William2015 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Finding Babylon's Hanging Garden2015 · as Narrator (voice)
• Churchill: When Britain Said No2015 · as Narrator (voice)
• Shark: Beneath the Surface2015 · as self, narrator
• Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace2015 · as narrator
• Super Powered Owls2015 · as Narrator
• The Great Wall of China: The Hidden Story2014 · as Himself
• The Minister of Chance: Prologue2014 · as Durian
• Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race2014 · as Narrator (Voice)
• Doctor Who: The Ultimate Time Lord with Peter Davison2014 · as Self
• France: The Wild Side2014 · as Narrator
• Codebreaker Alan Turing Persecution Of A Genius2014
• A Little Place Off the Edgware Road2014 · as James Craven
• Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting2014 · as Narrator
• The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot2013 · as Self
• Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor2013 · as The Doctor (8) (archive footage)
• Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor2013 · as The Doctor
• JFK's Secret Killer: The Evidence2013 · as Himself - Narrator (voice)
• Brady and Hindley: Possession2013 · as Narrator (voice)
• Art Is...2013 · as Lulu's Dad
• Britain's Greatest Codebreaker2012 · as Himself - Narrator (voice)
• Tiger Island2012 · as Narrator
• SOS: The Titanic Inquiry2012 · as Sir Rufus Isaacs
• Digging The Great Escape2011 · as narrator
• Doctor Who: Tales Lost in Time2011
• Gadaffi and the IRA2011 · as Narrator
• The 9/11 Surfer2011 · as Narrator
• The Day John Lennon Died2010 · as Narrator
• Godard & Others2010 · as Torrence
• Lesbian Vampire Killers2009 · as Vicar
• Doctor Who: The Next Doctor2008 · as The Doctor (8) (archive footage)
• Fables of Forgotten Things2008 · as Clarence
• My Dad Was a Communist2008 · as Narrator
• The Ties That Bind Us2008 · as Self - Narrator
• Davros Connections2007 · as (archival audio)
• Chernobyl Reclaimed: An Animal Takeover2007 · as Narrator
• Always Crashing in the Same Car2007 · as Bill Mackinnon
• World of Compulsive Hoarders2007
• If I Had You2006 · as Philip Andrews
• Ghosts on the Underground2005 · as Narrator
• The Orangutan King2005 · as Narrator
• Gypo2005 · as Paul
• Kidnapped2005 · as Colonel MacNab
• Daphne Ashbrook in the UK2005
• Death of an Idealist2005 · as Narrator
• Lie with Me2004 · as Gerry Henson
• Wreckage and Rage: Making 'Alien³'2003 · as Self
• Listening2003 · as Man
• Otherworld2003 · as King Matholwch (voice)
• Doctor Who: Shada2003 · as The Doctor (voice)
• Hornblower: Duty2003 · as Lieutenant Bush
• Hornblower: Loyalty2003 · as Lieutenant Bush
• The Biographer2002 · as Andrew Morton
• Queen of the Damned2002 · as David Talbot
• Blood Strangers2002 · as DC David Ingram
• My Kingdom2001 · as Dean
• Like a Hurricane: The Alex Higgins Story2001 · as Self- Narrator
• Hornblower: Retribution2001 · as Lt. Bush
• Hornblower: Mutiny2001 · as Lieutenant Bush
• Hotel!2001 · as Ben Carter
• Withnail and Us1999 · as Self
• The Dance of Shiva1998 · as Captain Greville
• FairyTale: A True Story1997 · as Arthur Wright
• Downtime1997 · as Rob
• Star Trek Story1996 · as Self - Commentary (voice)
• Doctor Who1996 · as The Doctor
• Catherine the Great1996 · as Potemkin
• Bidding Adieu: A Video Diary1996 · as Self
• The One That Got Away1996 · as Chris Ryan
• The Merchant of Venice1996 · as Bassanio
• The Hanging Gale1995 · as Liam Phelan
• The Three Musketeers1993 · as Girard / Jussac
• Alien³1992 · as Golic
• Afraid of the Dark1991 · as Tony
• Paper Mask1990 · as Matthew Harris
• Drowning in the Shallow End1990 · as Colin
• The Monk1990 · as Father Lorenzo Rojas
• Dealers1989 · as Daniel Pascoe
• The Rainbow1989 · as Anton Skrebensky
• Streets of Yesterday1989 · as Joseph
• Tree of Hands1989 · as Barry
• The Importance of Being Earnest1988 · as John Worthing
• Empire of the Sun1987 · as Lieutenant Price
• Cariani and the Courtesans1987 · as Giovanni Cariani
• Withnail & I1987 · as ...& I
• Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle1984 · as Mo Morris
• Gaskin1983 · as Graham Gaskin
• Whistling Wally1982 · as Norman

All TV Shows (57)

• Bookish2025 · as Mr. Kind
• Anne2022 · as Malcolm Thornton MP
• Annika2021 · as Jake Strathearn
• Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World2021 · as Self - Narrator
• McDonald & Dodds2020 · as Archie Addington
• Victorian Sensations2019 · as Self - Presenter
• Wildest Europe2017 · as Narrator
• Wildest Islands of Indonesia2016 · as Narrator
• Shark2015 · as Himself - Narrator
• Wild Sri Lanka2015 · as Paul McGann
• Wildest Middle East2014 · as Narrator
• Secrets of the Castle2014 · as Narrator (Voice)
• Wildest Indochina2014 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Musketeers2014 · as St Pierre
• The Musketeers2014 · as Saint Pierre
• Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited2013 · as Self
• Wildest Islands2012 · as Narrator
• Ripper Street2012 · as Stanley Bone
• The Bletchley Circle2012 · as John Richards
• A Mother's Son2012 · as David
• Wildest Latin America2012 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Luther2010 · as Mark North
• Collision2009 · as Richard Reeves
• Moving On2009 · as Phil
• The Foreign Legion: Tougher Than the Rest2007 · as Himself - Narrator (voice)
• True Dare Kiss2007 · as Nash McKinnon
• Tripping Over2006 · as Jeremy
• Psycho2005 · as Narrator
• Kidnapped2005
• Twisted Tales2005 · as Phone (voice)
• Agatha Christie's Marple2004 · as Dickie Erskine
• Lie with Me2004 · as Gerry Henson
• Zero Hour2004 · as Narrator (Voice)
• Bible Mysteries2004 · as Himself-Narrator
• Sea of Souls2004 · as Christopher Chambers
• New Tricks2004 · as D.C.I. James Larson
• Blood Strangers2002 · as DC David Ingram
• Sweet Revenge2001 · as Patrick Vine
• Waking the Dead2001 · as ACC Tony Nicholson
• Fish2000 · as Jonathan Vishnevski
• Nature Boy2000 · as Steve Witton
• Forgotten1999 · as Ben Turner
• Holby City1999 · as John Gaskell
• Hornblower1998 · as William Bush
• Our Mutual Friend1998 · as Eugene Wrayburn
• Testament: The Bible in Animation1996 · as David (voice)
• The Hanging Gale1995 · as Liam Phelan
• Nice Town1992 · as Joe Thompson
• Agatha Christie's Poirot1989 · as Dr. Peter Lord
• The Monocled Mutineer1986 · as Percy Toplis
• ScreenPlay1986 · as Giovanni Cariani
• Screen Two1985 · as Colin
• Natural World1983 · as Narrator
• Give us a Break1983 · as Mo Morris
• Fish1977
• Play for Today1970 · as Norman
• Horizon1964 · as Himself