# Justin McDonald

Justin McDonald (born 21 March 1983) is a British actor of film, television and theatre.

## Early life

Justin Mark McDonald was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear in North East England. His keen interest in art and literature led him into acting at an early age and he was soon awarded a scholarship by the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London where he gained a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Acting.

## Career

McDonald went on to complete his studies early in order to film on the television drama Distant Shores for ITV Granada, playing series regular Ben McCallister. Following this he has appeared in many acclaimed television productions such as Holby City, The Bill, Torchwood, Afterlife, Casualty, Emmerdale, Wolfblood and the crime detective series Inspector George Gently.
McDonald's first major film saw him appearing alongside Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor in the Beatrix Potter biopic Miss Potter as the young William Heelis, who encouraged the young Beatrix Potter to write and illustrate her stories. He then went on to appear in another British biopic playing Steve in And When Did You Last See Your Father? which starred Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth. The film was based on the memoirs of the same title written by Blake Morrison. More recently McDonald played a lead Detective in feature film Winter Ridge.
McDonald's stage debut came in 2010, playing the role of Klaus Voormann in the original stage adaptation of Backbeat. The untold story of The Beatles during their early Hamburg days.
As well as acting on stage and screen, McDonald is an accomplished voice over artist. He played the voice of Frank Simmons in the Nintendo Wii Video Game Cursed Mountain. His voice career has also led him to the Monty Python comedy troupe, playing the voice of young David Sherlock in the animated feature film A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
McDonald also played the role of 'Ronnie' in Rag'n'Bone Man music video Hard Came The Rain LP for Sony Music.

## Awards and nominations

In 2023, McDonald received a Royal Television Society award for his performance in British Film Institute film Fist.

## Selected work

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Distant Shores | Ben McCallister | Series 1, episodes 1–6 (main cast) |
| 2005 | Holby City | Matthew Samuels | Series 7, episode 16 "Live and Let Die" |
| 2005 | The Bill | Eddie Clark | Series 21, episode 64 "337" |
| 2006 | Afterlife | Cameron | Series 2, episode 5 "Mirrorball" |
| 2006 | Torchwood | Matt | Series 1, episode 2 "Day One" |
| 2008 | Casualty | Lewis Cork | Series 22, episode 21 "Adrenaline Rush" |
| 2008 | Doctors | Robin Hartnall | Series 9, episode 207 "Hopelessly Devoted" |
| 2009 | Inspector George Gently | Jed Jimpson | Series 2, episode 4 "Gently Through the Mill" |
| 2012 | Emmerdale | Trevor Cunningham | Recurring Role |
| 2013 | Casualty | Rory Timpson | Recurring Role |
| 2016 | Wolfblood | Dr Jones | Series 4 |
Film :
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2006 | Miss Potter | Young William Heelis |
| 2007 | Vampire Diary | Brad |
| 2007 | And When Did You Last See Your Father? | Steve |
| 2012 | A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman | Young David Sherlock (voice) |
| 2018 | Winter Ridge | Tom Harris |
| 2019 | A Modern Magician | Jim |
| 2021 | Evie | Jeremy |
| 2021 | The Almond and the Seahorse | Simon |
| 2022 | Fist | Aaron |
| 2023 | Goodwin Island | Kai |
Theatre :
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
| 2010 | Backbeat | Klaus Voormann | Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow | Based on the 1994 film of the same name |
| 2016 | The Fighting Bradfords | Roland Boys Bradford | Gala Theatre, Durham, England |
Voice :
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2009 | Cursed Mountain | Video game |
| 2020 | Total War Saga: Troy | Video game |