Bill Paterson
Known for Acting · 177 credits
- Born
- 1945-06-03 (age 81)
- Place of birth
- Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK
Biography
William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. Paterson has appeared in films and television series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), The Witches (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019), Inside No. 9 (2018), Good Omens (2019), Brassic (2020) and House of the Dragon (2022). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs.
William Tulloch Paterson was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1945. Paterson was raised in Dennistoun by his father, a plumber, and his mother, a hairdresser. He states that his interest in acting began with a school trip to the Citizens Theatre in the Gorbals in 1961. However, after school he chose to initially pursue a career based on an interest in architecture and spent three years as a quantity surveyor's apprentice before deciding to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Known For
TV Shows (64)
Doctor Who
2005
as Edwin Bracewell
Outlander
2014
as Ned Gowan
House of the Dragon
2022
as Lord Lyman Beesbury
Horizon
1964
The One Show
2006
as Self - Guest
Play for Today
1970
as Luke / Archie MacLean
Shetland
2013
as James Perez
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
as Bradley
Good Omens
2019
as Tadfield Neighbourhood Watch
Halo
2022
as Ackerson's Dad
The Sandman
2022
as Dr. John Hathaway
Omnibus
1967
Inside No. 9
2014
as Mr. Green
Foyle's War
2002
as Patrick Jamieson
Brassic
2019
as Tony Tillerton
Law & Order: UK
2009
as George Castle
Fleabag
2016
as Dad
The Repair Shop
2017
as Self - Narrator / Narrator (voice)
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
as Girling
ScreenPlay
1986
as Colin / Det. Supt. Chase
Murder Most Horrid
1991
as Chief Inspector
Urban Myths
2017
as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Born and Bred
2002
as Harry Woolf
Screen One
1989
as PC Howard Mullen
Little Dorrit
2008
as Mr. Meagles
Shoebox Zoo
2004
as The Storyteller (voice)
Between the Covers
2020
as Self
Criminal Justice
2008
as Harry Box
Guilt
2019
as Roy Lynch
Smiley's People
1982
as Lauder Strickland
ShakespeaRe-Told
2005
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
1983
as Ally Fraser
Arthouse
1997
as Self
Wives and Daughters
1999
as Mr Gibson
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
1988
as Titorelli
Scot Squad
2014
as Sir Neville Archibald
Canterbury Tales
2003
as Theo
The Michael Ball Show
2010
as Self
Sea of Souls
2004
as Dr. Douglas Monaghan
Doctor Zhivago
2002
as Alexander Maximovich Gromeko
Junior Masterchef
1994
Melissa
1997
as DCI Cameron
The Singing Detective
1986
as Dr Gibbon
Dirk Gently
2012
as Professor Jericho
Sharman
1995
as James Webb
The Crow Road
1996
as Kenneth McHoan
Rebel Heart
2001
as James Connolly
Trust
2003
as John Tilson
Life of Shakespeare
1978
as King James I
37 Days
2014
as Lord Morley
Oliver's Travels
1995
as Baxter
Traffik
1989
as John Lithgow
Them From That Thing
2012
as Various
The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
2000
Hard Times
1994
as Stephen Blackpool
Tomb Raider
as Winston
The Rebel
2016
as Charles
Kill Jackie
as Owain
Britain’s Scenic Railways
2021
as Narrator
Ghostbusters of East Finchley
1995
as Joe Small
Movies (113)
Ladies First
2026
as Louis
Rebecca
2020
as Dr. Baker
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988
as Henry Salt
Spice World
1997
as Brian
The Witches
1990
as Mr Jenkins
The Killing Fields
1984
as Dr. MacEntire
Chaplin
1992
as Stage Manager
Amazing Grace
2006
as Lord Dundas
Sunshine
1999
as Minister of Justice
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
2008
as Richard Young
High-Rise
2015
as Mercer
Miss Potter
2006
as Rupert Potter
Crush
2002
as Gerald
The Match
1999
as Tommy
Dad's Army
2016
as Private Frazer
The Man Who Invented Christmas
2017
as Mr. Grimsby
Richard III
1995
as Sir Richard Ratcliffe
Bright Young Things
2003
as Sir James Brown
Creation
2009
as Dr. Gully
Heart
1999
as Mr. Kreitman
Hidden City
1987
as Anthony
Hard Times
1994
as Stephen Blackpool
Into the Storm
2009
as Clement Attlee
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007
as Self
The Return of the Musketeers
1989
as Charles I
Hilary and Jackie
1998
as Cello Teacher
Truly Madly Deeply
1991
as Sandy
Love Sarah
2020
as Felix
The Object of Beauty
1991
as Victor Swayle
The Vote
2015
as Simon Featherstone
Complicity
2000
as Wallace Byatt
A Private Function
1984
as Wormold
Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars
2007
as Dr Watson
The Rachel Papers
1989
as Gordon Highway
Churchill's Secret
2016
as Lord Moran
Marionette
2020
as Dr. Mandelbaum
Being Stanley Baxter
2025
as Self
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
2018
as Gordon Burstead
Intervention
2007
as Dr. Martin
The Colour Room
2021
as Gordon Forsythe
Arthur's Whisky
2024
as Henry
The Ploughman's Lunch
1983
as Lecturer
Mr White Goes To Westminster
1997
as Ben White
The Whistle-Blower
2001
as D.I. Neil Sleightholme
Just Ask for Diamond
1988
as Chief Inspector Snape
Defence of the Realm
1986
as Jack Macleod
Yellowbacks
1990
as Alex McPherson
Fascism in Colour
2006
as Narrator (voice)
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen
2009
as Dr James Niven
Comfort and Joy
1984
as Alan
Rag Tale
2005
as Tulloch 'Lucky' Lloyd
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
1974
as Various
Othello
2001
as Sinclair Carver
Friendship's Death
1987
as Sullivan
Byrne About Byrne
1988
as Father/F.S. McDade
The Interrogation of John
1987
as Det. Supt. Chase
The Cherry Orchard
1981
as Lopakhin
Victory
1996
as Capt. Davidson
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale
1989
as Jordan
Franz Kafka's 'The Trial'
1988
as Titorelli
Wall of Silence
1993
as Howard Mullen
Danielle Cable: Eyewitness
2003
as DI Nick Biddiss
God's Chosen Car Park
1986
as Victor Rosen
Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me
2011
as Judge Underwood
God on the Rocks
1992
as Kenneth Marsh
The List
2013
as Reg Troughton
Ghosts in the Machine
2009
as Himself
The White Room
as Jackie Jordan
The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen
2008
as Self - 'Henry Salt'
The Writing on the Wall
1996
as Bull
Lie with Me
2004
as DCI Collman
The Odd Job
1978
as Sergeant Mull
The House Was Not Hungry Then
2025
as Father
The Man who Crossed Hitler
2011
as Kurt Ohnesorge
Children of the Wicker Man
2024
as Self
The Vanishing Army
1978
as Girling
One Fine Day
1979
as Third Man in Lift
Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman
1985
as Self
The Spirit of 1926
2022
as Family Lawyer
The Animal Train
1998
as Walrus
The Thin End of the Wedge
1977
as Luke
Dutch Girls
1985
as Mr Mole
Licking Hitler
1978
as Archie MacLean
The Story of a Recluse
1987
as The Producer
Coming Up Roses
1987
as Mr. Valentine
The Turnaround
1995
as James Webb
Chaplin's Goliath
1996
as Narrator (voice)
In Dreams
1992
as Dr Gold
Documenting John Grierson
2014
as Narrator
The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema
2011
as Narrator (Voice)
A Bear Named Wojtek
2023
as Zoo Director (voice)
Lily My Love
1987
as Colin
Jackie McCafferty's Romance
1978
as Bus Conductor
1929: The Great Crash
2009
as Narrator
United Kingdom
1981
as Tony
Wonderdate
2018
as Kolodon
Clydescope
1974
as Model Boat Show Commentator (voice) (uncredited)
The Pen
1995
Tell Tale Hearts
1992
as Anthony Steadman
Chrono-Perambulator
1999
as Professor Teddy Knox
Passing Places
1973
Gone Fishing
2008
as Old Bill
Behind Bars
2001
as Narrator
Home Road Movies
2002
as Father
The Day Mountbatten Died
2019
as Narrator (voice)
The Man Who Lives with Bears
2008
as Self - Narrator (voice)
A War on Science
2006
as Narrator (voice)
Hitler on Trial: The Truth Behind the Story
2015
The Riddle of the Sands
1995
as Narrator
Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games
2012
as Narrator
The Entity
2002
The Garden Beyond
1977
as Jim Finlayson
Suilven Spring
1974
About Bill Paterson
William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. Paterson has appeared in films and television series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), The Witches (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019),… With 177 credits spanning from 1964 to 2026, Bill Paterson has appeared in 113 films and 64 TV shows.
Fans searching for Bill Paterson movies, Bill Paterson filmography, or the latest projects starring Bill Paterson can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Bill Paterson Movies
- Ladies First (2026) — as Louis
- Rebecca (2020) — as Dr. Baker
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) — as Henry Salt
- Spice World (1997) — as Brian
- The Witches (1990) — as Mr Jenkins
Where to Watch Bill Paterson Films
Most Bill Paterson movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Bill Paterson, check our movies catalogue and browse page.