Personal details
- Birth Date: 1963-09-21
- Height: 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Birth Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Parents: David Macfadyen
- Professions: Actor, Writer, Director
So, Angus McFadyen—yeah, the guy you probably remember as Robert the Bruce in Braveheart—has had a pretty wild ride in the film world. Born in Glasgow but basically raised everywhere from the Philippines to France, he finally landed back in Britain for school. Dude went to the University of Edinburgh and then London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, so, serious acting chops. His first big gig? Playing Philip in The Lost Language of Cranes—kind of a heavy role where he has to come out to his parents, with Brian Cox playing the dad. After that, he did some TV stuff and then boom, Braveheart. Playing Robert the Bruce next to Mel Gibson’s Wallace, Angus nailed that whole torn-between-duty-and-heart thing, but, shocker, award shows totally snubbed him. Post-Braveheart, Angus bounced around—indie flicks like Nevada, a bonkers villain in Warriors of Virtue (the movie flopped but his bad guy Komodo has some die-hard fans), and even a rom-com, Still Breathing. Nothing really hit Braveheart levels, but he kept busy. He played Peter Lawford in The Rat Pack with Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta, then Orson Welles in Cradle Will Rock—flop at the box office, but hey, Cannes noticed. He kept up with Shakespeare in Titus alongside Anthony Hopkins, did Zeus in Jason and the Argonauts, then wandered through some not-so-great films. Still, he popped up in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with a stacked cast, and played a creepy bureaucrat in Equilibrium, that Christian Bale dystopian flick. No huge blockbusters, but Angus just keeps showing up where you least expect him.
Reference: Speaks French fluently.nnThere’s this character who just rattles off French like it’s nothing, slipping between languages smoother than a jazz riff. It’s not just a parlor trick either—think of all those little moments where someone’s muttering in French, and boom, this person’s right there, translating on the fly or dropping some witty comeback in perfect Parisian accent. You get these scenes where a tense negotiation is about to go sideways, but nope, they charm their way through with a few slick phrases. Even in the middle of chaos, suddenly they’re switching to French, and it flips the whole vibe. It’s honestly a power move, and you can tell it’s not just “learned for the role” stuff—this is native-level, like they’ve been doing it since they were a kid. Makes all the culture clash moments way more fun, and you end up rooting for them just for the sheer style of it.
Robert the Bruce is honestly such an oddball of a character. He’s not your typical hero, that’s for sure. The guy’s got this restless vibe, like he’s always stuck between wanting to do the right thing and just, you know, keeping his own neck safe. He’s tangled up in his own head a lot—pulled toward wealth, the safety of his castles, all the rich folks depending on him. But there’s this constant tug-of-war inside him. Sometimes he’s almost too cautious, other times you catch a glimpse of something fiercer, like he could break free from all the crap weighing him down. But then, nope, he slips right back into compromise mode, trying to balance survival and some sense of honor. It’s messy, honestly. You watch him and think, “Man, just pick a side already!” But that’s kind of the whole point—he’s human, flawed, not some perfect legend.
September 21, 1963
5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
David Macfadyen and Surekha
61 years old