Bill Paterson

Bill Paterson

1945-06-03 Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK 105 Credits

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 Wh...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

The House Was Not Hungry Then

The House Was Not Hungry Then

2025

as Father

3.8
Acting

While searching for her estranged father, a young woman breaks into an empty house in the countryside where every visitor disappears. Now she must avo...

Arthur's Whisky

Arthur's Whisky

2024

as Henry

6.2
Acting

When Joan’s husband dies, she is shocked to discover he had invented an elixir which makes the drinker look young again. Sharing it with her two frien...

Children of the Wicker Man

Children of the Wicker Man

2024

as Self

Acting

Fifty years after The Wicker Man (1973), director Robin Hardy’s lost papers resurface, prompting his sons Justin and Dominic to explore the legacy of ...

A Bear Named Wojtek

A Bear Named Wojtek

2024

as Zoo Director (voice)

10.0
Acting

Displaced by the Second World War, a troop of Polish soldiers form an inseparable bond through an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.

The Spirit of 1926

The Spirit of 1926

2022

as Family Lawyer

Acting

In 1926 Janet ‘Nettie’ Harbison crafted what would become the most valuable bottle of wine or spirit ever sold at auction.

The Colour Room

The Colour Room

2021

as Gordon Forsythe

6.3
Acting

A pioneering ceramic artist Clarice Cliff rises to prominence in the 1920s while working in Britain’s Stoke-on-Trent pottery industry.

Rebecca

Rebecca

2020

as Dr. Baker

6.3
Acting

After a whirlwind romance with a wealthy widower, a naïve bride moves to his family estate but can't escape the haunting shadow of his late wife.

Marionette

Marionette

2020

as Dr. Mandelbaum

6.3
Acting

A therapist loses her grip on reality when a ten-year-old boy claims he can control her future.

Love Sarah

Love Sarah

2020

as Felix

6.3
Acting

A young woman wishes to fulfill her mother's dream of opening her own bakery in Notting Hill, London. To do this, she enlists the help of an old frien...

The Day Mountbatten Died

The Day Mountbatten Died

2019

as Narrator (voice)

10.0
Acting

On 27 August 1979, Lord Mountbatten, great uncle to Prince Charles, was blown up at sea by the IRA off the west coast of the Republic of Ireland. Thre...

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

2018

as Gordon Burstead

6.4
Acting

Colin has rented a stately country home for his extended family’s New Year celebrations. He’s the centre of attention until his estranged brother Davi...

Wonderdate

Wonderdate

2018

as Kolodon

8.0
Acting

A man dazzles a girl on the perfect first date but why won't she text back? He retraces his steps, reexamining the date.

The Man Who Invented Christmas

The Man Who Invented Christmas

2017

as Mr. Grimsby

6.8
Acting

In 1843, despite the fact that Dickens is a successful writer, the failure of his latest book puts his career at a crossroads, until the moment when, ...

Churchill's Secret

Churchill's Secret

2016

as Lord Moran

6.3
Acting

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suffers from a stroke in the summer of 1953 that's kept a secret from the rest of the world.

Dad's Army

Dad's Army

2016

as Private Frazer

5.0
Acting

A cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968). The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German ...

High-Rise

High-Rise

2015

as Mercer

5.6
Acting

Life for the residents of a tower block begins to run out of control.

The Vote

The Vote

2015

as Simon Featherstone

8.4
Acting

On 7 May, churches, school halls, and back rooms of community centres will be turned into polling stations, staffed by council workers and volunteers....

Documenting John Grierson

2014

as Narrator

Acting

The life and work of the documentary pioneer.

The List

The List

2013

as Reg Troughton

4.4
Acting

Christopher Cowin is in his mid 30s, a family man who owns a small advertising agency. A court case he had recently lost has shown him the rich and po...

Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games

Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games

2012

as Narrator

Acting

A journey into the history, pageantry and characters that have shaped a Scottish phenomenon. Acclaimed actor Bill Paterson narrates the astonishing st...

Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me

2011

as Judge Underwood

5.5
Acting

Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me is a 2011 one-off Christmas special, made by STV Productions and broadcast by ITV on Tuesday 27 December 2011. The spec...

The Man who Crossed Hitler

The Man who Crossed Hitler

2011

as Kurt Ohnesorge

6.5
Acting

In the summer of 1931, with Germany on the brink of economic collapse, and the city of Berlin turning into a paramilitary war-zone, audacious young pr...

The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema

2011

as Narrator (Voice)

Acting

When the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, north London, celebrated its centenary year in 2010, On-Par Productions were invited to document the cinema'...

Ghosts in the Machine

2009

as Himself

Acting

Documentary charting the history of the supernatural on British TV, revisiting classic ghost stories and controversial shows. Contributors include Der...

Creation

Creation

2009

as Dr. Gully

6.4
Acting

A psychological, heart-wrenching love story that provides a unique and inside look at Charles Darwin. Torn between faith and science, he struggles to ...

Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen

Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen

2009

as Dr James Niven

7.3
Acting

Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen is a 2009 television drama. It deals with Dr James Niven's attempts to deal with the 1918 flu pandemic in Manchester...

Into the Storm

Into the Storm

2009

as Clement Attlee

6.4
Acting

This powerful follow-up to “The Gathering Storm” follows Churchill from 1940 to 1945 as he guided his beleaguered nation through the crucible of the w...

1929: The Great Crash

1929: The Great Crash

2009

as Narrator

7.2
Acting

A documentary exploring the causes of the 1929 Wall Street Crash.Over six terrifying, desperate days in October 1929, shares crashed by a third on the...

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

2008

as Richard Young

6.0
Acting

Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attra...

The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen

The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen

2008

as Self - 'Henry Salt'

7.8
Acting

This is an all new feature length documentary, with interviews from almost everyone involved with the production of the film. Gilliam never shies away...

The Man Who Lives with Bears

The Man Who Lives with Bears

2008

as Self - Narrator (voice)

Acting

A man shows the gentle and agressive side of Brown and Black Bears living with and around them. After "Grizzly Man" died in Alaska trying to do the sa...

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars

2007

as Dr Watson

6.8
Acting

A gang of sharp witted street kids save Sherlock Holmes from an accusation of murder and to help foil an audacious robbery.

The 50 Greatest Television Dramas

The 50 Greatest Television Dramas

2007

as Self

Acting

Boasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed programmes ever made, The 50 Greatest Television Dramas ...

Intervention

Intervention

2007

as Dr. Martin

1.0
Acting

An eclectic group of people drawn from all walks of life find themselves under one roof for twenty-eight days with one thing in common, addiction.

Miss Potter

Miss Potter

2006

as Rupert Potter

6.6
Acting

Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved children's book "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", struggles for love, happiness and success.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace

2006

as Lord Dundas

6.9
Acting

The true story of William Wilberforce and his courageous quest to end the British slave trade. Along the way, Wilberforce meets intense opposition, bu...

A War on Science

A War on Science

2006

as Narrator (voice)

9.0
Acting

When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution nearly 150 years ago, he shattered the dominant belief of his day – that humans were the product...

Fascism in Colour

Fascism in Colour

2006

as Narrator (voice)

7.5
Acting

After the World War I, Mussolini's perspective on life is severely altered; once a willful socialist reformer, now obsessed with the idea of power, he...

Rag Tale

Rag Tale

2005

as Tulloch 'Lucky' Lloyd

3.2
Acting

A romance that plays out in the splashy, sensational world of British tabloids.

Lie with Me

Lie with Me

2004

as DCI Collman

4.5
Acting

Roselyn Tyler awakens in her London flat with no memory of the previous night. She discovers that she was drugged and sexually assaulted -- and her ro...

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things

2003

as Sir James Brown

6.3
Acting

During the 1930s in England, a group of young socialites dominate the national gossip with extravagant and outlandish antics. Among the group is the a...

Danielle Cable: Eyewitness

Danielle Cable: Eyewitness

2003

as DI Nick Biddiss

Acting

Dramatisation of the real-life road-rage killing in 1996 of Stephen Cameron by Kenneth Noye, who was also implicated in the Brinks Mat bullion robbery...

Crush

Crush

2002

as Gerald

5.6
Acting

Three 40-something women in a small English town meet weekly for a ritual of gin, cigarettes, and sweets -- and swapped stories arguing which of them ...

Home Road Movies

2002

as Father

6.2
Acting

A sweet reminiscence about a family of four children and their RAF-veteran dad, who knows the timetable of every bus in London, but realizes his large...

The Entity

The Entity

2002

8.0
Acting

The Entity is a documentary into the phenomenon of sleep paralysis, the state in which a person cannot move as they pass from sleep to a woken state.

Othello

Othello

2001

as Sinclair Carver

6.6
Acting

With freshly rechristened characters and brand-new dialogue, this British TV production of Othello is a "rethinking" of Shakespeare's play, albeit sti...

The Whistle-Blower

The Whistle-Blower

2001

as D.I. Neil Sleightholme

8.0
Acting

A bank employee, Laura Tracey, places herself and her family in mortal danger after reporting irregularities in the firm's overseas accounts to the Na...

Behind Bars

Behind Bars

2001

as Narrator

Acting

Documentary about the 1980 New Mexico State Penitentiary Riots in which 33 inmates were killed.

Complicity

Complicity

2000

as Wallace Byatt

5.9
Acting

Local journalist, Cameron Colley writes articles that are idealistic, from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have some m...

Chrono-Perambulator

1999

as Professor Teddy Knox

Acting

Teddy Knox, a failed inventor, finds the key to a Stone Age riddle.

Sunshine

Sunshine

1999

as Minister of Justice

6.5
Acting

The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.

The Match

The Match

1999

as Tommy

5.8
Acting

Romantic comedy set against the story of a grudge football match between two pubs. The prize for the winner of the centenary match is the the closure ...

Heart

Heart

1999

as Mr. Kreitman

5.5
Acting

A woman, plastered in blood, is arrested by a grave, and a tale of loss, lust and jealousy slowly unfolds.

Hilary and Jackie

Hilary and Jackie

1998

as Cello Teacher

6.6
Acting

The tragic story of world-renowned cellist Jacqueline du Pré, as told from the point of view of her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré-Finzi.

Mr White Goes To Westminster

Mr White Goes To Westminster

1997

as Ben White

2.0
Acting

A journalist becomes an independent MP. Loosely based on the election of Martin Bell to the constituency of Tatton between 1997 and 2001.

Spice World

Spice World

1997

as Brian

4.9
Acting

World famous pop group the Spice Girls zip around London in their luxurious double decker tour bus having various adventures and performing for their ...

Victory

Victory

1996

as Capt. Davidson

5.1
Acting

Axel Heyst is an American recluse with a dubious past living in the Dutch East Indies port of Surabaya circa 1913. Staying in a German hotel there, He...

The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

1996

as Bull

2.4
Acting

When a bomb explodes in a British RAF base in Germany, MI5 terrorist specialist Bull (Bill Paterson) is called in to investigate. However, the further...

Chaplin's Goliath

Chaplin's Goliath

1996

as Narrator (voice)

6.5
Acting

A film about the tall actor who was most famous for playing the quintessential villain for Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character.

Richard III

Richard III

1995

as Sir Richard Ratcliffe

6.7
Acting

A murderous lust for the British throne sees Richard III descend into madness. Though the setting is transposed to the 1930s, England is torn by civil...

The Pen

1995

Acting

A man frantically searches for a pen while stuck on a train journey somewhere in Scotland.

The Turnaround

The Turnaround

1995

as James Webb

4.0
Acting

Private investigator Nick Sharman accepts a case which at first seems intriguing, but ends up causing him bitter regret.

The Riddle of the Sands

The Riddle of the Sands

1995

as Narrator

Acting

Documenting the life in the estuary of the River Aithen in North-East Scotland.

Hard Times

Hard Times

1994

as Stephen Blackpool

7.0
Acting

Charles Dickens' bleak, passionate novel about the challenges of life in 19th-century London comes to life with an outstanding cast and brilliant cine...

Wall of Silence

Wall of Silence

1993

as Howard Mullen

Acting

A corpse is fished out of a north London canal with stab wounds through the eyes. The victim was a prominent member of the Hasidic Jewish community, a...

God on the Rocks

God on the Rocks

1992

as Kenneth Marsh

Acting

Growing up in a household incapable of showing love and affection, Margaret's life is transformed when Lydia, a worldly teenage maid, arrives.

In Dreams

1992

as Dr Gold

7.0
Acting

Lenny has some perplexing dreams.

Chaplin

Chaplin

1992

as Stage Manager

7.4
Acting

An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent per...

Tell Tale Hearts

1992

as Anthony Steadman

Acting

Anthony Steadman, a child murderer, is being released from prison after 17 years. Sally McCann, a mother whose child disappeared around the time of th...

Truly Madly Deeply

Truly Madly Deeply

1991

as Sandy

6.9
Acting

Nina is totally heartbroken at the death of her boyfriend Jamie, but is even more unprepared for his return as a ghost. At first it's almost as good a...

The Object of Beauty

The Object of Beauty

1991

as Victor Swayle

5.2
Acting

American couple Jake and Tina are living in an expensive London hotel above their means, incurring a sizeable debt. When they are asked to pay a lavis...

Yellowbacks

Yellowbacks

1990

as Alex McPherson

7.0
Acting

Britain in the very near future. In an abandoned hotel, a young female doctor and a middle-aged scientist are interrogated separately. The question th...

The Witches

The Witches

1990

as Mr Jenkins

6.9
Acting

A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand H...

Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale

Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale

1989

as Jordan

7.5
Acting

Johnny Fortune (Damon Lowry) is no good to anyone, not mean, but just no good. Surrounded by violence and dishonesty, Johnny lives with Kate. Johnny m...

The Rachel Papers

The Rachel Papers

1989

as Gordon Highway

5.1
Acting

Poised to attend Oxford University, 19-year-old Charles Highway decides it's high time to have a romantic encounter with an older woman. With the help...

The Return of the Musketeers

The Return of the Musketeers

1989

as Charles I

6.2
Acting

It's 1649: Mazarin hires the impoverished D'Artagnan to find the other musketeers: Cromwell has overthrown the English king, so Mazarin fears revolt, ...

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

1988

as Henry Salt

7.0
Acting

An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.

Franz Kafka's 'The Trial'

Franz Kafka's 'The Trial'

1988

as Titorelli

Acting

BBC documentary about Franz Kafka played by GREEK TV in 1990.This documentary is one of the ten films of "The Modern World: Ten Great Writers (1988)".

Just Ask for Diamond

Just Ask for Diamond

1988

as Chief Inspector Snape

4.3
Acting

Thirteen-year-old Nick and his slightly dense older brother Herbert run the Diamond Private Detective Agency above Camden Town Tube Station in north-c...

Byrne About Byrne

Byrne About Byrne

1988

as Father/F.S. McDade

Acting

In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his s...

The Interrogation of John

The Interrogation of John

1987

as Det. Supt. Chase

Acting

A suspect is brought to a London police station charged with gross indecency. Police at the station believe he is connected with a murder in the area ...

Friendship's Death

Friendship's Death

1987

as Sullivan

6.8
Acting

A robot messenger is sent to earth to appeal to humans to live in peace. Originally designed to go to MIT, by mistake she ends up in Amman, Jordan dur...

Lily My Love

Lily My Love

1987

as Colin

Acting

Lily is 13, Colin is 39 and a vagrant. They run away together. 'One and a half to the English Lakes, single, because we're never coming back, we're go...

Hidden City

Hidden City

1987

as Anthony

5.1
Acting

Cassies Stuart leads the uncooperative Charles Dance into a world of misplaces government secrets, capalistic artists and bungling secret agents. Will...

Coming Up Roses

Coming Up Roses

1987

as Mr. Valentine

6.6
Acting

An award-winning comedy set in a depressed town in the South Wales Valleys. When the local cinema is closed down, the former projectionist, plagued by...

God's Chosen Car Park

1986

as Victor Rosen

Acting

Nathaniel Box, a self-styled prophet, along with his daughter Barbara and her fiancé Curtis, holds a night time press conference in an underground car...

Defence of the Realm

Defence of the Realm

1986

as Jack Macleod

6.4
Acting

A reporter named Mullen 'stumbles' onto a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent and a near-nuclear disaster involving a teenag...

Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman

Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman

1985

as Self

Acting

A look at the career of Oscar-winning cameraman Chris Menges. Filmed on location of 'Comfort and Joy'. Chris Menges discusses his early career in tele...

Dutch Girls

Dutch Girls

1985

as Mr Mole

3.8
Acting

In this sophomoric comedy, a lusty adolescent British hockey team heads for Holland where they find something far more interesting than tulips and win...

The Killing Fields

The Killing Fields

1984

as Dr. MacEntire

7.5
Acting

New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg is on assignment covering the Cambodian Civil War, with the help of local interpreter Dith Pran and American ...

A Private Function

A Private Function

1984

as Wormold

6.3
Acting

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Ch...

Comfort and Joy

Comfort and Joy

1984

as Alan

6.5
Acting

Radio host Alan 'Dickie' Bird witnesses how an icecream van is attacked and destroyed by angry competitors. This leads him into the struggle between t...

The Ploughman's Lunch

The Ploughman's Lunch

1983

as Lecturer

5.1
Acting

As the UK begins its military engagement in the Falklands, a BBC news journalist attempts to climb up from his working-class roots, at any cost, lying...

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

1981

as Tony

Acting

Incendiary 1981 Play for Today, written by Jim Allen and directed by Roland Joffé that tells the story of a group of housing estate residents who atte...

The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard

1981

as Lopakhin

Acting

Madame Ranevsky and her daughter Anya return home from Paris to find their beloved family estate and cherry orchard are to be auctioned off to pay deb...

One Fine Day

One Fine Day

1979

as Third Man in Lift

2.0
Acting

Alan Bennett's play about the mid-life crisis of an estate agent.

The Vanishing Army

The Vanishing Army

1978

as Girling

Acting

"Why don't you keep that missus o' yours under control? She ain't exactly doin' you a packet o' good, is she? If she was mine I'd bloody put 'er right...

Jackie McCafferty's Romance

Jackie McCafferty's Romance

1978

as Bus Conductor

Acting

A shy, awkward Scottish lad secretly carries a torch for a local lass.

The Odd Job

The Odd Job

1978

as Sergeant Mull

5.9
Acting

Arthur Harris is a happily married man who returns from his job to discover that his wife, Fiona, is leaving him. Devastated he gets really drunk and ...

Licking Hitler

Licking Hitler

1978

as Archie MacLean

Acting

1941 and the upper class Anna Seaton is hired as part of an allied radio propaganda project, creating disinformation about the Nazi war effort. But te...

The Thin End of the Wedge

The Thin End of the Wedge

1977

as Luke

Acting

A student faced with an ultimatum to find £5 by morning - or lose his girlfriend - searches for friends he can tap and discovers that the crises in th...

The Garden Beyond

1977

as Jim Finlayson

Acting

The Garden Beyond is a dramatised portrayal of the life of bed-ridden Perth poet William Soutar - the first independently produced Scottish film to be...

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

1974

as Various

Acting

In their songs, comedy and exuberant music, a travelling theatre company give a fiercely polemic account of Scottish history, from the aftermath of Cu...

Clydescope

Clydescope

1974

as Model Boat Show Commentator (voice) (uncredited)

7.0
Acting

A panorama of the Clyde, from Biggar to Brodick, with Billy Connolly as your guide. Directed by Murray Grigor for the Films of Scotland Committee.

The White Room

N/A

as Jackie Jordan

Acting

In a world obsessed with knowing the future, we find Alberto, a Colombian immigrant working as a massage therapist in the City of London. Mild-mannere...