Duncan Duff (born in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British stage, television and film actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1985 to 1987. He is best known for A Quiet Passion (2016), Wild Target (2010), Big Kids (2000), and Hamish Macbeth (1997).
Career Duff made his professional stage debut in 1987 with the British theatre company Cheek by Jowl, founded by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, in a production of Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse and on tour. He played the Thane of Angus and the cream faced loon, earning his Equity card and establishing himself as a member of the company for the next four years. The following year he played Caliban in Cheek by Jowl’s The Tempest which opened at the Taormina Festival, Sicily.
He also appeared in Cheek by Jowl’s productions of Philoctetes by Sophocles and Miss Sara Sampson by Gotthold Lessing. His fifth and final collaboration with the company was playing Horatio to Timothy Walker’s Hamlet in a production which played in London, UK, Europe, Hong Kong and Japan.
In 1992, Duff created the role of Willie Dobie in Scottish playwright Simon Donald’s new play, The Life of Stuff, at The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh with Shirley Henderson. Duff also appeared in the British premiere of Physical Jerks at Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, Life Goes On written by Adrian Hodges at The Haymarket Basingstoke, Three Sisters at Liverpool Everyman, Time and the Room at the Gate Theatre London and the eponymous role in Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler at Nottingham Playhouse. At the National Theatre, Duff played Bartolomeo Pergami in Nick Stafford’s new play Battle Royal directed by Howard Davies, which starred Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale. In 2002, he was Jason opposite Maureen Beattie’s Medea in Theatre Babel’s production of Liz Lochhead’s adaptation of Medea at the Edinburgh Festival and then on tour.
On television, Duff played the dope-smoking Doc Brown in the cult BBC 1 series Hamish Macbeth devised by Daniel Boyle and set in the Highlands of Scotland, co-starring with Robert Carlyle for three series (1995 - 1997). He starred as Geoff Spiller in the short-lived BBC comedy Big Kids with Imogen Stubbs (2000). For two years Duff was nefarious property developer Lewis Cope in BBC Scotland’s BAFTA Award winning drama River City (2002 - 2004) set in Glasgow.
Duff has leading roles in TV dramas such as: Why We Went To War (2006) playing Jonathan Powell; Roman Mysteries (2007) portraying the Emperor Domitian; the first season of TV show Skins (2007) playing evangelistic Congratulations Leader Pete; Purves & Pekkala (2009) AKA New Town by Annie Griffin, playing highly strung architectural preservationist Ernst de Bont; the beleaguered Governor of Boulogne in The Tudors (2010); TV presenter Tom Sutherland in the BBC series Lip Service (2010).
Duff has also acted in sitcoms: May To December (1994), The Creatives (1998), Not Going Out (2008). He was the anchor Richard Pritchard co-starring with Sharon Horgan in Broken News (2005) by John Morton for BBC and Gus Plotpoint in Charlie Brooker’s Touch of Cloth (2013) for Sky. In the cinema he has appeared in comedy roles in Carry On Columbus (1992), Festival (2005) directed by Annie Griffin, Wild Target (2010) directed by Jonathan Lynn, and Burke & Hare (2010) directed by comedy legend John Landis. Duff has appeared in dozens of short films, two of which were nominated for awards: King’s Christmas (1986; BAFTA nominated) and The Girls (2007; BIFA nominated).
Duff portrayed: Austin Dickinson, the brother of American poet Emily Dickinson, played by Cynthia Nixon, in Terence Davies's A Quiet Passion (2016); also starring Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Catherine Bailey, Joanna Bacon and Emma Bell. It was described by Richard Brody of The New Yorker as "an absolute drop-dead masterwork".
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 1990 The Wreck on the Highway 1990 Taggart Porter Episode: Hostile Witness 1990 This is David Harper Lorry Driver Episode: A List Of Abuses 1991 Casualty Policeman Episode: Something to Hide 1992 Between The Lines Officer 1 Episode: Out of the Game 1992 In Dreams Vicar 1993 Calling The Shots Matt 1994 May to December Robbie Episode: Son of my Father 1995–1997 Hamish Macbeth Doc Brown 19 episodes 1996TaggartStephen HardingEpisode: Angel Eyes 1998 The Creatives Greg Jackson Episode: Come to Cummerton 2001 Casualty Pete Episode: For My Next Trick 2000 Big Kids Dr. Geoffrey Spiller 2002 River City Lewis Cope 2004 If... George Rowling Q.C. 2005 The Bill Brian York Episodes: - No. 299 / No. 300 2005 Broken News Richard Pritchard 6 episodes 2006 Why We Went To War Jonathan Powell 2006 Rosemary & Thyme Frank Minelli Episode: Seeds of Time 2006 Not Going Out Pete Episode: Caretaker 2006 Doctor Who Newsreader Episodes: Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel 2007 Skins Congratulations Leader Episode: Cassie 2007 Roman Mysteries Emperor Domitian 2009 New Town Ernst de Bont 2010 The Tudors The Governor of Boulogne Episode: As It Should Be 2010 Taggart Sammy Kirkwood 2010 Lip Service Tom Sutherland 2011 Casualty Professor Michael Fitch Episode: Starting Out 2012 Silent Witness Counsel 2 2013 Lee Nelson's Well Funny People Football Team Manager 2013 A Touch of Cloth Gus Plotpoint 2014 Waterloo Road Arran Mackenzie 2020The CrownCecil ParkinsonEpisode: War (Season 4, Episode 10) Film Year Film Role Notes 1986 King's Christmas Trevor King BAFTA Nominated 1992 Carry On Columbus Inquisitor #2 1998 Middleton's Changeling Antonio 2005 Festival Gordon Menzies 2007 If I'm Spared Tom 2007 The Girls Richard BIFA Nominated 2010 Wild Target The Jeweller 2010 Burke & Hare The Attendant 2011 Island Social Worker 2013 Killer Moves The Velvet Glove 2014 Ivory Stage Peter Grey 2016 A Quiet Passion Austin Dickinson 2016 Clean Sheets Will 2017 Seeing Him Mark 2017Rehab MattersRobert2018SleepArmando2020The Bay of SilenceCurator
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