| Education: | Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (BA) |
| Years Active: | 2007–present |
John Macmillan (also credited as MacMillan) is a British actor. He began his career in theatre, earning an Ian Charleson Award nomination for his work in Hamlet and Macbeth. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance in the BBC Two adaptation of King Lear (2018).
His television work includes the BBC One drama Silk (2011–2014), the Netflix sitcom Chewing Gum (2015–2017), and the Channel 4 sitcoms Back (2017–2021) and Hang Ups (2018).
Macmillan attended the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Mbabane, Swaziland (now Eswatini).[1] He has also lived in Johannesburg, Malawi, Zambia, and Oxford.[2] Macmillan trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[3] In 2011, Macmillan opened a garden at Chatsworth Baptist Church School in West Norwood.[4]
Macmillan began his career in theatre, going on the 2007 international tour of Cymbeline as Guideris.[5] The following year, he appeared in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida Theatre and Piranha Heights at Soho Theatre. He received an Ian Charleson Award nominations for his performances in the 2009 productions of Hamlet and Macbeth. That year, Macmillan made his screen debut with small roles in the horror film Heartless and the fifth series of the BBC One crime drama Hustle as Harry Fielding. In 2011, Macmillan starred in the short Friend Request Pending and appeared in the Joe Wright's 2010 action thriller film Hanna. That same year, he began starring as clerk Joe Bright in the BBC One drama Silk.
In 2015, Macmillan played staff nurse Joe Costello in the Sky One medical drama Critical (CR:IT:IC:AL), appeared in The Homecoming at Trafalgar Studios, and began playing Ronald, Tracey's long-term boyfriend in Michaela Coel's Netflix sitcom Chewing Gum. Macmillan played Victor in both the 2016 and 2017 productions of Yerma alongside Billie Piper.[6] The cast and crew won an Obie Award in the Special Citations category. He starred in the one-man play Killer at Shoreditch Town Hall.[7] He starred as Troye King Jones in Simon Amstell's mockumentary film Carnage and began playing Julian in the Channel 4 sitcom Back. For his performance in the 2018 BBC Two television film adaptation of King Lear, Macmillan was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2018, Macmillan starred as Abs Walter in the Channel 4 sitcom Hang Ups and began appearing in the Black British sketch comedy Famalam.[8]
Macmillan played Laenor Velaryon, Princess Rhaenyra's first husband, in the first season of the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel and adaptation of George R. R. Martin's companion book Fire and Blood.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Heartless | She | |
| 2011 | Hanna | Lewis | |
| The Hype Man | Miles | Short film; also directed, wrote, produced | |
| Friend Request Pending | Jason | Short film, part of Stars in Shorts | |
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | Analyst | |
| A Scholarship | Leon | Short film | |
| 2013 | World War Z | Officer | |
| 2014 | Paddy | The Sage | Short film |
| Maleficent | Captain | ||
| Fury | Corporal | ||
| 2017 | Carnage | Troye King Jones | Mockumentary |
| 2020 | Heaven Can Wait | Short film, part of Boys on Film 20 | |
| 2021 | The Dig | Dr Rothman | |
| Ron's Gone Wrong | Shayne the Biker | Voice role | |
| 2022 | The People We Hate at the Wedding | Ollie | Amazon Prime film |
| 2024 | Seize Them! | King Guthrum | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Hustle | Harry Fielding | 2 episodes (series 5) |
| 2010 | Sherlock | Community Police Officer | Episode: "The Blind Banker" |
| 2011–2014 | Silk | John Bright | Main role |
| 2012 | Panto! | Finlay | Christmas special |
| 2014 | New Tricks | Archie | Episode: "Bermondsey Boy" |
| 2015 | Critical | Justin Costello | 9 episodes |
| Hoff the Record | Marcus Fuster | Episode: "The Movie" | |
| 2015–2017 | Chewing Gum | Ronald | 5 episodes |
| 2016 | The Windsors | Richard | 1 episode |
| Barbarians Rising | Mago | Episode: "Resistance" | |
| Ordinary Lies | Adam | Episode: "Holly" | |
| 2017 | Midsomer Murders | Solomon Franks | Episode: "Death by Persuasion" |
| 2017–2021 | Back | Julian | 8 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Famalam | Various | Sketch comedy (13 episodes) |
| 2018 | Kiss Me First | Saul Green | Episode: "You Can Never Go Home" |
| King Lear | Edmund | Television film | |
| Hang Ups | Adebowale "Abs" Walter | Main role | |
| 2019 | The Accident | Gareth Jarvis | 1 episode |
| Dial M for Middlesbrough | Chad | Television film | |
| 2020 | The Trouble with Maggie Cole | Jez | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | The Nevers | Byner | Episode: "True" |
| 2022 | House of the Dragon | Laenor Velaryon | 2 episodes |
| Ghosts | Scott | Episode: "Speak as ye choose"[10] | |
| 2023 | Extraordinary | Dr Wedderburn | Episode: "Pet Project" |
| The Cleaner | Strazzamo | Episode: "The Clown" | |
| The Great | John Quirkton | Episode: "Choose Your Weapon" | |
| The Burning Girls | Mike Sudduth | Main role | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Horizon Zero Dawn | Varl | |
| 2018 | Overkill's The Walking Dead | Aiden | |
| 2019 | Blood & Truth | ||
| 2020 | Troy: A Total War Saga | ||
| James Henry "Hank" Mitchell | |||
| Spellforce 3: Fallen God | Zazka | ||
| 2022 | Horizon Forbidden West | Varl | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2018 | Tommies | Juma Gubanda / Leland Moody | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | The Sandman | African Morpheus | 20 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cymbeline | Guiderius | International tour |
| 2008 | The Last Days of Judas Iscariot | Bailiff / Simon the Zealot | Almeida Theatre, London |
| Piranha Heights | Medic | Soho Theatre, London | |
| 2009 | Hamlet | Rosencrantz | Donmar Warehouse, London / Broadhurst Theatre, New York |
| Macbeth | Malcolm | Royal Exchange, Manchester | |
| 2015 | The Homecoming | Joey | Trafalgar Studios, London |
| 2016, 2017 | Yerma | Victor | Young Vic, London |
| 2017 | Killer | Various | One man play; Shoreditch Town Hall, London |
| 2023 | Phaedra | Eric | Royal National Theatre, London |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ian Charleson Awards | Macbeth and Hamlet | |||
| 2018 | Obie Awards | Special Citations | Yerma | [11] | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | King Lear | [12] | ||