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Early life and education

Hannah was born in East Kilbride, the youngest of three children; he has two older sisters.¹ His mother, Susan, was a cleaner at Marks & Spencer, and his father, John, a toolmaker.²³

He attended Heathery Knowe Primary School then Claremont High School in East Kilbride and went on to an apprenticeship as an electrician. In East Kilbride, he participated in the East Kilbride Rep Theatre Club. At the suggestion of a colleague, after completing his apprenticeship he then attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career

After graduation, Hannah had parts in theatre productions, films and television, including leading roles such as Robert in the television adaptation of Frederic Lindsay's novel Brond (Channel 4, 1987).⁴

He became known internationally with his appearance as Matthew in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He played a psychopathic killer alongside Helen Baxendale in Truth or Dare, and a mystery-solving pathologist in McCallum.

On 24 December 1997, Hannah and Scottish Films producer Murray Ferguson established a production company called Clerkenwell Films. Clerkenwell's first big production was the Rebus series, including Black And Blue and The Hanging Garden. However, Rebus was later taken in-house by STV Productions, and Hannah was replaced in the leading role in the series by Ken Stott.

Hannah played the Monty Python-quoting love interest of Gwyneth Paltrow in the romantic comedy Sliding Doors (1998). He starred in the axed U.S. series MDs (2002), well as making guest appearances in various other series.

He played a comic role as the brother of the female lead in The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). In 2007–08, he played a starring role in the ITV crime drama Cold Blood.⁵

He was the voice of the Co-operative Group adverts in Europe. He played the part of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, the owner of a gladiator training house, in Spartacus: Blood and Sand and the prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

Hannah played the recurring role of scientist Holden Radcliffe on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a recurring role during season three and got promoted to series regular during season four in 2016.⁶

From 2017 he played Archie Wilson in the BBC series Trust Me.⁷

Hannah plays the role of Dr. Jedidiah Bishop on the medical drama Transplant on CTV Canada.[when?]

Since 2019 he has narrated the BBC reality series Race Across the World, where five pairs of Brits travel across the world without taking a plane for just the price of the flight.⁸ As of 2025, Hannah has narrated all five regular series, as well as two featuring celebrities.

Personal life

Hannah married actress Joanna Roth in 1996.⁹ The pair met several years before during a studio production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. In many of his interviews, he mentions stories from their relationship, such as their visit to London's Sri Siam restaurant where he proposed to her in writing on the tablecloth. They live in Richmond, London with their two children.¹⁰

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

External links

• John Hannah at IMDb
• John Hannah on Mellow Magic Archived 27 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. East Kilbride at 75: John Hannah reflects fondly on childhood playing 'conkers and crossy' on council estate, Daily Record, 10 May 2022 https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/east-kilbride-75-john-hannah-26912403.amp ↩

2. Greenstreet, Rosanna (14 October 2007). "Time and Place: John Hannah". The Sunday Times. https://www.thetimes.com/article/time-and-place-john-hannah-3srxfvkftf6 ↩

3. John Hannah Interviews – 1998 http://www.johnhannah.net/interview98.php ↩

4. The Gorbals Story theatre programme, 7:84, May 1987 /wiki/7:84 ↩

5. ITN, Cold Blood, 2007-2008. Archived 27 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine http://www.itv.com/drama/copsandcrime/coldblood/castandcharacters/default.html ↩

6. "Agents of SHIELD: Season Four Premiere 'The Ghost' (Review)". Mike's Film Talk. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016. http://mikesfilmtalk.com/2016/09/21/agents-shield-season-four-premiere-ghost-review/ ↩

7. "Trust Me". Media Centre. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/trustme2 ↩

8. "Race Across The World, BBC2". Broadcast. 1 March 2019. https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc/race-across-the-world-bbc2/5137332.article ↩

9. John Hannah in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/24/john-hannah-my-family-values ↩

10. John Hannah lives in Richmond https://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/richmondnews/13579956.John_Hannah_appointed_patron_of_Richmond_s_music_and_drama_festival/ ↩

11. "Studio 100 Announces International Cast for 'Princess Emmy'". Animation Magazine. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018. https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/studio-100-announces-international-cast-for-princess-emmy/ ↩

12. "Brond". IMDb. 13 May 1987. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275235/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt ↩

13. "Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse". sky.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020. https://www.skygroup.sky/article/all-star-cast-announced-for-sky-original-roald-beatrix-the-tail-of-the-curious-mouse ↩