- published: 11 Sep 2013
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Peter Mullan (born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor, filmmaker and socialist. He is known for his acting role in My Name Is Joe, winning Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Mullan appeared as supporting or guest actor in numerous cult movies, including Riff-Raff, Braveheart, Trainspotting, Children of Men, War Horse and the Harry Potter film series.
He is also acclaimed art house movie director, winning a Golden Lion at 59th Venice International Film Festival for The Magdalene Sisters, listed by many critics among best films of 2003, and a Golden Shell at San Sebastián International Film Festival for Neds.
Mullan was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Patricia (a nurse) and Charles Mullan (a lab technician at Glasgow University). The second youngest of eight children, Mullan was brought up in a working class Roman Catholic family. They later moved to Mosspark, a district in Glasgow. An alcoholic and sufferer from lung cancer, Mullan's father became increasingly tyrannical and abusive. For a brief period, Mullan was a member of a street gang while at secondary school, and worked as a bouncer in a number of south-side pubs. He was homeless for short periods at the ages of 15 and 18.