Paul Higgins
Known for: Acting
Paul Higgins is a Scottish actor, best known for appearing in the British television series The Thick of It, Utopia and Line of Duty. Higgins was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but now he considers himself a lapsed Catholic. As a teenager, he trained to be a priest, but gave his training up aged 17 when he began dating. Higgins has appeared onstage in Paul and Black Watch, and in the film Complicity. He played Alan in Staying Alive, a hospital drama on ITV. He has also played Jamie McDonald, an aggressive press officer, in the BBC show The Thick of It and its spin-off feature-length film, In the Loop. In 2009, he appeared as Gil Cameron on the BBC drama Hope Springs. He played Michael Dugdale in Channel 4's acclaimed conspiracy thriller Utopia. In 2013 he appeared in series 1 of the BBC series Line of Duty and returned for season 4 in 2017. He wrote a play titled Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, which was performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland in November 2008.
Filmography
Series
The Simpsons
Hamish (voice)
1989
Series
Slow Horses
Struan Loy
2022
Series
Silent Witness
Det Sgt Nick Wallace
1996
Series
Vera
Clive Stringer
2011
Series
Line of Duty
ACC Derek Hilton
2012
Series
Line of Duty
CS Derek Hilton
2012
Series
The Play on One
Murdo Caldwell
1988
Series
Utopia
Michael Dugdale
2013
Series
The Thick of It
Jamie
2005
Series
Case Histories
Ian Kelso
2011
Series
The Ipcress File
Minister
2022
Film
Apostle
Frank
2018
Film
In the Loop
Jamie McDonald
2009
Film
Victoria & Abdul
Dr. James Reid
2017
Series
A Very Peculiar Practice
Adie Shaw
1986
Series
The Last Enemy
Professor Lawrence Cooper
2008
Staying Alive
Alan McPherson
1996
Series
Rik Mayall Presents
Writer
1993
Film
Greed
Jim McBride
2019
Series
The Wrong Mans
PC Hennessy
2013
Series
Raised by Wolves
Sean Garry
2015
Series
Brian and Maggie
Geoffrey Howe
2025
Film
Being Human
Soldier
1994
Series
Hope Springs
Gil Cameron
2009
Film
Red Road
Avery
2006
Film
Birthday Girl
Drew
2002
Film
Bedrooms and Hallways
John
1998
Film
Kill
Don
2024
Film
Meat Puppet
University Dean (voice)
2024
Series
Murder
Lee Finch
2002
Film
Rik Mayall Presents: Micky Love
Writer
1993
Film
Beautiful Creatures
Aidan
2000
Film
Utopia
Dugdale
2013
Film
The Party's Just Beginning
Luisaidh's Dad
2018
Film
The Negotiator
Det. Sergeant Andrew Coyne
1994
Film
Tumbledown
Saltemarsh
1988
Film
Riot
Gang Member
1996
Film
Low Winter Sun
David Westwood
2006
Film
The Rise of the Nutters
Jamie
2007
Film
New Town
Hamish
2009
Film
Spinners and Losers
Jamie
2007
Film
Couple in a Hole
John
2016
Film
Complicity
Andy
2000
Film
Charlie Cloudhead
Charlie
2016
Film
11th Hour
Drunk
2017
A Wholly Healthy Glasgow
Murdo Caldwell
1988
Film
A Hartley Story
Hartley
2007
Film
Lawless
Simon Harding
2013
Film
No Holds Bard
Struan Robertson
2009
Shell
The Salesman
2007