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Richard Rankin
Richard Rankin (born Richard Harris on 4 January 1983) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for the Scottish sketch show Burnistoun, for playing Roger Wakefield MacKenzie in the Starz drama Outlander and for playing the lead role in the 2024 TV series Rebus, adapted from the Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.
Rankin was born as Richard Harris on 4 January 1983 in Rutherglen, Scotland, and spent part of his childhood in the East End of Glasgow. He moved to King's Park when he was ten, eventually attending Stonelaw High School. One of four boys born to a father on the police force and a mother in the hotel industry, he originally planned a career in the sciences or Information Technology.
Rankin initially attended Glasgow Caledonian University as an IT major, but changed course after a chance encounter at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during a holiday in Los Angeles. A local film producer told the then 22-year-old that he had the look of an actor, and upon his return to Glasgow, Rankin auditioned for Langside College with his brother Colin Harris. Both graduated and went on to a career in acting, but when Rankin, who was then known by his birth name of Richard Harris, applied for his Equity card he began using his mother's maiden name (Rankin) to prevent confusion with Irish actor Richard Harris.
Rankin began his professional career in 2006 by starring alongside Robert Florence in VideoGaiden, a Scottish video game show originally aired on BBC Two Scotland. Between 2007 and 2010 he made appearances on episodic Scottish television programs Legit (2007) and The Old Guys (2009) for the BBC and Taggart (2010) for STV. The Scottish sketch comedy series Burnistoun, which premiered in 2009 and ran for three series on BBC Two Scotland, featured Rankin in various roles.
Two years later Rankin was cast as lovelorn Army Captain Thomas Gillan, alongside Kevin Doyle and Oona Chaplin, in the WWI based mini-series The Crimson Field . The program aired on BBC One in April 2014, but only ran for one series. He joined the cast of BBC One's crime drama series Silent Witness in January 2015, starring as Detective Inspector Luke Nelson in series eighteen's two-part story "Falling Angels". The episode focused on a series of murders on the London Underground, the investigation of which brought up mysterious childhood memories of his father's murder. Rankin went on to guest star in two episodes of NBC's conspiracy thriller American Odyssey as corporate hit man Haney, though the series was cancelled after season one.
Writer Kay Mellor tailored the role of Sean McGary for Rankin, changing the character from a Northerner to a Scot, in 2015's third series of her anthology drama The Syndicate. The series followed a group of colleagues who win the lottery, with Rankin portraying the gamekeeper of struggling English manor Hazelwood. That same year, BBC One's four part crime drama From Darkness saw Rankin portray Norrie Duncan, husband to Anne-Marie Duff's ex-Manchester cop Claire Church.
December 2015 brought the announcement that Rankin had been cast as adult Roger Wakefield in Starz's time-traveling drama series Outlander, which is based upon Diana Gabaldon's best-selling book series. Appearing first in the 2016 season two finale and then again in several episodes of season three, Rankin's character is the love interest of Brianna Fraser. He returned in seasons four and five, which premiered 4 November 2018 and 14 February 2020 respectively, with an expanded and recurring role in the series. Later in 2016, Rankin appeared as Detective Inspector Elliott Carne on the BBC's crime drama Thirteen. The series centered on Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer), a young girl kidnapped and held for thirteen years, as she attempted to reconnect with the life she once had.
Rankin had roles in two BBC productions in 2017. First was the dramatic miniseries The Replacement, which revolved around Ellen (Morven Christie), who was dealing with maternity leave and the effects it was having on her career. Rankin played her psychiatrist husband in the three-part series. The second was a two-episode stint as Father Hrothweard in BBC Two's historical drama The Last Kingdom, which was based upon Bernard Cornwell's series of novels entitled The Saxon Stories.
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Richard Rankin
Richard Rankin (born Richard Harris on 4 January 1983) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for the Scottish sketch show Burnistoun, for playing Roger Wakefield MacKenzie in the Starz drama Outlander and for playing the lead role in the 2024 TV series Rebus, adapted from the Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.
Rankin was born as Richard Harris on 4 January 1983 in Rutherglen, Scotland, and spent part of his childhood in the East End of Glasgow. He moved to King's Park when he was ten, eventually attending Stonelaw High School. One of four boys born to a father on the police force and a mother in the hotel industry, he originally planned a career in the sciences or Information Technology.
Rankin initially attended Glasgow Caledonian University as an IT major, but changed course after a chance encounter at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during a holiday in Los Angeles. A local film producer told the then 22-year-old that he had the look of an actor, and upon his return to Glasgow, Rankin auditioned for Langside College with his brother Colin Harris. Both graduated and went on to a career in acting, but when Rankin, who was then known by his birth name of Richard Harris, applied for his Equity card he began using his mother's maiden name (Rankin) to prevent confusion with Irish actor Richard Harris.
Rankin began his professional career in 2006 by starring alongside Robert Florence in VideoGaiden, a Scottish video game show originally aired on BBC Two Scotland. Between 2007 and 2010 he made appearances on episodic Scottish television programs Legit (2007) and The Old Guys (2009) for the BBC and Taggart (2010) for STV. The Scottish sketch comedy series Burnistoun, which premiered in 2009 and ran for three series on BBC Two Scotland, featured Rankin in various roles.
Two years later Rankin was cast as lovelorn Army Captain Thomas Gillan, alongside Kevin Doyle and Oona Chaplin, in the WWI based mini-series The Crimson Field . The program aired on BBC One in April 2014, but only ran for one series. He joined the cast of BBC One's crime drama series Silent Witness in January 2015, starring as Detective Inspector Luke Nelson in series eighteen's two-part story "Falling Angels". The episode focused on a series of murders on the London Underground, the investigation of which brought up mysterious childhood memories of his father's murder. Rankin went on to guest star in two episodes of NBC's conspiracy thriller American Odyssey as corporate hit man Haney, though the series was cancelled after season one.
Writer Kay Mellor tailored the role of Sean McGary for Rankin, changing the character from a Northerner to a Scot, in 2015's third series of her anthology drama The Syndicate. The series followed a group of colleagues who win the lottery, with Rankin portraying the gamekeeper of struggling English manor Hazelwood. That same year, BBC One's four part crime drama From Darkness saw Rankin portray Norrie Duncan, husband to Anne-Marie Duff's ex-Manchester cop Claire Church.
December 2015 brought the announcement that Rankin had been cast as adult Roger Wakefield in Starz's time-traveling drama series Outlander, which is based upon Diana Gabaldon's best-selling book series. Appearing first in the 2016 season two finale and then again in several episodes of season three, Rankin's character is the love interest of Brianna Fraser. He returned in seasons four and five, which premiered 4 November 2018 and 14 February 2020 respectively, with an expanded and recurring role in the series. Later in 2016, Rankin appeared as Detective Inspector Elliott Carne on the BBC's crime drama Thirteen. The series centered on Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer), a young girl kidnapped and held for thirteen years, as she attempted to reconnect with the life she once had.
Rankin had roles in two BBC productions in 2017. First was the dramatic miniseries The Replacement, which revolved around Ellen (Morven Christie), who was dealing with maternity leave and the effects it was having on her career. Rankin played her psychiatrist husband in the three-part series. The second was a two-episode stint as Father Hrothweard in BBC Two's historical drama The Last Kingdom, which was based upon Bernard Cornwell's series of novels entitled The Saxon Stories.