Cal MacAninch

Acting

Cal MacAninch

Born 1963-11-24 · Govan, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Cal MacAninch is a Scottish actor, who is known for portraying the character of DI John Keenan in police drama HolbyBlue on BBC1 (from 2007 to 2008). Other notable appearances were his roles as Mr Thackeray in the ITV period drama, Mr Selfridge, and Henry Lang in Downton Abbey, but he has played many leading roles in British television and film over the last 30 years. MacAninch played Rowan Collins in Series 4 of the ITV drama series Wild at Heart. He returned to the show for its fifth series as a main cast member. He also played Tauren, a sorcerer in the BBC television series Merlin in the episode "To Kill the King". He starred in the 2001 BBC miniseries The Best of Both Worlds with Alice Evans. He appeared as Henry Lang, a valet, in the second series of Downton Abbey.

Acting credits

Doomsday poster
5.9

The lethal Reaper virus spreads throughout Britain—infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Authorities brutally and successfully quarantine the country but, three decades later, the virus resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.

Doomsday

2008

The Awakening poster
6.4

In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.

The Awakening

2011

Hamilton 2: But Not If It Concerns Your Daughter poster
5.8

Swedish intelligence officer Carl Hamilton's 7-year-old goddaughter Nathalie is kidnapped. When the kidnapping's underlying motive becomes known, the Swedish authorities assume a passive role, forcing Hamilton to action. With the help of international contacts, Hamilton manages to get them on track. Hamilton, along with some military colleagues, plans a daring rescue mission.

Hamilton 2: But Not If It Concerns Your Daughter

2012

The Visit poster
NR

IRA man Tommy McDaid is pulled back to Manchester 25 years after he helped plant a huge bomb that devastated the City Centre and changed the course of his life forever.

The Visit

2023

Dear Frankie poster
7.1

Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...

Dear Frankie

2004

Macbeth poster
8.8

Fearless and unforgettably creepy. This high-concept production, filmed live at London’s Donmar Warehouse, stars the formidable talents of David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Shakespeare’s most infamous tragedy.

Macbeth

2025

Calibre poster
6.5

Two lifelong friends head up to an isolated Scottish Highlands village for a weekend hunting trip that descends into a never-ending nightmare as they attempt to cover up a horrific hunting accident.

Calibre

2018

The Reckoning poster
6.4

In the aftermath of the Great Plague and amidst the subsequent witch-hunts against women, a young widow grapples with the tragic death of her husband in a society completely consumed by fear and death. Because she rejects the advances of her landlord, she is falsely accused of being a witch and thrown in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. She must endure physical persecution at the hands of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter and face her own inner demons as the devil himself starts to work his way into her mind.

The Reckoning

2021

The Education of Jane Cumming poster
NR

Edinburgh, 1810. Two female teachers find themselves at the centre of a scandal when one of their pupils accuses them of having a love affair. A drama about prejudice, survival and the courage to stand up for the truth.

The Education of Jane Cumming

2026

Intrigo: Samaria poster
5.5

Nineteen-year-old Vera Kall cycles home through the night. She arrives at a farm, leaves her bike and sneaks quietly in through the door. She enters the kitchen and doesn't even have time to notice that she's not alone.

Intrigo: Samaria

2019

Splitting Heirs poster
5.2

A member of the English upper class dies, leaving his estate and his business to an American, whom he thinks is his son who was lost as a baby and then found again. An Englishman who thinks he is an Indian comes to believe that he is actually the heir. He comes to hate the American who is his boss, his friend, and the man who has stolen the woman after whom he lusts.

Splitting Heirs

1993

Nobody Has to Know poster
6.7

After a stroke and no memories from his past, Phil encounters Millie who inhabits a desert part of Isle of Lewis. She will shortly entrust him with his deepest secret : they were in love.

Nobody Has to Know

2022

The Lost Son poster
6.0

Xavier Lombard is a world-weary private eye in London, in exile from his native Paris; his best friend is Nathalie, a high-class call girl. He gets a call from an old friend from the Paris police department, now a businessman whose brother-in-law is missing. The missing man's parents hire Xavier over their daughter's objections, and quickly he finds himself in the realm of children's sexual slavery.

The Lost Son

1999

The Point Men poster
4.4

Some time after their botched operation to capture a known Palestinian terrorist, a team of Israeli agents starts to get killed off one by one. Their leader must get to the bottom of things before the killer(s) plan is complete.

The Point Men

2001

Slapper poster
3.5

A young boy watches a fight in a crowded bar: a masked man versus the people’s champ. But rather than boxing, this is an adult, brutal version of ‘Slaps’ – slaps that can break a man’s hand. Three years ago, James’ alcoholic father Michael left him and his mother, but promised he’d be back to make them proud – now, James believes the man in the mask is his father, returning as a hero, but things are not what they seem...

Slapper

2008

The Woodlanders poster
5.1

The story is set in late 19th century rural corner of South England. The daughter of timber merchant Melbury, Grace, returns to the town after finishing school. Her father now believes she can find a better husband than her childhood sweetheart, woodsman Giles. She marries handsome young doctor Fitzpiers, but soon finds out he's not the man of her dreams and she still loves Giles.

The Woodlanders

1998

Rag Tale poster
3.3

A romance that plays out in the splashy, sensational world of British tabloids.

Rag Tale

2005

Intrigo: Dear Agnes poster
5.6

What is a human life worth? How is it possible that a woman like Agnes could agree to kill another human being? Is it the money? Or are there other forces at play?

Intrigo: Dear Agnes

2019

Speak Like a Child poster
4.3

Speak Like a Child, the feature film debut of documentary director John Akomfrah, explores the intense friendship that evolves between three troubled teenagers growing up in an isolated children's home on the Northumbrian coast. The desolate beauty of the coastline is captured in stunning panoramas, while strong performances by the young cast help to create a lyrical and poignant drama.

Speak Like a Child

1998

Warriors poster
6.9

If the conflict in Bosnia has become something of a forgotten war, it's not for the want of trying from the immensely powerful BBC film Warriors, the story of five young soldiers and their harrowing experiences in the region.

Warriors

1999

A Mind to Murder poster
6.3

Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh has been on leave following the death on duty of a member of his team, DS Sarah Hillier. His superiors order him back to work to investigate the murder of the Director of the Steen Clinic, which specializes in psychiatric cases.

A Mind to Murder

1995

Breathtaking poster
3.6

A beautiful psychiatrist befriends an abused patient, ultimately leading to lust and murder.

Breathtaking

2000

Alive and Kicking poster
8.0

Gritty and powerful Screen One film that takes an unflinching look at drug addiction. Lenny Henry plays a dealer convinced he is untouchable, Robbie Coltrane the ex-gangster turned drug counsellor who is determined to break him. Writer Al Hunter (The Firm) was inspired by the true story of a football team founded to help drug addicts kick their habit.

Alive and Kicking

1991

No artwork available
NR

1980s Glasgow: As his family disintegrates around him, the only thing on eight-year-old Jonjo’s mind is getting his prized He Man figure for Christmas.

Lucky Star

2019