Irvine Welsh

Writing

Irvine Welsh

Born 1958-09-27 · Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Irvine Welsh (born September 27, 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel Trainspotting was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.

Acting credits

Trainspotting poster
8.0

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Trainspotting

1996

T2 Trainspotting poster
6.9

After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.

T2 Trainspotting

2017

Swung poster
5.4

David’s life is on the slide: he’s broke, in the middle of a divorce and ‘can’t get it up’. His girlfriend, Alice, is his rock, but the magazine she writes for is going down and the pressure is on to find a story. While job hunting online, David stumbles across the perfect antidote to his boredom: a ‘Swingers’ site. The resulting inbox of lewd invitations on the home-laptop justifiably upsets Alice, until she realises this could be just the ‘story’ she needs. The idea of uncovering the swinging scene causes quite a stir in Alice’s office and, much to David’s chagrin, she is urged to pursue the story. Their first reluctant foray is an hysterically low-rent initiation, however, an unexpected upturn for David’s manhood is all the extra encouragement they need. As events accelerate beyond their control the once adoring couple become lost and fundamental questions are asked of their relationship.

Swung

2015

The Acid House poster
6.2

A surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche.

The Acid House

1998

No artwork available
8.0

In this new documentary, Susan Kemp explores the life and work of the great British director Antonia Bird, who died in 2013. Bird blazed a trail from the radical hotbed of the Royal Court Theatre in the 70s, via the groundbreaking early days of EastEnders and Casualty in the 80s, all the way to Hollywood in the 90s and back again. She always had something urgent to say, but her career was a long struggle to get her voice heard. Featuring many of her close collaborators, including Robert Carlyle, Irvine Welsh, Kate Hardie and Mark Cousins, this documentary is the first to examine Bird’s legacy, and to place her where she belongs – among the most important British film, TV and theatre directors of her era.

Antonia Bird: From EastEnders to Hollywood

2016

Creation Stories poster
6.0

The true story of the rise and fall of Creation Records and its infamous founder Alan McGee; the man responsible for supplying the “Brit Pop” soundtrack to the ‘90s, a decade of cultural renaissance known as Cool Britannia. From humble beginnings to Downing Street soirées, from dodging bailiffs to releasing multi-platinum albums, Creation had it all. Breakdowns, bankruptcy, fights and friendships… and not forgetting the music. Featuring some of the greatest records you have ever heard, we follow Alan through a drug-fuelled haze of music and mayhem, as his rock’n’roll dream brings the world Oasis, Primal Scream, and other generation-defining bands.

Creation Stories

2021

Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh poster
NR

After his pivotal novel Trainspotting was published in 1993, the debut work of Irvine Welsh quickly took the world by storm, spawning theatre productions, the iconic film by Danny Boyle, sequels and even an acclaimed stage musical.

Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh

2023

Dick Dynamite: 1944 poster
5.9

In the dying days of World War II, Dick Dynamite and his ragtag team of Nazi-killing commandos must stop a group of depraved German scientists from turning the population of New York into flesh-eating zombies.

Dick Dynamite: 1944

2024

The 90s: Ten Years That Changed the World poster
8.7

Documentary that outlines the 1990s and the decade the changed the world.

The 90s: Ten Years That Changed the World

2015

Shankly: Nature’s Fire poster
8.5

SHANKLY: NATURE'S FIRE explores the remarkable life and career of BILL SHANKLY, the legendary Liverpool Football Club manager who came to leave such a legacy in his adopted home city. The film is a nostalgic journey into the origins of the world's favourite game, and how legends are born and transcend generations. Perhaps no one before or since has personified the spirit of the working class culture that gave birth to the modern game. Shankly's passion for football was boundless to the point of obsession. This unique feature length documentary is an exploration of the determination and commitment to community that emerged from Britain's industrial heartlands and manifested itself in this unstoppable game: creating a love affair still etched in the hearts of the generations that followed.

Shankly: Nature’s Fire

2017

The Magnificent Eleven poster
2.6

A modernization of the classic western in which the Cowboys are a struggling local amateur soccer team, the Indians run a nearby Tandoori restaurant and the bandits are a group of menacing thugs led by a maniac known simply as 'American Bob'.

The Magnificent Eleven

2013

Dockers: Writing the Wrongs poster
NR

The compelling tale of how a group of sacked dockers got together with scriptwriter Jimmy McGovern and novelist Irvine Welsh to turn their unique story into a film. In September 1995, five men were sacked for walking off the job when their overtime agreement was ditched. Dockers: Writing The Wrongs tells how the dockers spent a year producing the script based on their own experiences of the dramatic two and a half year dispute.

Dockers: Writing the Wrongs

1999

Offended by Irvine Welsh poster
6.5

Irvine meet artists and writers who discuss the risk of offending in the current climate. Through several, informal conversations he talks to them about their belief in the right to offend and to be offended.

Offended by Irvine Welsh

2020

I Am Weekender poster
7.0

Wiz's Weekender (1992) was a film ahead of its time, both in form and content. It engaged with contemporary issues that mainstream media were eager to sensationalise. Consequently, it was branded with an 18 certificate and banned by both the BBC and ITV, never reaching a wider audience. For the past three decades, Weekender has bubbled just below the surface, gaining genuine cult status and influencing a vast network of creators. In the run-up to its thirtieth anniversary filmmakers Tabitha Denholm and Adam Dunlop interviewed people involved in the project. I Am Weekender is built around those conversations.

I Am Weekender

2023

Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible poster
8.3

Best known for their megahit ’80s anthem "Don't You (Forget About Me)”—made famous in John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club—Simple Minds is one of the most iconic and influential Scottish bands in history. From working-class kids growing up in post-industrial Glasgow to rock stars playing Live Aid, this is the unlikely story of an extraordinary band that continues touring to this day.

Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible

2025

Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough poster
7.0

One of the most controversial writers of our times, join Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh as he undergoes a remarkable trip to find new meaning in his work, life and legacy.

Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough

2025

Underdog: The Andy Swallow Story poster
6.0

From hooliganism and violence through to the ecstasy and the rise of rave culture, Andy Swallow, co-founder of West Ham's ICF and later Centreforce 883, opens up about his life for the very first time.

Underdog: The Andy Swallow Story

2024

Loaded: Lads, Mags & Mayhem poster
NR

Launched 30 years ago, Loaded magazine epitomised the 90s in its irreverence and appetite for hedonism. But how did it stand up to pressure to put more 'sexy babes' on the cover?

Loaded: Lads, Mags & Mayhem

2024

Behind the camera

The Acid House poster
6.2

A surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche.

The Acid House

1998

Creation Stories poster
6.0

The true story of the rise and fall of Creation Records and its infamous founder Alan McGee; the man responsible for supplying the “Brit Pop” soundtrack to the ‘90s, a decade of cultural renaissance known as Cool Britannia. From humble beginnings to Downing Street soirées, from dodging bailiffs to releasing multi-platinum albums, Creation had it all. Breakdowns, bankruptcy, fights and friendships… and not forgetting the music. Featuring some of the greatest records you have ever heard, we follow Alan through a drug-fuelled haze of music and mayhem, as his rock’n’roll dream brings the world Oasis, Primal Scream, and other generation-defining bands.

Creation Stories

2021

Nuts poster
NR

Stubbornness is the strength of the weak.

Nuts

2007

Nuts poster
NR

Stubbornness is the strength of the weak.

Nuts

2007

The Magnificent Eleven poster
2.6

A modernization of the classic western in which the Cowboys are a struggling local amateur soccer team, the Indians run a nearby Tandoori restaurant and the bandits are a group of menacing thugs led by a maniac known simply as 'American Bob'.

The Magnificent Eleven

2013

The New Ten Commandments poster
8.7

The film was produced by Nick Higgins from Lansdowne Productions and Noémie Mendelle from the Scottish Documentary Institute and has 10 film-chapter directors for each of the 10 chapters of the film. The film's unifying theme is human rights in Scotland with each chapter illustrating one of the "New Ten Commandments" - 10 articles chosen from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 10 film chapters of The New Ten Commandments 1. The Right to Freedom of Assembly - Dir, David Graham Scott 2. The Right not to be enslaved - Dir, Nick Higgins 3. The Right to a fair trial - Dir, Sana Bilgrami 4. The Right to freedom of expression - Dir, Doug Aubrey 5. The Right to life - Dir, Kenny Glenaan 6. The Right to liberty - Dir, Irvine Welsh & Mark Cousins 7. The Right not to be tortured - Dir, Douglas Gordon 8. The Right to asylum - Dir, Anna Jones 9. The Right to privacy - Dir, Alice Nelson 10. The Right to freedom of thought - Dir, Mark Cousins & Tilda Swinton.

The New Ten Commandments

2008

Wedding Belles poster
6.2

A darkly humorous look at the lives and loves of four modern women, each with their own remarkable, intriguing and often tragic stories.

Wedding Belles

2007

Strolling Through the Meadows poster
NR

Making their way across a busy Meadows at the height of the Edinburgh Festival, Renton and Sick Boy upset Spud when they start tormenting a squirrel. Their ever-sensitive pal points out that vermin status is very much in the eye of the beholder, as two passing posh wifies make abundantly clear.

Strolling Through the Meadows

2020

Dockers poster
6.8

Jimmy McGovern's depiction of the mid 90s Liverpool dockers strike. Featuring script contributions from Irvine Welsh and the real dockers themselves

Dockers

1999

Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough poster
7.0

One of the most controversial writers of our times, join Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh as he undergoes a remarkable trip to find new meaning in his work, life and legacy.

Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough

2025

Bad Blood poster
7.0

A man infected with HIV exacts his revenge on the person responsible. Based on a chapter from Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel Trainspotting.

Bad Blood

2005

No artwork available
6.0

A darts player slides into depression after an heart attack spooks him so much he loses his skill.

Good Arrows

2009

No artwork available
6.0

A darts player slides into depression after an heart attack spooks him so much he loses his skill.

Good Arrows

2009

No artwork available
6.0

A darts player slides into depression after an heart attack spooks him so much he loses his skill.

Good Arrows

2009