TONY Curran has established himself as one of today’s most versatile character actors.
Both British and American audiences will recognise the Scot’s distinctive red hair, expressive face, and intense glare, all of which he has utilised in the likes of Doctor Who as Vincent Van Gogh; Netflix’s Outlaw King; Mary & George opposite Julianne Moore; Outlander: Blood of My Blood; and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thor: The Dark World, Daredevil, and Secret Invasion.
Curran says: “A Scot came up to me the other day and said, ‘You were on SEAL Team, weren’t you?’ Then the next day, someone came up and said, ‘I loved you in Ultimate Force’. One character was a Navy SEAL in the US and the other was an SAS air serviceman in the UK. It’s wild sometimes what people will remember you from.”
When he speaks to The National, Curran is still basking in the glow of his World Cup adventures in the US, where he watched Scotland in all three of their matches.
He also got to reunite with Doctor Who star Karen Gillan at the Brazil game in Miami, having just starred alongside her again in the upcoming Jumanji: Open World.
“It was great. I met pals from Europe and New York,” Curran says. “We even went to Montana in our kilts and nearly melted in Miami. But Scotland didn’t play well.
“Obviously in parts of the games we did. But we didn’t do enough. I also took my daughter to see Canada against South Africa when we were back in LA.”
Curran, who has lived in the Southern California city since the mid-2000s but is currently back at his mother’s house in the south side of Glasgow. He’s in the city filming season two of the critically acclaimed Netflix crime thriller Dept. Q, created by Academy Award nominee Scott Frank.
It only feels right for Curran to be in Scotland when we talk, as we’re discussing The Bombing of Pan Am 103’s arrival on Netflix on July 30.
The six-part drama, which initially aired on BBC One in May 2025, revolves around the investigations by British and US governments into the devastating bombing of the plane over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew aboard, as well as 11 residents below.
“Everyone was affected by it,” Curran says. He recalls that, the night before the attack, he was drinking with a friend who was supposed to be on the plane. He overslept and missed his flight down to Heathrow.
“He got another flight to Philadelphia but his family thought for more than a day that he was on that plane because no-one had a mobile back then. It was crazy.”
Curran plays DCI Harry Bell in The Bombing of Pan Am 103. He was the Scottish police detective stationed in Glasgow who responded to the disaster and then led the team that tracked down vital evidence in Malta. “Quite a few of the detectives were on set for filming,” Curran says. While they were able to provide minute details of how the investigation unfolded, he says they were also vital in bringing “levity on set”, too. “We all took it very seriously. Because it is such an intense subject matter. But they’d be able to show the banter they had with each other and then they’d have it with us, too,” he adds.
While Curran didn’t get to meet Bell, his research into the detective showed that he approached the case with a “real sincerity and compassion”.
Curran is well aware that Colin Firth starred in the five-part series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. But he insists the two actually complement each other. Firth starred in that series as Jim Swire, who sought justice for the victims, who included his daughter Flora.
Curran says: “Ours is about the investigation and how the Americans, Germans, British and Scottish tried to work together and how these international secret agencies worked as a collective – which included them dropping the ball.”
What Curran was really struck by when working on The Bombing of Pan Am 103 was the moments of quiet humanity. In particular, the men and women of Lockerbie who gathered all of the clothes and possessions that had fallen on their town to give back to the victims’ families. In recent years, the likes of The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Chernobyl, and Mr Bates vs The Post Office have proven that television shows can expose the truth behind tragedies and injustices in an entertaining and informative manner.
“You still have to respect everything that happened,” Curran says. “But it’s a drama, so you need those elements of intrigue, entertainment and humanity. I think a lot of what makes this show so compelling is the examples of great humanity and inhumanity.”
It’s at this part of the conversation that Curran’s mother enters the room and accidentally interrupts. “My mother is making funny faces at me and making me laugh,” Curran says while beaming.
With production on Dept. Q season two only just under way, Curran has prep to do to impress Frank, who he calls a “lovely guy” and a bit of “a legend” for his work on Out Of Sight, Logan, and The Queen’s Gambit.
Before we finish, Curran can’t help but reflect proudly on his career. Not just what he’s done and what he’ll do in the future, but what he’s learned through each role along the way.
“I’ve been very lucky recently to get so many interesting roles. I feel fortunate to be an actor. You get to be all these interesting people, whether they existed or not.
“I’ve really loved learning about all of them — whether it’s Van Gogh, King James, the Navy SEALS, or the SAS. Even when you end up playing villain number two or bearded ginger from the left, it’s always fascinating.”
