CHEERS TO YA!
THE SUN
6 JANUARY 2001

A Hollywood pal helped Hamish Clark get his big break he tells Jan Patience.

Just a few years ago, Hamish Clark was working in an off-licence. Now he’s making a name for himself as madcap kilted gamekeeper Duncan in BBC1 comedy drama Monarch Of The Glen, back for a second series, alongside Richard Briers, Alastair Mackenzie and Susan Hampshire.

No one is more surprised about the turn-around in his fortunes than Hamish, who’s also the quirky frontman from the Vodafone ads.

The 35-year-old Scot, who is originally from Broughty Ferry near Dundee, watched the friends with whom he’d performed in an Edinburgh University theatre group- Angus MacFadyen (who was in Braveheart and Soldier, Soldier) and Greg Wise (Sense And Sensibility)- go on to find fame and fortune.

As he hauled bottles of beer around, Hamish could only dream of their success-until Angus, an ex-boyfriend of Catherine Zeta Jones, helped him along.

Hamish says: “Gus is a real mate. He went on to star in Hollywood blockbusters while I left university, worked in factories and as a lollipop man and did the odd bit of stand-up, comparing and acting. Finally, I put myself through a year at drama college in Wales, but then ended up at Oddbins, feeling I wasn’t really getting a break.

“Gus was over in the UK three years ago and introduced me to a casting director who was looking for someone to play a small part in the film Bring Me The Head Of Mavis Davis. By the end of that week, I had a part in the film and one of the most prestigious agents in the business had signed me up.”

Hamish, who is single, is obviously relishing his success. He says: “I live in London now and it’s a spooky experience walking down Oxford Street seeing these huge billboards with your face on them.”

In the new series of Monarch, young Laird Archie (Alastair) is still trying to save the crumbling Glenbogle estate. And prepare to see a more rounded Duncan, who we left last year harbouring an undying love for feisty cook Lexie, played by Dawn Steele (pictured far left with Hamish). “This time round, he’s still
hankering after Lexie but we get to see him thinking a bit more, which is good,” says Hamish.

Look out for a fleeting glimpse of his dad, Norman, who plays an announcer at a Highland Games. “It’s brilliant,” laughs Hamish. “My parents live close to where filming of Monarch took place and last series Dad was an extra. They asked him back again and this time he even got to say a line. In one fell swoop, I became part of an acting dynasty!”