Paul McGillion

Template:Realworld Template:2008spoiler Paul McGillion (born 5 January 1969; age 55) is a Scottish-Canadian actor who will have a small speaking part in the upcoming Star Trek. He is best known as part of another science fiction franchise, having acquired fandom for his role as Dr. Carson Beckett in the Sci-Fi Channel series Stargate Atlantis.

Personal

Born in Paisley, Scotland, the sixth of seven children, McGillion and his family moved to Canada when he was two years old. He received a Bachelor of Education Degree in Master Scene Study from Canada's Memorial University of Newfoundland, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Voice from Brock University in Ontario. McGillion himself was an instructor in scene study at the Vancouver Film School in 1998 and 1999.

Career

McGillion has been performing in Canadian theatre since 1990. Some of his stage credits include leading roles in Piano, Savage in Limbo, The Foreigner, El Salvador, and Reservations for Two, the latter of which he produced and directed.

He made his television debut in a 1994 episode of ABC's The Commish with Bruce McGill. He went on to have guest appearances on several science fiction shows, including Sliders (starring John Rhys-Davies), The X-Files (in an episode directed by Cliff Bole), Seven Days (with Vaughn Armstrong, Norman Lloyd, Brian Markinson, and Holmes Osborne), UPN's The Twilight Zone (with Bill Mumy), and even an early episode of Stargate SG-1.

McGillion's first film was 1995's Crying Freeman, in which he played a detective. Some of his later film credits include Saving Grace (1998), Something More (1999), My 5 Wives (2000), Replicant (2001), and A Guy Thing (2003). He also starred in and produced the award-winning 2003 independent drama See Grace Fly, which earned him two nominations from the Leo Awards.

In addition, McGillion worked with his Star Trek co-star Anton Yelchin in the 2004 TV movie Jack. Also starring in this movie were TNG actors Erich Anderson and Brent Spiner. McMillion more recently had a role in the crime drama The Deal, starring Christian Slater.

McGillion made his debut as Dr. Carson Beckett in the pilot episode of Stargate Atlantis in July 2004. Originally intended to be a recurring role, Beckett became a regular until he was written out of the show in the third season's 17th episode, "Sunday", which aired in January 2007. However, outcry from fans of McGillion and Carson persuaded the show's producers to bring the character back, although not as a regular. He returned in a two-episode arc during the show's fourth season, which premiered in September 2007. He will next appear in five episodes of the show's fifth season, which will begin airing in the fall of 2008. [1]

Star Trek

McGillion actually auditioned for the role of Montgomery Scott for the new Star Trek. His audition was held in Los Angeles, having already been suggested as a possible contender for the role of Scotty in fan discussions.

His fans lobbied for him to be cast as Scotty, and also showing support for his casting was Christopher Doohan, the son of James Doohan, the actor who originated the role of Scotty on Star Trek: The Original Series. "I think Paul McGillion is a GREAT choice for the role of Scotty," Doohan says. "He has a great accent and I think that he actually looks like my father." Of his potential casting, McGillion says "it would be a great honour to follow in James Doohan's footsteps." [2]

Ultimately, however, the role went to English actor, comedian and writer Simon Pegg of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead fame. Nonetheless, McGillion still managed to make an impression and was cast in a small role for a scene opposite Chris Pine as James T. Kirk. McGillion filmed his scenes in November of 2007, the first month of shooting. It is currently unknown what his role is although some have speculated it may be Finnegan or Gary Mitchell. [3]

External links

• Official site
• Paul McGillion at Wikipedia
• Template:IMDb-link
• The Unoffical Paul McGillion Website
• Saving Carson Beckett