Paul Higgins is a Scottish actor, renowned for his captivating performances in various British television series, including The Thick of It, Utopia, and Line of Duty.
Born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Higgins was raised as a Roman Catholic, but has since described himself as a lapsed Catholic. As a teenager, he embarked on a path to become a priest, undergoing rigorous training. However, at the age of 17, he abandoned his vocation to pursue a romantic relationship.
Throughout his career, Higgins has showcased his versatility on stage and screen. He has appeared in productions such as Paul and Black Watch, as well as the film Complicity. In the television series Staying Alive, he played the role of Alan, a character in a hospital drama broadcast on ITV. Additionally, he portrayed Jamie McDonald, an assertive press officer, in the BBC show The Thick of It and its feature-length spin-off film, In the Loop. In 2009, Higgins took on the character of Gil Cameron in the BBC drama Hope Springs.
His impressive repertoire also includes the role of Michael Dugdale in Channel 4's critically acclaimed conspiracy thriller Utopia. Moreover, he has appeared in series one of the BBC series Line of Duty, initially in 2013, and later returned for season four in 2017.
Notably, Higgins is also a playwright. He wrote the play Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, which was co-produced by the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, and the National Theatre of Scotland, premiering in November 2008.
