Background
Mullan was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Patricia (a nurse) and Charles Mullan (a lab technician at Glasgow University).
Mullan was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Patricia (a nurse) and Charles Mullan (a lab technician at Glasgow University).
University of Glasgow.
He is known for his acting role in My Name Is Joe, winning Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Festival. Mullan appeared as supporting or guest actor in numerous cult movies, including Riff-Raff, Braveheart, Trainspotting, Children of Men, War Horse and the Harry Potter film series. He is also acclaimed art house movie director, winning a Golden Lion at 59th Venice International Festival for The Magdalene Sisters, listed by many critics among best films of 2003, and a Golden Shell at San Sebastián International Festival for Neds.
The second youngest of eight children, Mullan was brought up in a working class Roman Catholic family.
They later moved to Mosspark, a district in Glasgow. An alcoholic and sufferer from lung cancer, Mullan"s father became increasingly tyrannical and abusive.
He was homeless for short periods at the ages of 15 and 18. Mullan began acting at university and continued stage acting after graduation.
He had roles in films such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Braveheart and Riff-Raff.
In 2002, he returned to directing and screenwriting with the controversial film The Magdalene Sisters, based on life in an Irish Magdalene asylum. Mullan is a lifelong supporter of Celtic Football Club. A Marxist, he was a leading figure in the left-wing theatre movement which blossomed in Scotland during the Conservative Thatcher government, including stints in the 7:84 and Wildcat Theatre companies.
A passionate critic of Tony Blair"s New Labour government, he told The Guardian "the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party sold us out big style, unashamedly so".
Mullan took part in a 2005 occupation of the Glasgow offices of the United Kingdom Immigration Service, protesting against the UKIS"s "dawn raid" tactics when deporting failed asylum seekers. In January 2009, Mullan joined other actors in protesting against the British Broadcasting Corporation"s refusal to screen a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza.
They told British Broadcasting Corporation director general Mark Thompson: "Like millions of others, we are absolutely appalled at the decision to refuse to broadcast the appeal. We will never work for the British Broadcasting Corporation again unless this disgraceful decision is reversed.
We will urge others from our profession and beyond to do likewise." Mullan has agreed to appear in an adaptation of Iain Banks’ Stonemouth after the British Broadcasting Corporation aired a DEC appeal for Gaza in late 2014.
Mullan was a supporter of the Yes Scotland campaign in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014. In 2015 he criticised the British Broadcasting Corporation for "horrendous bias" against the Yes campaign and told the Radio Times that " to see the British Broadcasting Corporation used as a political cudgel against a legitimate democratic movement.. really broke my heart.”.
Foreign a brief period, Mullan was a member of a street gang while at secondary school, and worked as a bouncer in a number of south-side publications