Since his breakthrough performance in Four Weddings and a Funeral, John Hannah has been a consistent presence on our screens, most notably as Gwyneth Paltrow’s love interest in Sliding Doors.
In his three-decade career, the 62-year-old actor has worked in cinema, television, theatre, and countless Hollywood blockbusters, including The Mummy trilogy, and now narrates Race Across The World.
Now, however, BBC viewers are familiar with his Scottish dulcet tones as the narrator for Race Across The World, for which he has provided commentary from the inaugural season.
John is presently narrating the fourth season of the popular travel reality show, which follows couples travelling from Japan to Lombok without internet connectivity and on a shoestring budget.
Here’s all you need know about John’s private life and successful job.
Who is John Hannah?
John is a Scottish actor who was born in East Kilbride to a Marks & Spencer cleaner mother and a toolmaker father.
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, he said of his childhood: ‘My family lived in a little terraced council house in East Kilbride, Scotland’s first new town, and it was a brilliant place to grow up. The street was full of parents with young children the same age.
‘My childhood memories are like everyone else’s in the late 60s and early 70s – endlessly playing football in the street and being at each other’s houses.
‘I don’t remember school at all – I remember summer holidays and endless sunshine. There probably wasn’t any sunshine, but it feels like there was.’
After finishing his apprenticeship as an electrician, he went on to study acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
What films and TV series has he starred in?
John’s major breakthrough was the 1994 Richard Curtis film Four Weddings and a Funeral, which also starred the likes of Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas.
The film launched John’s career, and he later appeared as Gwyneth Paltrow’s Monty Python-obsessed love interest in the iconic film. Sliding Doors
In the action trilogy The Mummy, he plays the beloved comedic relief brother of the key female character Evelyn (Rachel Weisz).
His other film credits include I Accuse, Overboard, Damaged, Enemy Lines, and The Hurricane.
On television, John is most known for his lead part in the ITV murder thriller Cold Blood, as well as cameos in US programmes such as Alias and Frasier.
He recently appeared as scientist Holden Radcliffe on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., beginning as a recurring character in season three and then a series regular in season four.
He appeared in episodes of Black Mirror and The Last of Us last year, as well as two episodes of the long-running BBC drama Silent Witness.
Outside of drama, John has competed on the Channel 4 game programme Taskmaster.
Is he married?
John married fellow performer Joanna Roth in 1996, after meeting during a National Theatre performance.
He subsequently proposed to her by writing on a tablecloth at the Sri Sriam restaurant in London.
Joanna appeared alongside her husband in the BBC drama New Street Law, ITV’s Rebus, the film Sliding Doors, and a London Bush Theatre play.
The couple is said to live in Richmond, London, with their two children, twins Gabriel and Astrid.
Speaking about his long marriage with Joanna, John told The Guardian in 2014: ‘I don’t know what our secret is. I guess we got lucky with our choices.
‘But there’s been hardships and ups and downs and all of that. There were times we could have walked away and times we kind of did, but ultimately we’ve come out the other side and we’re better for that.’
Race Across The World airs Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
