Rory McCann
Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series Game of Thrones, Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy Hot Fuzz (2007), Jurgen the Brutal in the adventure comedy Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and the voice of Megatron in Transformers: EarthSpark.
Also recorded as Rory Philip McCann
Rory McCann

Claire Firkins · Flickr: P1050180 · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Rory McCann
- Born
- 24 April 1969
- Birthplace
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- film acting
- Languages
- English
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Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series Game of Thrones, Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy Hot Fuzz (2007), Jurgen the Brutal in the adventure comedy Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and the voice of Megatron in Transformers: EarthSpark.
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wikidata · Q971177 · wikipedia · Rory McCann
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Rory McCann • Born — 24 April 1969 • Birthplace — Glasgow, Scotland • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1999–present • Height — 6 ft
Early life
Early life
Rory McCann was born on 24 April 1969 in Glasgow, Scotland. He has a sister, Sally-Gay McCann, born in 1972. Before becoming an actor, McCann was a painter who studied at the Scottish School of Forestry near Inverness. He also worked as a bridge painter (on the Forth Road Bridge), landscape gardener and carpenter. Rory McCann was first trained as an actor by writer-artist Robert Parsifal Finch in The Actor's Workshop, Glasgow in 1998.
Career
Career
McCann's first acting job was as an extra on the film Willow (1988). He was fired because he laughed during the takes. He appeared in an advertisement for Scott's Porage Oats, dressed in a vest and kilt. As his first major acting role, McCann played a disabled personal trainer in the 2002 television comedy drama The Book Group, winning the Scottish BAFTA for the best television performance of 2002. Since then, he has taken television roles as Detective Inspector Stuart Brown in State of Play, Peter the Great in Peter in Paradise, and a priest in the award-winning British comedy-drama series Shameless. He made his Hollywood debut in the 2004 film Alexander, which required the actors to go through training in the African desert, and included shooting in Thailand, Morocco, and a London studio. In 2007, he appeared as Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Hot Fuzz. In 2008, he played Moby in The Crew and Attila the Hun in the BBC docudrama Heroes and Villains. McCann portrayed Sandor "The Hound" Clegane in 7 out of 8 seasons of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Other projects include a BBC TV series by writer Jimmy McGovern called Banished, set in Australia in the 18th century. McCann plays a blacksmith named Marston. In 2022 he became the narrator of the ITV1 series DNA Journey. McCann was scheduled to star in the second season of the Star Wars series Ahsoka, as Baylan Skoll, succeeding Ray Stevenson (died 2023) in the role.
Personal life
Personal life
McCann's younger sister, Sally-Gay McCann, works on costumes for film and television; he worked alongside her on Alexander and Game of Thrones. McCann is a supporter of the Scottish Green Party, and appeared in its 2007 Scottish Parliament general election broadcast. In 1990, McCann broke multiple bones in a near-fatal rock climbing accident in Yorkshire. McCann is the former frontman of a defunct band called Thundersoup. He plays the piano, guitar, banjo and mandolin. McCann lives a solitary, transient lifestyle. He often lives on his boat or in places without modern conveniences. In 2006, he went to Iceland with Gerard Butler to attend the premiere of Beowulf & Grendel. He ended up living in Iceland for a year, part of the time in a tent after losing his apartment, and working as a carpenter.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2000 — Randall & Hopkirk — Bouncer — 1 episode • Monarch of the Glen — Roger — 1 episode • 2002 — London's Burning — Keith — 1 episode • 2002–2003 — The Book Group — Kenny McLeod — Main role, 12 episodes • 2003 — State of Play — Stuart Brown — 1 episode • Rockface — Adam — Recurring role, 6 episodes • 2006 — Shameless — Father Critchon — 2 episodes • 2008 — Heroes and Villains — Attila the Hun — 1 episode • 2011 — The Jury — Derek Hatch — Main role, 5 episodes • 2011–2019 — Game of Thrones — Sandor "The Hound" Clegane — Main role, 38 episodes • 2015 — Banished — Marston — Main role, 4 episodes • 2021 — The Irregulars — Arthur "the Birdmaster" Hilton — 2 episodes • 2022 — The Legend of Vox Machina — Duke Vedmire (voice) — 3 episodes • Transformers: EarthSpark — Megatron (voice) — Main role; 3 seasons • 2024 — Knuckles — "The Buyer" — Miniseries, 3 episodes • 2027 — Star Wars: Ahsoka — Baylan Skoll — Season 2

Rory McCann at the 2014 Comic Con in San Diego
Gage Skidmore
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2003 — Young Adam — Sam • 2004 — Alexander — Craterus • 2005 — Beowulf & Grendel — Breca • 2006 — Sixty Six — Policeman • 2007 — Hot Fuzz — Michael "Lurch" Armstrong • 2008 — The Crew — Mobey • 2009 — Solomon Kane — McNess • 2010 — Clash of the Titans — Belo • 2011 — Season of the Witch — Soldier Commander — Credited as Rory MacCann • 2015 — Slow West — John Ross • 2017 — XXX: Return of Xander Cage — Tennyson "The Torch" • 2019 — Jumanji: The Next Level — Jurgen The Brutal • 2023 — Jackdaw — Armstrong • 2024 — The Damned — Ragnar • Gladiator II — Tegula • 2025 — Tornado — Kitten
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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