Joseph McFadden

Glasgow-born actor Joe McFadden was discovered by a talent scout from Scottish Television in his Holyrood Secondary School drama class. He made his acting debut, cast as an Edinburgh public schoolboy, in three episodes of the detective series "Taggart." Soon after, McFadden became a familiar face to many in his native Scotland through a regular role on the popular weekly serial "High Road," playing troubled teenager Gary McDonald for six years. In 1995, while still appearing on "High Road," he was cast in Gilles MacKinnon's "Small Faces," a low-key British film about a mother and her three teenage sons struggling to get by in gang-torn Glasgow in 1968. Beautiful and endearing in the role of middle son Alan MacLean, a talented painter determined to attend art school, the young actor received critical acclaim for his subtle portrayal of the sensitive and sensible young man. In addition to the increased exposure that resulted from his film debut, McFadden gained important acting experience in the role, as the film called for a performance quite unlike his previous melodramatic work. 1996 saw McFadden take the lead in the BAFTA award-winning British miniseries "The Crow Road" (BBC), succeeding in establishing him with a British audience, confirming his heartthrob status among younger fans, and attracting the attention of London representation. Next he filmed the edgy "Dad Savage" (1998), a dark, energetic thriller co-starring Patrick Stewart and Kevin McKidd. After completing the grueling film, the busy actor undertook an eight-month stint on stage in Wales as part of Theatr Clwyd's repertory cast, most notably playing the titular schemer in Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane." McFadden returned to live theater in 1998, succeeding Anthony Rapp as the narrator Mark Cohen in the West End production of the Broadway success "Rent."