---
name: "Douglas Henshall"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/douglas-henshall"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "19 November 1965"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T15:23:30.534862+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Douglas Henshall

Actor. Born 19 November 1965 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 19 November 1965, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- **Also known as:** 더글라스 헨셀
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Henshall, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q722061, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0378112/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/35862

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Shetland*](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md) (62)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Douglas Henshall

> Douglas Henshall makes authority feel humane, with a warmth that keeps routine police questioning watchable. We value his quiet attention to other people in *Shetland*, even when the opening mystery gives him too little help.

When Douglas Henshall questions somebody in *Shetland* (2013), he makes their answers seem to matter to him. His DI Jimmy Perez does not need to bully a scene to establish that he is in charge. We warmed to him because his interest in the people he questions feels convincing, even when the opening mystery introduces them too quickly. A programme built around following somebody through their working day needs that sense of company.

Henshall has often played introspective men in professional roles or positions of authority, bringing the vocal and physical control of his stage work to the screen. *Angels and Insects* (1995) provided an early notable film role as Edgar Alabaster. *Psychos* (1999) and *Kid in the Corner* (1999) made use of his economical way of suggesting inner conflict. His television profile grew with Nick Cutter, the science-fiction lead in *Primeval* (2007). *Shetland* gave him a sustained leading role from 2013 to 2022.

*Shetland*, drawn from Ann Cleeves's work, also shows the limits of what a sympathetic lead can do. The first series has two episodes, yet its opening mystery is crowded and struggles to generate suspense. Henshall makes the questioning easy to sit through, but some conversations still feel unnecessary. His warmth helps us stay interested when the storytelling is less reliable. We find the result decent and undemanding, with better reasons to return to Perez than to dwell on the case.

He left *Shetland* after seven series to pursue other work. *Who Is Erin Carter?* (2023) and *Murder Is Easy* (2023) are among the appearances that followed. Try *Shetland* if a patient detective is enough to hold your attention; the opening case will require some forgiveness.

## Biography

Douglas Henshall is a Scottish actor. Born in Glasgow in 1965, he grew up in Barrhead and attended Barrhead High School. While at school he joined the Scottish Youth Theatre. After training at Mountview Theatre School in London, he returned to Glasgow and joined the 7:84 theatre company. He later received critical acclaim for stage roles including in *Life of Stuff* at the Donmar Warehouse (1993) and *American Buffalo* at the Young Vic (1997).

Henshall is known for his television roles as Professor Nick Cutter in *Primeval* (2007–2011) and as Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in *Shetland* (2013–2022). His film credits include *Angels and Insects* (1995), *Dorian Gray* (2009), *The Eagle* (2011) and *Outlander* (2014). He won the BAFTA Scotland award for best television actor for his work in *Shetland*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, bbc.co.uk.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Shetland* (2013), Fi1m 62, as DI Jimmy Perez — [page](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md)

## Complete filmography (74)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Angh* (2026), Acting
- *Forever Home* (2026), series, Acting
- *One of Us* (2026), Acting
- *The Revenge Club* (2025), series, as Steve Williams
- *The Darkness* (2024), series, as Petur
- *Murder Is Easy* (2023), series, as Major Horton
- *Who Is Erin Carter?* (2023), series, as Daniel Long
- *Wednesday* (2020), Acting
- *Susan Hill's Ghost Story* (2019), as Adam Snow
- *Power to the People* (2019), series, as Narrator
- *Orphans Reunited* (2019), Acting
- *Secret Agent Selection: WW2* (2018), series, as Narrator
- *Mountain: Life at the Extreme* (2017), series, as Narrator, Video Assist Operator
- *In Plain Sight* (2016), series, as William	Muncie
- *Iona* (2015), as Daniel
- *Black Work* (2015), series, as DCS Hepburn
- *Scotland In A Day* (2014), Acting
- *Outlander* (2014), series, as Taran MacQuarrie
- *The Salvation* (2014), as Sheriff Mallick
- *Shetland* (2013), series, as DI Jimmy Perez — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/tv/shetland.md)
- *Doors Open* (2012), as Mike Mackenzie
- *The Secret of Crickley Hall* (2012), series, as Augustus Cribben
- *The Snipist* (2012), as Harker
- *The Kidnap Diaries* (2012), as Sean Langan
- *Playhouse Presents* (2012), series, as Harker
- *How I Was Stolen by the Germans* (2011), as Werner Kraus
- *South Riding* (2011), series, as Joe Astell
- *The Eagle* (2011), as Cradoc
- *The Silence* (2010), series, as Jim
- *Collision* (2009), series, as D.I. John Tolin
- *Dorian Gray* (2009), as Alan Campbell
- *French Film* (2008), as Marcus
- *Ripley Under Ground* (2007), as Philip Derwatt
- *Lezioni di volo* (2007), as Aarto
- *Lewis* (2007), series, as Alex Gansa
- *Primeval* (2007), series, as Nick Cutter
- *The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle* (2005), as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- *Frances Tuesday* (2004), series, as Lucas Pilgrim
- *Sea of Souls* (2004), series, as Robert Dunbar
- *Loving You* (2003), as Dan
- *It's All About Love* (2003), as Michael
- *Silent Cry* (2002), as Daniel Stone
- *Lawless Heart* (2002), as Tim
- *Ultimate Fights from the Movies* (2002), as Davis Dawson (Crossing the Line) (archive footage)
- *Gentlemen's Relish* (2001), as Cromwell Marsh
- *The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Winds of Change* (2000), as T.E. Lawrence
- *Anna Karenina* (2000), series, as Levin
- *Kid in the Corner* (1999), series, as Alex Letts
- *The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert* (1999), as T.E. Lawrence
- *Psychos* (1999), series, as Dr Daniel Nash
- *This Year's Love* (1999), as Danny
- *The Man with Rain in His Shoes* (1998), as Victor Bukowski
- *Fast Food* (1998), as Benny
- *Orphans* (1998), as Michael
- *Sharpe: The Legend* (1997), as Wickham
- *Kull the Conqueror* (1997), as Ducalon
- *Sharpe's Justice* (1997), as Captain George Wickham
- *Crossing the Floor* (1996), as Clive Colville
- *Dalziel and Pascoe* (1996), series, as Tony Watson
- *Angels and Insects* (1995), as Edgar Alabaster
- *Three Miles Up* (1995), as Billy
- *Ghosts* (1995), series, as Billy
- *Common As Muck* (1994), series, as Brian Forget
- *Rose Red* (1994), Acting
- *Down Among the Big Boys* (1993), as Louie Gibbons
- *Lipstick on Your Collar* (1993), series, as Corporal Berry
- *Jute City* (1991), series, as Sammy Kerr
- *She-Play* (1990), series, as Lol
- *The Big Man* (1990), as Davie Dawson
- *Silent Scream* (1990), as News Reporter
- *Dancing in the Dark* (1990), Acting
- *The Bill* (1984), series, Acting
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Edgar Alabaster
- *Van der Valk* (1972), series, as Joep Huizinga

## Gallery

- ![Douglas Henshall screenshot from Shetland Trailor for Season 1, in 2013, uploaded to Vimeo by Cinematographer and director of photography Gavin Struthers under  (2015)](https://film.one/media/person/749916/gallery-baea589b3bea.jpg) Douglas Henshall screenshot from Shetland Trailor for Season 1, in 2013, uploaded to Vimeo by Cinematographer and director of photography Gavin Struthers under  (2015) — Gavin Struthers, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Douglas_Henshall_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Douglas Henshall](https://film.one/media/person/749916/gallery-e2d1bc9c93b9.jpg) Douglas Henshall — Bella Caledonia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Douglas_Henshall_2015.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Douglas Henshall](https://film.one/media/person/749916/gallery-8d3ca18edd09.jpg) Douglas Henshall — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/douglas-henshall