Born in Glasgow in 1958, Peter Capaldi attended St Teresa's Primary School in Possilpark, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs, and St Ninian's High School in Kirkintilloch, before winning a place at the Glasgow School of Art.
He performed from an early age as part of the Antonine Players theatre group in Bishopbriggs, and was in a student punk band called The Dreamboys with future American chatshow host Craig Ferguson – who he also performed comedy with as ‘Bing & Dean Hitler’.
Capaldi’s big screen break came when he was cast as Danny Oldsen in Bill Forsyth’s classic Scottish film Local Hero in 1983 and he has had a successful career ever since – appearing in more than 40 films and television programmes. It’s on the small screen where he is perhaps most familiar, playing the sweary and terrifying spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in ‘The Thick of It’ (returning to the role for the feature film ‘In The Loop’) and as the twelfth incarnation of Doctor Who.
Notable films appearances have included Dangerous Liaisons, Paddington 1 and 2, Christopher Robin, and The Suicide Squad, while in 1993 he won both the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film and the BAFTA for Best Short Film for his short film ‘Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life’.
Here are 13 interesting, amusing and insightful quotes from the Scottish actor.
5. Peter Capaldi on...Glasgow
"My childhood growing up in that part of Glasgow always sounds like some kind of sub-Catherine Cookson novel of earthy working-class immigrant life, which to some extent it was, but it wasn't really as colourful that." Photo: Dia Dipasupil
6. Peter Capaldi on...love
"A girl once came to my beery flat in Kensal Green, opened the blinds and cooked me breakfast. I married her." Photo: Gareth Cattermole
7. Peter Capaldi on...being Scottish
"One of the very, very exciting things I have found here in L.A. is that no one talks to you about being Scottish. Whereas, if you are in London and you are trying to put films together and be a film-maker, there is a kind of unspoken sense that, if you are Scottish, you have something to overcome or else you cannot really do that project." Photo: Jeff Spicer
8. Peter Capaldi on...Doctor Who
"I don't remember 'Doctor Who' not being part of my life, and it became a part of growing up, along with The Beatles, National Health spectacles, and fog. And it runs deep. It's in my DNA...I haven't played Doctor Who since I was 9 on the playground." Photo: Jeff Spicer