Ewen Bremner is a Scottish actor. His roles have included Shawn Nelson in Black Hawk Down, Julien in Julien Donkey-Boy and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in Trainspotting and its 2017 sequel T2 Trainspotting.
Early life and education Ewen Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance at screen acting by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable roles was as a Glasgow schoolboy in Charles Gormley's Heavenly Pursuits (1986). He also played the lead in the BBC Scotland feature-length adaptation of the William McIlvanney short story "Dreaming" (1990).
Career Bremner portrayed Spud in Danny Boyle's film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel Trainspotting, In the 1994 stage version of Trainspotting, Bremner played the lead role of Mark Renton, the role played by Ewan McGregor in the 1996 film. In 2000 he would later play Mullet, a street thug in Guy Ritchie's Snatch. He has played supporting roles in blockbusters such as Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, Alien Vs Predator, Death at a Funeral, Great Expectations.
In 2017, he produced the short film No Song to Sing. Bremner reprised his role as Daniel “Spud” Murphy in the sequel T2 Trainspotting. He gained enthusiastic reviews for his performance from critics whilst receiving the BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor in 2017, nominated alongside his fellow co-stars Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle
Bremner played WW1 soldier Charlie, a PTSD stricken marksman in 2017’s Wonder Woman.
Bremner plays a lead role as Tommy in the 2025 ITV series Coldwater.
Personal life He has one daughter, with actress Marcia Rose, whom he met during the filming of Skin.
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1986 Heavenly Pursuits Stevie Deans 1993 Naked Archie 1994 Prince of Jutland Frovin 1995 Judge Dredd Junior Angel 1996 Trainspotting Daniel "Spud" Murphy 1998 The Acid House Colin 'Coco' Bryce Segment: "The Acid House" 1999 Julien Donkey-Boy Julien 2000 Paranoid Gordon Snatch Mullet 2001 Black Hawk Down SPC Shawn Nelson Pearl Harbor Red 2003 Skagerrak Gabriel 16 Years of Alcohol Jake The Rundown Declan 2004 The Reckoning Simon Damian Around the World in 80 Days Inspector Fix Alien vs. Predator Graeme Miller 2005 Match Point Inspector Dowd 2006 Marvelous Lars 2007 Death at a Funeral Justin Hallam Foe Andy 2008 Fool's Gold Alfonz Faintheart Julian 2010 You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Henry Strangler 2011 Perfect Sense JamesPage Eight Rollo Maverley 2012 Great Expectations Wemmick 2013 Jack the Giant Slayer Wicke Snowpiercer Andrew 2014 The Veil of Twilight Rabbi Dunbar Exodus: Gods and Kings Expert Get Santa PC Finkerton 2017 T2 Trainspotting Daniel "Spud" Murphy BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor Wonder Woman Charlie Mary and the Witch's Flower Flanagan Voice role, English dub American Renegades Jim Rainey 2019 First Cow Lloyd 2021 Creation Stories Alan McGee 2022 Freedom's Path Silas 2026 The Dog Stars Crossbow Hunter TBA As Deep as the Grave Sylvanus G. Morley Post-production
Television Year Film Role Notes 1990 Taggart Jason Episode: "Love Knot" Forget About Me Broke Television film Screen Two Sammy Nelson Episode: "Dreaming" 1994 A Touch of Frost Gordon Hicks Episode: "Nothing to Hide" The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries Walter McNabb Episode: "Dead Water" 1994–1996 The Bill Paul Tovey / Sean Lewis 2 episodes 1997 Harry Enfield and Chums various characters 5 episodes 2001 Langt fra Las Vegas John Twain D'Wain Episode: "One On the Region's Suit" 2004 Coming Up Johnny Episode: "The Baader Meinhoff Gang Show" 2005 Elizabeth I King James VI Miniseries 2006 The Virgin Queen Sir James Melville The Lost Room Harold Stritzke Episode: "The Comb and the Box" 2008 My Name Is Earl Raynard Episode: "Reading is a Funda Mental Case" 2009 Spooks Ryan Baisley 1 episode The Day of the Triffids Walter Strange Part One 2010 Strike Back Gerald Baxter 2 episodes Dive Stewart Television film Moving On Adam Episode: "Malaise" 2012 Blackout Jerry Durrans Miniseries Accused Frank Best Episode: "Tina's Story" 2014 Turks & Caicos Rollo Maverley Television film Salting the Battlefield Rollo Maverley A Poet in New York John Malcolm Brinnin 2015 Banished Reverend Johnson Miniseries 2016 Houdini and Doyle Sherlock Holmes Episode: "Bedlam" 2017 Will Richard Topcliffe Miniseries 2022 House of the Dragon Assassin Uncredited cameo, 1 episode 2022–2023 Our Flag Means Death Buttons 10 episodes2025ColdwaterTommyMiniseries
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2017BAFTA ScotlandBest ActorT2 Trainspotting 2022Peabody AwardsEntertainmentOur Flag Means Death
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