Biography
Ron Donachie was born Ronald Eaglesham Porter on April 26, 1956, in Dundee, Tayside, Scotland. He attended Madras College in St. Andrews and Glasgow University, earning an M.A. (Hons.) in English Literature and Drama in 1979. After spending a year working as a navvy, he joined the 7.84 theatre company for John Burrough's "One Big Blow," where the cast performed as a traditional colliery band, singing in six-part harmony. The play’s success led to the creation of the acapella group "The Flying Pickets," who achieved a Christmas number one hit in 1983. Donachie chose not to remain with the band, a decision he has called "one of my more brilliant career decisions."
During the 1980s, he was an active theatre performer throughout the UK, working within Britain’s once-thriving repertory system. This allowed him to act in numerous classical plays that are now seldom staged due to budget cuts and theatre closures. He appeared in over twenty productions at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre under the direction of Giles Havergal, Robert David Macdonald, and Phillip Prowse. Many performers with similar backgrounds regard this period as the happiest, most productive, and most influential of their careers.
In the 1990s, Donachie became a regular presence on British television and did not return to the stage until 2003, when he was unexpectedly invited to join the National Theatre company for "Scenes From the Big Picture," ending a thirteen-year absence from live performance. Since then, he has sought to recapture the diversity of his earlier career by balancing live theatre with his television and film work. He married Fiona Biggar on St. Patrick's Day in 1989, and they have two children: Naomi Porter, who studies Russian, German, and French, and Daniel Porter, who performs professionally under the name Daniel Portman. His sister-in-law is costume designer Trisha Biggar, and his brother is actor Stewart Porter.
