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Hans Matheson was born on August 7, 1975, in a caravan in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, part of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Soon after, his family relocated to Canterbury, Kent, England, though Hans frequently spent summer holidays in Stornoway with his grandparents. As a child, his parents Iain (Ado) and Sheena regularly took him and his younger brother to folk festivals and Bob Dylan concerts. His father, Ado, is a musician, and his grandfather was a Gaelic singer and songwriter who performed at concerts and ceilidhs across Scotland. His great-grandfather earned the title of Celtic Bard in the 1950s for his literary work.
Hans describes himself as a shy, introverted child who was unhappy at school. After leaving school, encouraged by his mother, he auditioned for drama school at Avondale Hall in Clapham. Following the advice of his teacher and mentor, he auditioned for Jez Butterworth’s TV show Christmas, which led to a stage role in Mojo at the Royal Court Theatre and later in the film adaptation. He went on to appear in TV series such as Bramwell (1995), Wycliffe (1993), and Family Money (1996), as well as films including Stella Does Tricks (1996), Still Crazy (1998), and Bodywork (2001).
His international breakthrough came when he was cast as Marius in Bille August’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (1998). Subsequently, he starred in European films Making Love (2000) and I Am Dina (2002), along with the television miniseries The Mists of Avalon (2001).
His most significant role to date has been the lead as Yury Zhivago in Granada Television’s 2002 adaptation of Doctor Zhivago, the renowned Russian novel by Boris Pasternak, where he starred alongside Keira Knightley and Sam Neill.
Beyond acting, Hans is a skilled musician, playing guitar, violin, and harmonica, and he composes his own songs. He values simplicity over fame and fortune, always carries his guitar with him, and prefers traveling by train over flying, even if the journey takes several days.
