William Ruane

William Ruane (born 1985) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Sweet Sixteen (2002) and The Angels' Share (2012), and in the soap opera River City.

William Ruane
Born(1985-06-07)7 June 1985
Glasgow, Scotland
OccupationActor
Years active2002-present

Career

Ruane was born in Glasgow and raised in the Castlemilk area of the city, where he attended St Margaret Mary's Secondary School.[1][2] Whilst still at school and with no previous acting experience, he was selected by director Ken Loach to portray the pivotal character Pinball in the gritty drama Sweet Sixteen set in the Inverclyde area (which has a local dialect virtually identical to that of Glasgow). Pinball, a volatile adolescent, was the best friend of protagonist Liam, played by fellow newcomer Martin Compston. The film was well received at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and Ruane received a British Independent Film Awards 'Most promising newcomer' nomination for his performance. Compston was the winner of the same category and embarked on what would become a successful acting career.[3]

Ruane (along with Sweet Sixteen co-star Annmarie Fulton) was soon able to secure a part in the new BBC Scotland soap opera River City; in early 2004 his character Brian—another troubled teen—was written out to "receive medical treatment" following a storyline involving the abduction of Fulton's character Hazel.[4][5]

Ruane has worked fairly infrequently as an actor since his early success, and has had several jobs in other industries including a DJ, car salesman and travel agent. In hindsight he admitted that he did not fully appreciate his good fortune at such a young age, and without any drama school training to refer to, he did not prepare for some auditions as professionally as he could have.[1][2] Loach remained keen, casting him (alongside Compston) in Tickets (2005) and in The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006). He also appeared in minor roles on several television series.

In 2012 Ruane's career came full circle when he was cast as Rhino in The Angels' Share, another production directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty, produced by Rebecca O'Brien and set in the west of Scotland, in which he starred alongside a 'raw talent'—in this case Paul Brannigan—and which had positive feedback at Cannes (the 2012 festival). Another of the main cast members, Gary Maitland (also from Castlemilk), had featured in Sweet Sixteen and Tickets as well.[6][7]

Despite the similar level of success to his breakthrough role a decade earlier, Ruane found that The Angels' Share did not bring an increase in job offers as he had anticipated.[1][2]

Having already returned briefly in 2009, Ruane reprised his role as Brian on River City in 2016 (his on-screen mother having remained in the series throughout the period).[1][2]

Filmography
YearTitleRoleNotes
2002Sweet SixteenPinballLoach / Laverty film
2002River CityBrian HendersonTV series
2005TicketsFrankLoach / Laverty
2006RebusDavid CostelloTV series
2006The Wind That Shakes the BarleyJohnny GoganLoach / Laverty
2006Sea of SoulsDavidTV series
2010TaggartFinTV series
2010AccusedPatrickTV series
2011The Field of BloodDC Colin McGovernTV series
2011The Shadow LineStephenTV series
2011Fast RomanceGordon BoydDir: Carter Ferguson
2012Kelly + VictorCraig
2012The Angels' ShareRhinoLoach / Laverty
2013The BorgiasPapal physicianTV series
2014HonourBig Yin
2016River CityBrian HendersonTV series
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References
  1. "William Ruane on why he isn't bitter about Martin Compston's success". Evening Times. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. "Scottish actor plucked from obscurity works as a travel agent to make ends meet". Daily Record. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  3. "Profile and awards: Sweet Sixteen (2002)". BIFA. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  4. "River City Characters - Brian Henderson". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  5. "River City classic scenes: Brian kills his grandmother in a car crash". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  6. "The Angels' Share star Gary Maitland isn't giving up day job as a binman". Daily Record. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  7. "From Castlemilk to California: the scheme which became a star factory". The Guardian. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
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