Shetland star Douglas Henshall's life from Taggart cameo to fatherhood doubts

Douglas Henshall might have hung up his coat as DI Jimmy Perez, but Shetland's die-hard devotees are still eager to know all about the man who portrayed the detective for seven yeras. 

Shetland season nine kicked off on Wednesday, November 6 on One, showcasing DI Ruth Calder (portrayed by Ashley Jensen), once again steppinginto her predecessor's investigative boots.

Nonetheless, fans can't seem to shake off wanting to find out all there is about 58-year-old Douglas Henshall. 

Early days

Born in November 1965 in Barrhead, Henshall was brought up alongside two siblings to a mum who later became a nurse and their salesman dad. 

A self-described introverted youngster, Henshall found refuge and expression upon the stage, a revelation made to The Scotsman in a 2010 interview: "I think the other side is finding something where you can express yourself and feel comfortable, and for me, that was on stage in front of lots of people."

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His journey via the arts saw him join the Glasgow Youth Theatre, further honing his craft at Mountview Theatre School, before moving onto the Citizens' Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company.

Onscreen roles

Henshall made his TV debut in the iconic crime drama Taggart in 1990 where he was cast as a motorcyclist.

This fledgeling start spiralled into a spate of other small roles across familiar titles such as Van der Valk, The Bill, Ghosts, and Sharpe.

It was then in 1993 that Henshall clinched a role in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, portraying Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, a friend of the young explorer who was portrayed by Sean Patrick Flanery. 

Henshall took on bigger roles in a variety of projects, including films like French Film, Ripley Under Ground and Dead Long Enough, before securing the role of Professor Nick Cutter in the sci-fi series Primeval.

This was Henshall's most significant role to date, featuring in a primetime drama that propelled him into the spotlight. 

In turn, this led to roles in other successful shows such as Dorian Gray, Collision, The Silence, Outlander and In Plain Sight.

In 2013, he began his nine-year stint in the popular Scotland-set crime drama Shetland, playing the troubled DI Jimmy Perez.

Future Worries

In 2022, Henshall decided to leave Shetland behind, with his character Jimmy sacrificing his job to help an innocent man and moving elsewhere with love interest Meg (Lucianne McEvoy).

However, at the time of his departure, Henshall expressed concerns about his future in the entertainment industry during an interview with Radio Times.

"It's very difficult to make conscious decisions about what you're going to do when you're a 57-year-old white man", he admitted.

"There aren't so many roles around for me anymore. I think that's just a fact of getting older.

"People are looking for younger actors these days. There's a degree of, 'I've been offered that, I'm grateful for the job, I'll go and do it.'"

Fortunately, he has continued to find steady work, appearing in shows like The Darkness, Murder Is Easy and Netflix's Who Is Erin Carter?. 

He's also involved in a mystery drama titled One Of Us, which will feature Heartstopper actor Kit Connor.

Famous spouse

The Shetland star is wed to playwright and screenwriter Tena Stivicic, who hails from Zagreb, Croatia. 

She studied at the Academy of Dramatic Art before earning an MA in Writing for Performance at the University of London.

She's penned plays such as The Two Of Us, Fireflies, Invisible, Europe and Three Winters, but also appeared on screen in the late 1990s in Croatian films The Third Woman and Is It Clear My Friend?.

Henshall and Stivicic tied the knot in Las Vegas in 2010, with him declaring to The Scotsman that she was his "perfect match".

Fatherhood uncertainties

Six years post their nuptials, Henshall and his wife welcomed their daughter Anja Grace, though he tends to keep her away from the limelight, save for the occasional post.

He wasn't always certain about fatherhood, as he confessed to the Daily Mail in 2017: "I was never interested in being married or having children and now I'm married with a small daughter.

"My wife was keen to have a child and I thought, 'Well okay, let's give it a bash.'

"I was worried. You look at Mick Jagger having another kid at 73 and I was worried because I don't think that's responsible.

"My daughter is going to get people saying, 'Is that your grandpa coming to pick you up?'

"But I will be less selfish and I'll be able to help her a lot more than I would have if I had been a younger man."

Shetland season nine continues every Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.