Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actor who made her film debut at 19 years old playing student Diane Coulston in Danny Boyle’s 1996 comedy-drama Trainspotting. Since then, she has starred in dozens of movies and television shows. In 2006, Macdonald won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie after delivering a phenomenal performance in the romantic drama The Girl in the Café. She went on to voice Princess Merida in the 2012 Disney Pixar animated movie Brave.
Macdonald has done a lot of genre-hopping, and her resume is peppered with some excellent crime dramas in theaters and on the small screen. She’s worked with some iconic directors too, including Robert Altman, Joel and Ethan Coen, Joe Wright, and Martin Scorsese. There’s a quiet seriousness to her countenance that makes her compelling to watch, particularly in the crime drama genre.
Here are Kelly Macdonald’s best entries in the crime drama genre so far.
7
‘The Merry Gentleman’ (2008)
Release Date
December 4, 2009
Runtime
110 Minutes
Writers
Ron Lazzeretti
Producers
Christina Varotsis, Steven A. Jones, Tom Bastounes
Actor Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice) makes his directorial debut with The Merry Gentleman, a neo-noir about a woman named Kate Frazier (Kelly Macdonald) who leaves an abusive relationship and starts a new life in Chicago. One night, she stops Frank Logan (Keaton) from jumping off a building. What she doesn’t know is that Frank is a professional killer. The two develop a friendship that has the potential to turn into something more.
Praise from Roger Ebert
Reviews for The Merry Gentleman were mixed upon release, but Macdonald’s performance was universally praised. She was even nominated for Best Actress at the Evening Standard British Film Awards for her performance. In his review of the film, Robert Ebert calls Macdonald “a gifted” actor, and most reviews remark on her talent at bringing life to a difficult role.
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6
‘Giri/Haji’ (2019)
Release Date
2019 – 2018
Network
BBC Two
Directors
Julian Farino, Ben Chessell
Writers
Joe Barton
Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, is behind this British crime series. The title means Duty/Shame in English. Takehiro Hira (Shōgun) stars as Tokyo detective Kenzo Mori, who travels to London looking for his missing brother Yuto (Yōsuke Kubozuka). Along the way, he comes across Detective Constable Sarah Weitzmann (Macdonald) and charismatic sex worker Rodney Yamaguchi (Will Sharpe). Macdonald’s character is an outsider in Giri/Haji. Having exposed internal corruption with the Metropolitan Police, Sarah Weitzmann is teaching a criminology course when she meets Mori.
An Effective Slow Burn
Macdonald, along with the rest of the cast, has received a lot of praise from critics, and the writing pays off episode to episode. “Giri/Haji explores the ripple effects of our actions,” writes Allison Keene for Paste, “weaving what seem like disparate stories into a single narrative with an astonishing number of very organic but still very surprising twists.” Despite excellent reviews, a 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a BAFTA win for Sharpe, Giri/Haji was not renewed for a second season.
5
‘The Victim’ (2019)
Release Date
2019 – 2018
Network
BBC One
Directors
Niall MacCormick
-
John Scougall
Tom Carpenter
-
Joanne Thompson
DS Lisa Harvey
Kelly Macdonald stars as grieving mother Anna Dean, who goes on trial after she publicly releases the new name and address of the man she believes murdered her son 14 years ago. The cast is rounded out by James Harkness (Spencer), who plays Craig Myers, the man Anna accuses, and John Hannah (The Mummy) as DI Stephen Grover. The Victim was nominated for Best Miniseries at the BAFTA Awards, and Macdonald won Best Actress at the BAFTA Scotland Awards for playing Anna Dean.
Riveting and Complicated
The writing here is very well done, and Macdonald’s mastery of it makes this show one that viewers won’t want to miss. “Macdonald gives an affectingly intricate performance as Anna,” Tim Goodman notes for The Hollywood Reporter, “focused and together on the outside but clearly consumed by grief all these years later.” It’s no wonder Macdonald won an award for this role.
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4
‘Line of Duty’ (2021)
Release Date
2012 – 2020
Directors
David Caffrey, Douglas Mackinnon, Daniel Nettheim, Michael Keillor, John Strickland, Jed Mercurio, Sue Tully, Gareth Bryn, Jennie Darnell
Writers
Jed Mercurio
Line of Duty is a British police procedural that was created by Jed Mercurio (Bodyguard), focusing on the work of an anti-corruption unit within the police department that is supposed to hold corrupt police officers responsible for their actions. The show ran for six seasons, and Macdonald joined the cast in a leading role for that final season in 2021.
Under Investigation
Macdonald plays DCI Joanne Davidson, who is being investigated for corruption by Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) and DI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston). Macdonald was nominated for Best Actress and the Audience Award at the BAFTA Scotland Awards. She also earned a Best Actress nomination at the Satellite Awards.
3
‘Dept. Q’ (2025)
Release Date
May 29, 2025
Network
Netflix
-
Chloe Pirrie
Merritt Lingard
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Alexej Manvelov
Akram Salim
As Netflix’s latest bingeworthy thriller, Dept. Q has a phenomenal cast. Based on the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the series follows Detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) as he returns to work following a shooting that nearly killed him. Now, he is tasked with leading a new cold case unit. His first case? Finding out what happened to prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), who has been missing for four years.
Towing a Difficult Line
Keeping Morck grounded is the therapist he is required to see after the shooting, Dr. Rachel Irving (Macdonald). Playing the psychological evaluator in a crime drama is no easy task, and Macdonald approaches the role with a down-to-earth candor that pairs well with Morck’s overt cynicism. At this time, Dept. Q has yet to be renewed for a second season, though it is still a real possibility — especially given that Adler-Olsen has written ten books in this series.
2
‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men is a neo-Western thriller directed and adapted by critically acclaimed filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Josh Brolin (Dune) stars as Llewelyn Moss, a man of modest means who comes across several dead bodies and a briefcase filled with money while hunting in the desert. When he decides to take the money, he sets off a series of events that brings contract killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) to his door.
A Flawless West-Texas Accent
Macdonald gives a moving performance as Llewelyn’s wife, Carla Jean Moss. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. Macdonald scored a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. According to Macdonald, she hadn’t originally been on anyone’s radar for the role, but her agent got her a meeting with the casting director, and her audition landed her the part.
1
‘Boardwalk Empire’ (2010 – 2014)
Release Date
2010 – 2014-00-00
Directors
Timothy Van Patten, Allen Coulter
Boardwalk Empire had a lot of prestige behind it when it premiered on HBO in 2010. Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) directed the pilot. Created by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and based on the non-fiction book by Nelson Johnson, the series is set in prohibition-era Atlantic City as the tides of corruption are shifting into full-fledged gangster wars. Steve Buscemi (Psycho Therapy) leads the cast as treasurer-turned-gangster Enoch “Nucky” Thompson.
Underrated and Underestimated
Margaret Schroeder (Macdonald) is introduced in the pilot as a mother of two, pregnant with her third child, and beholden to an abusive husband. Margaret’s evolution across the series is probably one of the most interesting. She starts as someone who seems to require saving, but proves herself to be pragmatic and capable of navigating anything, including a complicated dynamic with Nucky. Boardwalk Empire earned over 50 Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its run, and in 2011, Macdonald received an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination.
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