John Hannah Siblings: Getting to Know Joan and Elizabeth
Actor John Hannah PHOTO/CNN
John Hannah is a celebrated Scottish actor and voiceover artist whose versatile performances have captivated audiences across film, television, and theater for decades.
Raised in a working-class family, his mother, Susan, worked as a cleaner at Marks & Spencer, while his father, John, was a toolmaker.
Hannah grew up in a council house in Scotland’s first new town, describing his childhood as idyllic, filled with memories of playing football in the street and carefree summer holidays.
Initially, acting was not on his radar; he trained as an apprentice electrician for four years after leaving Claremont High School.
Siblings
John is the youngest of three children and the only boy in his family.
He has two older sisters, Joan and Elizabeth (Lizzie), who are eight and nine years older than him, respectively.
Joan pursued a career in nursing, while Lizzie works for the council, reflecting the family’s working-class roots.
Hannah has spoken fondly of his childhood in East Kilbride, recalling close-knit family moments and visits to his grandparents’ home, where he would sit on his grandad’s knee.
Career
After graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Hannah began with theater productions and small television roles, including a leading part in the 1987 Channel 4 adaptation of Frederic Lindsay’s novel Brond.
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His international breakthrough came in 1994 with the role of Matthew in Four Weddings and a Funeral, a romantic comedy directed by Mike Newell.
His poignant recitation of W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” became one of the film’s most memorable moments, earning him widespread recognition and a BAFTA nomination.
Following this success, Hannah starred in films like Sliding Doors (1998) as Gwyneth Paltrow’s charming love interest, The Hurricane (1999) as a Canadian activist, and the Mummy trilogy (1999–2008), where he played the comedic Jonathan Carnahan, brother to Rachel Weisz’s character.
His filmography also includes collaborations with acclaimed directors like Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, 1999) and appearances in The World’s End (2013).
On television, Hannah has been equally prolific.
He played a forensic pathologist in McCallum (1995–1998), the titular detective in Rebus (2000–2001), and the villainous Quintus Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010–2011) and its prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), alongside Lucy Lawless.
Other notable TV roles include Jack Roper in New Street Law (2006–2007), Jake Osbourne in Cold Blood (2007–2008), Jack Cloth in the satirical A Touch of Cloth (2012–2014), and Dr. Holden Radcliffe in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–2017).
More recently, he portrayed Dr. Jedidiah Bishop in the Canadian medical drama Transplant and narrated the BBC’s Race Across the World.
In 1997, Hannah co-founded Clerkenwell Films with producer Murray Ferguson, producing early episodes of the Rebus series.
He has also lent his voice to advertisements, notably for the Co-operative Group in Europe, and pursued interests in music, playing the guitar.