{{short description|British actor (born 1960)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use British English|date=May 2015}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2013}} '''James MacPherson''' (born 18 March 1960) is a Scottish [[actor]], best known for his role as [[Chief Inspector|Detective Chief Inspector]] Michael Jardine in the [[STV (TV channel)|STV]] drama ''[[Taggart]]''.<ref name="stvproductions">{{cite web|url=http://www.stvproductions.tv/content/default.asp?page=s2_2_15 |title=Taggart |accessdate=2010-02-10 |work=stvproductions.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108024311/http://www.stvproductions.tv/content/default.asp?page=s2_2_15 |archivedate= 8 January 2009 }}</ref>
==Early life== MacPherson was raised in [[South Lanarkshire]]. He left [[Hamilton Grammar School]] at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at the Institute of Neurosciences at the [[Southern General Hospital]] in Glasgow. Part of his job was to collect brain samples for experimentation. MacPherson worked in the lab for five years and met his future wife Jacqueline while he was there.
MacPherson went for an interview to be a police officer, but soon realised that he did not have the requisite personality for the job. It was then that his thoughts turned to acting. He joined an amateur dramatic group in [[Motherwell]], before moving on to a repertory theatre in [[East Kilbride]] and a place in drama school.
It was after MacPherson landed the part of Hugh Hamilton in ''[[Citizens (radio show)|Citizens]]'' on [[BBC Radio 4]] that his television career began to take off. While he was based in London, MacPherson auditioned for a part in the children's series ''Dramarama'', but was unsuccessful. Then, in 1986, his agent told him about a part that had come up in ''Taggart'' and, after he regained his [[Glaswegian dialect|Glasgow accent]], which had been diluted by working in London, he was offered the part.
==''Taggart'', career and personal life== Initially the character of Jardine was to be a foil to DS Livingstone, assistant to DCI Jim Taggart ([[Mark McManus]]), but when Neil Duncan left the show shortly after MacPherson joined it, Jardine became Jim Taggart's permanent right-hand man. He then became the central character following McManus's death in 1994. McManus was godfather to MacPherson's daughter Katie.
2002 saw MacPherson's last appearance as DCI Michael Jardine. In 2000, MacPherson suffered a collapsed lung and underwent life-saving surgery. The experience gave him a new perspective on life and he realised he no longer enjoyed working on ''Taggart''. With this realisation, he decided to quit the show. MacPherson's final episode, "Death Trap", was aired on 14 January 2002.
Since ''Taggart'', MacPherson has concentrated on the theatre. Much of his early stage work saw him cast as a policeman. He appeared as Jardine in all but name in a TV documentary investigating claims that Scottish MPs were [[bribed]] to pass the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union of 1707]]. He also guest-starred in several episodes of ''[[The Bill]]'' as a former officer whose sister was [[rape]]d by other policemen. He provided the voice for [[Ian Rankin]]'s ''[[Inspector Rebus]]'' in the talking book series. In 2000, MacPherson appeared in a Channel 4 Schools History series ''The Scots Detective'', playing DI Scott.
In July 2002, he worked for an acting company, Acting Up, with the Scots actress Emma Currie.
In October 2003, MacPherson formed a rock and roll band called The Cams with ex-[[Wet Wet Wet]] drummer [[Tommy Cunningham]], and was seen singing with the band on [[Children in Need]] on BBC One Scotland the following month.
Christmas 2003 saw MacPherson appear as Abananzar in ''Aladdin'' at [[His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen|His Majesty's Theatre]] in Aberdeen. He received a fellowship from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2004. In 2007, he starred in the stage version of ''[[Dial M for Murder]]'' with [[Faye Tozer]] of [[Steps (group)|Steps]].
In May 2010, MacPherson co-starred as Martin Schulse in the [[Tron Theatre]]'s production of ''Address Unknown'' adapted from the short story by [[Kathrine Kressmann Taylor]].
In 2014, amidst widespread speculation, it was confirmed that MacPherson narrated [[Alex Ferguson|Sir Alex Ferguson's]] [[Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography|autobiography]]. In 2019, he appeared in an episode of the final series of ''Still Game''.
MacPherson has three children with his wife.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0534220}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, James}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Male actors from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire]] [[Category:Scottish male television actors]] [[Category:Scottish male radio actors]] [[Category:Scottish male stage actors]] [[Category:People educated at Hamilton Grammar School]]