Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan made an early impression as a tough man in films such as "Trainspotting" (1996) and "My Name is Joe" (1998), he would also show incredible sensitivity in his writing and direction of such films as "Orphans" (1998) and "The Magdalene Sisters" (2002). This interest in the plight of the oppressed was readily evident in his earliest work in the Leftist political theater movement that emerged in Glasgow under the rule of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and continued to inform his work. In the talented hands of Mullan, characters that might have otherwise remained two-dimensional took on startling nuance and empathy, from the asbestos removal worker driven to homicide in "Session 9" (2001), to the cuckolded husband in "Young Adam" (2003) to the stalwart father in "War Horse" (2012). As an actor, writer and director, Mullan excelled at telling the stories of individuals whose hard exteriors served as armor to protect their wounded hearts.