The heartbroken sister of Line of Duty star Brian McCardie says her family is “devastated” and her brother is “gone too soon” after he was found dead in his home aged 59.
Sarah McCardie announced her brother’s death in a heartbreaking statement on
Sarah, an actress and director who starred in the ITV television drama Irvine Welsh’s Crime, said her brother had “touched many lives”.
Line of Duty producers Jed Mercurio and Simon Heath also paid an emotional tribute in a joint statement, describing Brian as an “incredibly talented actor”.
Scottish star Brian was best known for playing mob boss John Thomas ‘Tommy’ Hunter in BBC crime drama Line of Duty, but also appeared in Outlander and had joined the cast of prequel series Blood of My Blood.
Brian recently appeared in the hit BBC prison drama Time, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, and before that rose to fame with a featured role in the action sequel Speed 2 alongside Sandra Bullock.
Brian McCardie at the ‘Ghosts’ press night and after party at Walkers of Whitehall, London
His sister Sarah announced in a post on X that her brother had died, saying that he was “gone too soon.”
Author Paul Larkin spoke of his devastation, claiming the couple had “many” talks about mental health before McCardie’s death.
Line of Duty star Brian McCardie in his role in the BBC police drama as John Thomas ‘Tommy’ Hunter.
McCardie appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the action thriller sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control (above)
Brian’s sister, Sarah, realized that her brother was He left “too soon.”
The post, which revealed that he died on Sunday, prompted dozens of tributes from fans, friends and fellow actors.
Sarah said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Brian James McCardie, beloved son, brother, uncle and dear friend to many.”
‘Brian passed away suddenly at home on Sunday, April 28. “Brian, a wonderful and passionate actor on stage and screen, loved his work and touched many lives, and he was gone too soon.”
She continued: ‘We love him and will miss him dearly; Please remember Brian in your thoughts.
Sarah later told BBC Scotland the family were “devastated” by his death.
Sarah’s neighbors have told their memories of seeing Brian visit her, with many saying they are “totally devastated” by his death.
Lisa Sneddon, 42, said: ‘I said to my neighbor last week: ‘I haven’t seen Brian for a while’ so I was absolutely devastated when I read online that he had died.
“He was a brilliant guy and always took the time to talk to people if he was stopped on the street – my little one has had lots of photos taken with him.”
“Everyone here is quite surprised because, although we don’t exactly know him personally, we felt like we knew him because we saw him often.
‘My thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Another person on the street added: ‘I can’t believe it, it’s really very sad. Brian was a top-notch actor and a great guy; I have had many conversations with him in passing, as have many people around here.
‘It’s like we all knew him personally, he was very warm and easy to talk to. It’s not often that someone as famous as him is like this.
“Everyone always asked if there was going to be another line of duty, and he always responded ‘wait and see’ and winked.
“I really feel for Sarah and all her family, they all loved him so much.”
While John Davies, 34, said: ‘He was a legend. We all loved seeing him around when he visited his sister. I remember the first time I saw him, I told all my mates and they didn’t believe me until one day I was walking my dog with a mate and there he was.
‘I immediately shouted to him from across the street and he waved at us. We both ran and took a photo with him, he was down to earth and we joked around a bit. I feel quite devastated. 59 is so young.”
Sean Bean (left) and Brian McCardie (right) in the hit BBC prison TV drama ‘Time’
Brian McCardie in Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder is Easy’
Actor Brian McCardie attends the Hollywood premiere of ‘200 Cigarettes’ on February 10, 1999
Mercurio, Heath and the team behind Line of Duty said they were “deeply saddened” to learn of his death.
‘We are honored to have worked with Brian on Line Of Duty. “Brian was an incredibly talented actor and the lasting impact he had as Tommy Hunter is a testament to the power of his performance,” they said in a joint statement.
‘Off screen, Brian couldn’t have been more different from the character he played: he was warm, funny and charming. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this difficult time.”
His friend Paul Larkin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he was “shocked and devastated” by McCardie’s sudden death, as family and friends of the celebrity paid tribute to him today.
‘Brian was a brilliant friend and we had many conversations about mental health issues and he was a huge help to me. As well as that; he was a phenomenal actor. “Sleep well, brother,” the author wrote.
United Agents, which had represented the actor, said: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic news of the sudden death of Brian McCardie.
“He was a very talented actor who we were lucky enough to portray, and our thoughts are very much with his family and friends at this difficult time.”
Brian grew up in North Lanarkshire, moving from Motherwell to Carluke, south east of Glasgow, and developed an interest in acting at a young age.
He attended St Brendan’s and St Athanasius primary schools, before studying at Our Lady’s Secondary School in Motherwell.
It was during high school that he developed his passion for theater and acting, starring in a production of ‘Godspell’ with a local theater group.
He appeared in episodes of The Bill, Holby City and Sky Atlantic series Domina, and appeared as gruff detective Dougie Gillman in the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s darkly humorous police drama Filth alongside James McAvoy.
At the Lyric Theater in Belfast, Brian McCardie presented his one-man show called Connolly about the Irish union leader and republican James Connolly.
He was supposed to perform the show for six weeks at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2020, but it had to be canceled due to the Covid pandemic.
The accomplished actor took on a series of roles spanning his native Scotland, the rest of the UK and even Hollywood, appearing in the action sequel Speed 2 and in Rob Roy alongside Liam Neeson.
McCardie appeared in a BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy as Detective Bull.
Brian McCardie (left) as Brian Robertson with Claire Price and Ken Stott in ‘Rebus’, based on the popular crime novels by Ian Rankin.
Brian McCardie (right) pictured as Terry in Dog Days, a drama about homelessness broadcast on BBC Scotland.
But when they asked The Herald Which of his roles he would be best remembered for, he joked: “Probably Crimewatch.”
He told the newspaper that he voluntarily stepped away from Hollywood after working on five films in four years, adding that he found Tinseltown “Machiavellian.”
McCardie added: “I think my representatives at the time were trying to pigeonhole me. You know, having six-pack abs and being well-built with a chiseled jaw. Be kind of a prototypical young actor.
“And I had no interest in playing an idealized version of people.”
Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: “He was a talented and versatile actor on stage and screen and was brilliant playing the intimidating and central character Tommy Hunter in the early series of Line of Duty.”
Producer Paul Larkin, a friend of Brian, paid tribute to him on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.
He said: ‘Brian was a brilliant friend and we had many conversations about mental health issues in which he was a huge help to me. As well as that; he was a phenomenal actor. Sleep well brother.’
Scottish actor Simon Weir said: ‘Just devastated by this. No one made me laugh like you. Proud to have been your friend and will miss you more than words can say. Rest in peace old friend.’
Director Alec Bowman Clarke said he had written a role for him in a future project, adding: “I’ve spoken to him several times about projects and always found him genuine, passionate, generous and funny.”
Kenny Doughty, agent for Artists Partnership added: “I am very saddened to hear that the immensely talented Brian McCardie has passed away suddenly. I had the pleasure of working with him and he was a true talent, funny and a good man. I will miss him. My condolences to him family.’
Angus Robertson MP added: ‘Hugely sad news. Brian McCardie was a fantastic actor and a lovely guy. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.’
