John MacMillan

John MacMillan is a British actor who trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Before his formal training, he attended the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Mbabane, Swaziland, and has lived in Johannesburg, Malawi, Zambia, and Oxford.

MacMillan launched his theatrical career with the 2007 international tour of Cymbeline, in which he played Guideris. The following year brought appearances at two London venues: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida Theatre and Piranha Heights at Soho Theatre. In 2009, his performances in productions of both Hamlet and Macbeth earned him Ian Charleson Award nominations. That same year, MacMillan appeared on Broadway in Hamlet, marking his Broadway debut. Also in 2009, he made his screen debut with a small role in the horror film Heartless and appeared as Harry Fielding in the fifth series of the BBC One crime drama Hustle.

In 2011, MacMillan joined the cast of the BBC One legal drama Silk as clerk Joe Bright, a role he held through 2014. That year he also appeared in Joe Wright's action thriller Hanna and starred in the short film Friend Request Pending. His television work continued with the Channel 4 sitcom Chewing Gum, which ran from 2015 to 2017, where he played Ronald, the long-term boyfriend of Michaela Coel's character Tracey. In 2015, he also played staff nurse Joe Costello in the Sky One medical drama Critical and appeared in The Homecoming at Trafalgar Studios.

MacMillan played Victor in both the 2016 and 2017 productions of Yerma alongside Billie Piper, with the cast and crew receiving an Obie Award in the Special Citations category. He also starred in the one-man play Killer at Shoreditch Town Hall and played Troye King Jones in Simon Amstell's mockumentary film Carnage. Beginning in 2017, he took on the role of Julian in the Channel 4 sitcom Back, which ran through 2021. His performance in the 2018 BBC Two television film adaptation of King Lear brought him a Satellite Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, he starred as Abs Walter in the Channel 4 sitcom Hang Ups and began appearing in the Black British sketch comedy Famalam.

MacMillan later reached a wide international audience through his role as Laenor Velaryon, Princess Rhaenyra's first husband, in the first season of the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin's companion book Fire and Blood.