Robin Laing (born 1976) is a Scottish actor, best known for his portrayal of Edward Heffron in the HBO series Band of Brothers (2001) and as DI Donald in River City (2012–17).
Born in Dundee,[1] Laing began acting at a young age, joining an Arbroath theatre company, the Angus Children's Theatre and then later the Carnoustie Theatre Club. While at school he landed his first professional role at Dundee Repertory Theatre, playing Young Steerforth in David Copperfield. After leaving school he studied Drama in Dundee and at Fife College.[2]
His first professional, adult role was playing Renton in the UK tour of Trainspotting in 1996. While on tour he was asked to cover the role in London's West End for four shows, during which time John Byrne saw him and asked Laing to screen-test for his upcoming film The Slab Boys. He was cast in the role of Phil McCann, and filming took place later that year in Glasgow.
Laing's participation in Band of Brothers led to a friendship with Heffron, lasting until Heffron's passing in 2013.[3] Laing played Martin Ness in 2004's "Shadowplay", part of Series 4 (episodes 11 and 12) of Waking the Dead.
He joined the cast of River City in 2012, and would appear regularly on it until 2017, and also appeared on Waterloo Road in a recurring role. He also appears as Major Donald MacDonald in seasons six and seven of Outlander. Other appearances include in the films Filth (2013) and Outlaw King (2018).[4]