BBC Announce Cast Joining Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell in “Half Man”

The BBC has announced further casting for Half Man, the original six-episode drama series from the multi-award-winning Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Against The Law). Filming is now underway in and around Glasgow. Half Man is produced by Mam Tor Productions (a Banijay UK company) for the BBC and BBC Scotland in co-production with HBO.

As previously announced, Gadd and BAFTA award-winning actor Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers, Rocket Man) star as estranged ‘brothers’ Ruben and Niall respectively. When Ruben shows up unexpectedly at Niall’s wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives. Spanning almost 40 years from the 1980s to the present day, Mitchell Robertson (Curfew, Mayflies) and Stuart Campbell (SAS Rogue Heroes, The Winter King) have been announced to play Niall (Robertson) and Ruben (Campbell) in their younger years.

Half Man will cover the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. The series will capture the wild energy of a changing city – a changing world, even – and try to get to the bottom of the difficult question… What does it mean to be a man?

Neve McIntosh (Tin Star, Chemistry of Death) joins the cast as Niall’s mother Lori, whilst Marianne McIvor (Screw, The Nest) is Ruben’s mother Maura. Also joining the cast of Half Man are Charlie De Melo (Rivals), Bilal Hasna (The Agency), Julie Cullen (Traces), Amy Manson (The Nevers), Philippine Velge (The Serpent Queen), Stuart McQuarrie (The Rig), Piers Ewart (The Primrose Railway Children), Scot Greenan (T2 Trainspotting) and newcomers Charlotte Blackwood and Calum Manchip.

Richard Gadd, creator, writer, and executive producer, says: “Having scoured far and wide and met some of the most amazing talent this country has to offer, I’m so pleased to have landed on the cast that we have. I cannot wait for all our actors, young and old, to bring these characters to life. I have every faith everyone will fall in love with these performers as much as I did.”

Tally Garner & Morven Reid from Mam Tor Productions say: “We are utterly delighted to have such a brilliant cast join Richard and Jamie on Half Man and bring the funny, filthy, and furious world of Niall and Ruben to life.”

Half Man (6×45) was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. The series is created, written, and executive produced by Richard Gadd alongside executive producers Tally Garner and Morven Reid from Mam Tor Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, and Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland. The producer is Wendy Griffin (Limbo, The Lost King) with Alexandra Brodski (Somewhere Boy, Rivals) and Eshref Reybrouck (Ferry: The Series, Cheyenne & Lola) attached to direct.

The series is made by Mam Tor Productions for the BBC, BBC Scotland and HBO. Banijay Rights handles international distribution outside the UK & Ireland and US. Half Man is supported by Screen Scotland.

Half Man will air in 2026 on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and BBC Scotland in the UK, and on HBO in the US.