Declan Michael Laird
Born
Greenock, Scotland
Alma materStella Adler Studio of Acting
OccupationActor
Years active2008–present
Notable work

Declan Michael Laird (born 1993) is a Scottish actor and a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.[1] He is possibly best known for his roles in Hot Air (film), Big Dogs and Beautiful Disaster (film)

Life and acting career

Declan Michael Laird was born in Greenock, Scotland. A keen footballer, he left school at 15 to pursue a professional career and signed with Greenock Morton F.C. Eight minutes into a cup tie between Greenock Morton and Hearts, Laird tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee effectively ending his professional footballing career.[2]

After exploring the possibility of taking up coaching as a career, Laird turned his attention to acting. In 2008, he was introduced to an acting agency by longterm friend Jim Sweeney and landed the role of Sean in the Scottish soap opera River City and went on to appear in a number of episodes before departing in 2011.[3] The following year he starred in the critically acclaimed short film, The Lost Purse in which Laird played the leading role of The Kid.[4][5] The film told the story a young deaf man. The film was well received and earned Laird a Best Acting accolade at the Write Camera Action event in Glasgow in 2012.[6]

In 2011, whilst on holiday in Los Angeles, Laird was convinced by his father to take part in an acting workshop hosted by the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Initially hesitant to take part, Laird was eventually bribed $50 by his father and despite having no previous acting training, the staff were so impressed by his performance that they offered Laird a fully funded scholarship for the young actor to study in America.[7][8] In 2014, he landed the role of Colin in the American online drama Camp Abercorn. [9] The series which premiered in September 2014 was crowd funded online and was endorsed by former Star Trek actor George Takei.[10][11][12]

In May 2016, it was announced on the Stella Adler alumni website that Laird had been cast as Joe in The Ice Cream Truck. [13] In June, Camp Abercorn received its first major screening in America playing at the 2016 edition of SeriesFest.[14] Laird also appeared in two BuzzFeed videos where he took on the challenge of taste testing pumpkin spice lattes from 5 popular coffee chains,[15] and starred alongside Carmen Electra promoting Dollar Shave Club blades and products.[16]

In 2017, Laird featured in the Amazon Prime Production of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within The Cartel playing the role of CIA Analyst Ryan Williams. 2017 saw Laird star in the horror comedy film The Ice Cream Truck.[17] In September, Laird completed filming on the feature comedy film Hot Air (film) starring Steve Coogan and Taylor Russell. The Frank Coraci directed film was released in theaters in 2018.[18] 2018 also saw Laird complete filming on TV series Big Dogs which premiered on streaming service Tubi in 2019. The show did not get renewed for a second season.

In 2018, Laird completed filming on thriller, Green Rush, which was produced by UFC hall of famer Urijah Faber. Laird played the role of Caleb Hayes and also is credited as being a co-producer on the movie. The film was distributed by Lionsgate in 2019 via VOD.

In 2021, Laird completed filming on Beautiful Disaster (film) which stars Dylan Sprouse and Virginia Gardner. Laird played the role of Taylor Maddox. The movie was directed by Roger Kumble and shot on location in Bulgaria. The movie was released worldwide in theaters via Fathom Events in April, 2023. Upon release of the film, it was also announced that Laird had completed filming on the sequel, Beautiful Wedding, on location in the Dominican Republic in November, 2022. The film is scheduled for release in 2024.

In 2023, Laird appeared on, Better Human Better Dog, with Cesar Milan to help his German Shepherd rescue dog, Rocky. Laird and his girlfriend, Starsi Howell, appeared in season 3 episode 9 of the National Geographic series. The episode aired in March, 2023.

Personal life

In 2013, he was listed as one of the top 50 Glaswegian Tweeters on Twitter by the Herald newspaper in Scotland.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year(s) Title Role Notes
2011 On Road City of Deception Smiler Short Film
2012 The Lost Purse The Kid Short Film
2014 Lost Angels Brad Beckman Feature Film
2015 Further Instructions Detective Bradley Feature Film
The Street Boxer Short Film
2017 The Ice Cream Truck Joe Feature Film
Blood Brothers William Short Film
Khali the Killer Mormon Feature Film
2018 Hot Air (film) Gennady Vahkrov Feature Film
2020 Green Rush Caleb Hayes Feature Film
2023 Beautiful Disaster (film) Taylor Maddox Feature Film
2024 Beautiful Wedding Taylor Maddox Feature Film

Television

Year(s) Title Role Notes
2008 - 2011 River City Sean
2015 Camp Abercorn Colin Online Series
2017 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within The Cartel CIA Analyst Ryan Williams TV movie
2020 Big Dogs Prince William TV series
2023 Better Human Better Dog Self TV series

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated Work Awards Category Result
2012 The Lost Purse Write Camera Action[20] Best Actor Won
The Scottish Short Film Festival[21] Won

References

  1. ↑ Stella Adler Alumini
  2. ↑ AXS Article: 'Former soccer player Declan Michael Laird makes acting debut on Amazon Prime'
  3. ↑ STV News Article: 'From River City to the City of Angels: The young Scot taking on Hollywood'
  4. ↑ Herald Scotland Article: 'Scotland's Young Film and TV Stars'
  5. ↑ Lost Purse Bafta Nomination for Best Original Music
  6. ↑ Glasgow Theatre Blog: 'INTERVIEW: DECLAN MICHAEL LAIRD'
  7. ↑ Daily Record Article: 'Young Scot is on verge of making it big in Hollywood after trying out at acting workshop during family holiday'
  8. ↑ Daily Mirror Article: 'Actor Declan Laird goes from Scottish Highlands to Hollywood Hills'
  9. ↑ "Daily Record Article: 'Young Scot is on verge of making it big in Hollywood after trying out at acting workshop during family holiday'" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Gouttebroze, Max. "5 George Takei last-hour support sends inclusive Boy Scouts series over Indiegogo goal". GLAAD. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Bloom, David (11 August 2014). "George Takei Last-Hour Support Sends Gay Scout Series Over Indiegogo Goal". Deadline. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  12. ↑ Hurst, Samantha (11 August 2014). ""Star Trek" Star George Takei Supports Gay Boy Scout Web Series During Final Hours on Indiegogo". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Stella Adler Alumini News
  14. ↑ "Camp Abercorn SeriesFest Page". Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  15. ↑ BuzzFeed Video: Which Coffee Chain Has The Best Pumpkin Spice Latte?
  16. ↑ Greenock Telegraph Article: Inverclyde actor lands dream role with Carmen Electra
  17. ↑ Teaser and Stills for The Ice Cream Truck
  18. ↑ Dunmore Collection
  19. ↑ Declan Michael Laird Stella Adler Profile
  20. ↑ Diamond Studio Blog: The Diamond Studio Daily 28/12/2013
  21. ↑ Greenock Telegraph Article on Award Wiin
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