Have-A-Go Hero

Scots acting stalwart James Cosmo is willing to try anything once from indie flicks to blockbusters, Tamil films to heavy metal albums

- BRIAN MCIVER

JAMES COSMO has been enjoying lots of reflection of late - when he has the time.

The Scots actor has been a regular star of some of the biggest films and television shows in the world for decades, from Braveheart to last year's streaming sensation Jack Ryan and countless credits in between.

But looking back on a lengthy career when his busy schedule allows, the 75-year-old is proud to have taken special delight in the quirky, offbeat, indie or outright bizarre jobs he's been signing up for.

His newest film is one such project. In his stunning new indie drama My Sailor, My Love, he plays a retired sea captain gearing up for one more chance at love, against the odds.

The Irish-Finnish co-production was shot on the remote Achill Island off the west coast of Ireland, and is the kind of project the Clydebank-born acting legend relishes sinking his teeth into.

But while his new film alter-ego has problems balancing past and present, the Scot revealed he enjoys analysing own his life and career - and hopes to have no regrets.

"Where the character and myself diverge is that I'm trying to keep working and do good work because it's something I love," he says.

"I do reflect back on my career and my life, and that's something that comes with age.

"As you get older, you lose the ability to do a lot of things, but you also gain reflection and knowledge as you look at your life, and the stumbles and the great runs you've had.

"Who was it that said the unexamined life is not worth living? That's very pertinent to me. You should examine your life and accept the hurdles, as well as the accolades.

"I think, in fact, you should pay more attention to the mistakes you've made than the accolades."

Those accolades do come thick and fast for James, though, who began his career in The Battle Of Britain in 1969 and seems to have been ever-present on our screens, in all manner of projects, since.