TITANIC actor Ron Donachie has made the colossal claim that Rebus is now as big as fellow detectives Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes.
Ron is currently playing the retired inspector on stage in the murder mystery play Long Shadows.
That comes after the Dundee-born actor appeared as two different cop chiefs alongside John Hannah and Ken Stott’s versions of the tough Scottish ‘tec in the hit ITV series.
But he believes that the DI, created by author Ian Rankin, can stand shoulder to shoulder with Poirot and Holmes, who are regularly voted by crime buffs as the best fictional detectives of all time.
Coronation Street star Charles Lawson suffered ‘disturbing’ stroke while performing in Edinburgh as Rebus
Ron says: “The great detectives just keep going and going. I mean how many times has Poriot being been done for screen? Or Sherlock Holmes?
“I think John Rebus is up there with both of those great detectives.
John Kirkby – The Sun Glasgow
“You go to any airport in the world, there’s not a shelf, but a wall of Ian Rankin books in god knows how many languages.
“I don’t mean to step on Agatha Christie fans’ toes, because I love what David Suchet did as Poirot – it’s a masterpiece of acting.
“But the Poriot stories are nothing like as complicated or sophisticated as the Rebus stories.”
The 62-year-old took over the stage role from Charles Lawson, who plays Jim McDonald in the telly soap.
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BBC/Mammoth Screen/Agatha Christie Ltd
That’s after the Northern Irishman collapsed while playing Rebus at Edinburgh King’s Theatre in October when he suffered a stroke.
But Ron, who famously played the Master-At-Arms who clamps heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio in irons in the 1998 screen classic Titanic, admits: “It is a huge undertaking for any actor.
“A pal asked me if it was a big part and I said ‘well I only come on stage twice – at the start of the first and second acts, then I’m never off it again.’
“But I have never taken over from another actor in a specific role before.
“I don’t know Charlie Lawson, I have seen him on the telly obviously, but I don’t know him personally.
“I never managed to see the play when it was running before. But you’ve just got to start from scratch.
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Paramount Pictures
“I imagine there are productions where you go and replace someone very famous and the thing has been a huge success and you are told exactly how to do it.
“But with something like this they have just let me get on with it and let me bring what I have wanted to bring to the play.
“So it is a big role to take on. But it’s also great fun.”
In total the Edinburgh-based cop has been played by five actors, along with Sandy Morton for an early BBC radio adaptation, while ex-Taggart star James Macpherson recorded the audio books.
Writer Ian Rankin says he is ready to kill off detective John Rebus in his next novel
However the dad-of-two, who lives in Glasgow with wife Fiona, has actually portrayed Rebus the longest, after doing nine radio plays over the last 15 years.
Ron, who also played knight Rodrik Cassel in the worldwide HBO sensation Game Of Thrones, says: “I do feel a bit of ownership with the character.
“I think he has endured over all these years though because everyone wants to think there’s a good sheriff – that no matter what happens the cavalry will eventually come and sort things out for you.”
Ironically Ron also played the top brass who tried to keep the maverick copper in line for the TV series that ran from 2000 to 2007.
John Kirkby – The Sun Glasgow
He says: “I was superintendent Wilson alongside John Hannah as Rebus, although the character was Watson in the books.
“They had to change it after discovering there really was a serving officer with the same rank and name at the time.
“But Wilson is kind of pals with Rebus. Ian Rankin had to get rid of him pretty early on because Rebus is a loner who can’t have pals.
“Then I played the assistant chief constable Jack Gunner with Ken Stott’s Rebus. He was an interesting character to play because you can’t tell if he’s a bent copper or not.
“You think he wants to do the right thing because he likes Rebus, but you’ve never quite sure.”
But Ron admits he’s currently enjoying playing the “knackered old version of Rebus.”
He explains: “That’s exactly what he is and it’s interesting to portray him as that.
“Now he’s retired and doesn’t have any official status he’s kind of lost. So he’s knackered but his heads still working.
“In society at the moment people are increasingly isolated and that image of an isolated man trying to come to terms with the world that he lives in is a thing that rings true with a lot of people.”
But the actor insists he would relish a go at playing the ageing cop on the small screen.
He says: “I would love a crack at that.
“It would have to be a man my age or older. There’s no point kidding myself on I could playing Rebus as he was still serving in the mid-90s.
“So yes I would like to play him now, in his later years.”
He adds: “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he was brought back for the telly.
“There is a huge demand for Rebus. We’re getting great crowds to the live shows on freezing cold mid-week nights.
“And like Poirot or Holmes I believe that demand will never go away.”
Rebus: Long Shadows is on at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal until Sat Feb 2, before going on a UK tour. For tickets log on to atgtickets.com
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