Dougray Scott returns to Fife for Adam Smith's Festival of Ideas

The Emmy Award winning star of Crime will talk about his 35-year career in a special event at St Bryce Kirk tomorrow (Friday).

Glenrothes born Scott still has family staying in the Lang Toun, and the event is held across the road from Fife College where he studied drama with lessons taking place at the nearby Adam Smith Theatre.

“It was great,” he recalled “and a nerve-wracking start to life. Acting wasn’t something a lot of people here did. My parents encouraged me to do what I wanted, but many tried to dissuade me. I came up against some brick walls. When people said I couldn’t do it, I had an inner drive, I wanted to do it and knew I could.”

The journey from Woodside to Hollywood began with that one year foundation course. Soldier Soldier was his first TV drama, and Twin Town his cinematic debut.

Since then he has gone on to appear in a host of movies and TV dramas, from Mission: Impossible 2 to Desperate Housewives, Enigma, Batwoman, and False Witness, to name but a few examples from his body of work.

He admits he still has a passion for acting and a drive to seek our new roles and projects. Crime saw him take the lead role as well as executive producer.

“Crime took a long time to launch. Everyone rejected it, but that made us more determined,” he said. “You hear the word ‘no’ so often in this industry. If they say no, I don’t really hear it - I hear ‘no, not yet …’

“I’m not sure where that comes from. I guess Fife toughens you up. It is a harsh environment in some respects. Crime resonated because it was something I produced as well as starred in. It was a similar background to growing up in Woodside - I could see the world through the eyes of my character. I could bring it back to what I knew.”

With several projects in the pipeline, Scott hopes more opportunities to develop Scottish work will emerge,

“ We knew it was a story that had to be told - that was what kept us going,” he said.

“Having worked around the world I am keen to explore and promote more Scottish work.”

Scott will look back on his career in conversation with Arabella Weir, artistic director of the Adam Smith Global Foundation which is behind the Festival of Ideas.

Tickets and full details of all events in this year’s festival weekend at www.adamsmithglobalfoundation.com

​> Kieran on stage

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BBC Two Doors Down star, Kieran Hodgson, brings his acclaimed one-man show, Big In Scotland to the Lang Toun on Saturday night for its last ever performance.

The star of Two Doors Down has penned a beautiful and funny love letter to Scotland which tells his story of moving north of the border and immersing himself in the differences between the two.

Afterwards, he will chat with Arabella about his career and their roles in Two Doors Down. ​

> Academic Programme

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The festival’s academic programme at St Bryce Kirk on Friday, June 7 will include scholars from Scotland, Brazil and Sweden for an afternoon of discussion and debate.

The event will focus on the relationship between philosophy and economics, with examples of how ethics are central to many economic issues.

The panel has been put together by Roger Mullin who is an Honorary Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Stirling, and Kirkcaldy’s former MP, and it will be chaired by Professor Kathleen Riach from the Adam Smith Business School at Glasgow University.She will be joined by moral philosopher, Professor Erik Angner, a Swedish-American Author and Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University; Associate Professor Robbie Mochrie who lectures in Economics at Heriot Watt University, and Dr Ana Paula Londe Silva, a Templeton Scholar at the University of Glasgow whose PhD researched Adam Smith and slavery.

​> Free heritage tours

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The foundation will also be running Adam Smith heritage tours from the Old Kirk which are free to join.

They start Kirkcaldy’s Old Kirk at 10.00 am and at 2.00 pm on Saturday. The tours are free.

​> Quiz night

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There is a special round of Adam Smith related questions in a quick night at the Harbour Bar, Kirkcaldy on Thursday (June 6).

It starts at 7:30pm. Prizes include Festival tickets worth £35, a £20 bar tab and a £10 bar tab. Starts at 7.30pm at the Harbour Bar.

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