SOURCE: The Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)
AUTHOR: John Millar
DATE: 29 October 2006
ORIGINAL: Probably no longer available
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Byline: By JOHN MILLAR
SCOTS Porage Oats hunk Rory McCann is quitting Scotland for Iceland.
The actor is moving there from Glencoe after falling in love with it during filming of medieval epic Beowulf And Grendel.
He said: “I came out to Iceland to make this movie and when we finished I decided to stay.
“Of course I miss Scotland and my friends there but I love Iceland.
“It is Scotland on steroids – bigger mountains and bigger weather. The people are gems. They never complain about the weather.”
Rory, 37, is learning Icelandic and claims living there will improve his health.
He said: “I have never been fitter.”
Rory is best known as the kilted hunk in the Scott’s Porage Oats ads.
The actor – who won a Scottish Bafta in 2002 for his role of wheelchair-bound Kenny in comedy-drama The Book Group – will next be seen in comedy Sixty Six.
The movie – out on Friday – follows young Jewish boy Bernie, played by 13-year-old Gregg Sulkin, who is preparing for his bar mitzvah.
But his big day clashes with the 1966 World Cup Final and if England triumph people won’t care about his long-awaited party.
Rory – who also appeared in Oliver Stone’s epic Alexander – plays a policeman who stops Bernie and his dad as they speed to Wembley to catch the match.
They hope the cop will be sympathetic – but soon find the Scots traffic enforcer is far from happy at all the World Cup hysteria.
Rory said: “It’s a good joke and when I read the script I knew that scene would get a laugh.”
At the end of filming, Rory was given a memento – a replica red English football shirt that had the name of the movie on the back.
But he soon discovered the joke was not appreciated north of the border.
He said: “I wore it when I was back in Glasgow and some guys were not amused. They said I should burn it.
“I think if I wore it again I might get lynched.”