Douglas Henshall was born in Glasgow, Scotland in November 1965. His mother was a nurse and his father a salesman. He is the youngest of three children and has two older sisters. He grew up in Barrhead and attended Barrhead High School. Whilst at school a friend asked him to join The Scottish Youth Theatre based in Glasgow. After leaving school, he moved to London to train at Mountview Theatre School. He returned to Glasgow after training where he joined the 7:84 theater company. Eventually, he went back to live in London where he received critical acclaim for his theater work, notably "Life of Stuff" at the Donmar Warehouse (1993) and "American Buffalo" at the Young Vic (1997). One of his first successful film roles was as Edgar in

Angels and Insects (1995) before going on to star in Orphans (1998), The Man with Rain in His Shoes (1998), Lawless Heart (2001) and It's All About Love (2003) . He has also starred in many television series and is known for his roles in