Television Rankin began his professional career in 2006 by starring alongside
Robert Florence in
VideoGaiden, a Scottish video game show originally aired on
BBC Two Scotland. Between 2007 and 2010 he made appearances on episodic Scottish television programs
Legit (2007) and
The Old Guys (2009) for the BBC and
Taggart (2010) for
STV. The Scottish sketch comedy series
Burnistoun, which premiered in 2009 and ran for three series on BBC Two Scotland, featured Rankin in various roles. Two years later Rankin was cast as lovelorn Army Captain Thomas Gillan, alongside
Kevin Doyle and
Oona Chaplin, in the
WWI based mini-series
The Crimson Field . The program aired on
BBC One in April 2014, but only ran for one series. He joined the cast of BBC One's crime drama series
Silent Witness in January 2015, starring as Detective Inspector Luke Nelson in series eighteen's two-part story "Falling Angels". The episode focused on a series of murders on the London Underground, the investigation of which brought up mysterious childhood memories of his father's murder. Rankin went on to guest star in two episodes of
NBC's conspiracy thriller
American Odyssey as corporate hit man Haney, though the series was cancelled after season one. (R) answer fan questions during a group panel at the Sasnak City Outlander convention on 18 November 2018.Writer Kay Mellor tailored the role of Sean McGary for Rankin, changing the character from a Northerner to a Scot, in 2015's third series of her anthology drama
The Syndicate. The series followed a group of colleagues who win the lottery, with Rankin portraying the gamekeeper of struggling English manor Hazelwood. That same year, BBC One's four part crime drama
From Darkness saw Rankin portray Norrie Duncan, husband to
Anne-Marie Duff's ex-Manchester cop Claire Church. December 2015 brought the announcement that Rankin had been cast as adult
Roger Wakefield in
Starz's time-traveling drama series
Outlander, which is based upon
Diana Gabaldon's best-selling book series. Appearing first in the 2016 season two finale and then again in several episodes of season three, Rankin's character is the love interest of
Brianna Fraser. He returned in seasons four and five, which premiered 4 November 2018 and 14 February 2020 respectively, with an expanded and recurring role in the series. Later in 2016, Rankin appeared as Detective Inspector Elliott Carne on the BBC's crime drama
Thirteen. Rankin had roles in two BBC productions in 2017. First was the dramatic miniseries
The Replacement, which revolved around Ellen (
Morven Christie), who was dealing with maternity leave and the effects it was having on her career. Rankin played her psychiatrist husband in the three-part series. The second was a two-episode stint as Father Hrothweard in BBC Two's historical drama
The Last Kingdom, which was based upon
Bernard Cornwell's series of novels entitled
The Saxon Stories. Series twenty of
ITV's long-running crime drama
Midsomer Murders, which premiered in the United States in 2018 prior to its release in the UK, featured Rankin in episode four as rugby star Danny Wickham. In 2019 Rankin starred in series two of
BBC One's drama
Trust Me as neurologist Dr. Alex Kiernan. The second series, which began filming in Glasgow, Scotland in September 2018, featured a complete recasting from series one, with Rankin joining
Alfred Enoch,
Ashley Jensen, and
John Hannah in the medical thriller. In July 2020, Rankin starred in an episode of the
National Theatre of Scotland/
BBC Scotland's
Scenes for Survival, a series of short theatrical productions that were filmed in quarantine, which was created in response to a worldwide outbreak of
COVID-19. The episode, entitled
The Longest Summer, features Rankin as a man remembering his childhood summers and includes a title song written by Noisemaker and performed by Rankin. The song was later released as a single to raise funds for the Scenes for Survival Hardship Fund, which assists artists hardest hit by the
pandemic. In June 2025, Rankin was reported to have joined the cast of the second series of
The Forsytes, an adaptation of
John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga. In 2023 it was revealed that Rankin had been cast in the lead role of Detective Sergeant
John Rebus, in a rebooted series based on the crime novels of author
Ian Rankin, called
Rebus. A second series was officially confirmed by the BBC in July 2025.
Film Rankin starred in his first film role with 2011's short
Dead Ringer, directed by Carter Ferguson. Conceived, written, and filmed in a forty-eight hour period, the film won several awards, including Best Director and Best Actor for Rankin, at the Glasgow 48 Hour Film Project. He would go on to star in an ultra low-budget horror film,
House of Him, which was released during the
Glasgow Film Festival, in February 2014. The film had a budget of approximately £900 and starred many of his
Burnistoun colleagues, including
Kirsty Strain and Louise Stewart. The next year Rankin was cast in
John Well's film
Burnt, alongside
Bradley Cooper. Returning to short films in 2016, Rankin starred as Vance in Chloë Wicks'
The Wyrd, the story of a young couple in seventh century
pagan England dealing with the introduction of
Christianity. It was announced in 2021 that Rankin would star in the short film
Hello, Muscles, alongside
Game of Thrones alumna
Kate Dickie, as part of a campaign to raise awareness for young
carers (caregivers).
Theatre In 2008, while still in school at
Langside College, Rankin portrayed Bothwell in Liz Lochhead's play
Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off at the
Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. Over the next two years Rankin would work with the Traverse Theatre, first in David Harrower's short play
Good With People, which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2012), In 2014 he would headline in Kieran Hurley's play
Bruises, part of the
Royal Court Theatre's Unusual Unions series, as one of two brothers with diametrically opposing views meeting after a long absence. In late 2021 Rankin returned to the stage, at London's
Almeida Theatre, in award winning director
Yaël Farber's production of
Shakespeare's
The Tragedy of Macbeth. He was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award in the category of Best Supporting Performer in a Male Identifying Role for his turn as Ross in the production.
Radio Rankin appeared as Jack in
BBC Radio Scotland's four-part
Saddled in early 2019, a comedy which revolved around the adventures of The Easy Rider Cycling Club's members.
Podcast Summer 2021 saw production Company The Big Light, in collaboration with musical theatre partner Noisemaker, produce an eight-part musical podcast entitled "Atlantic: A Scottish Tale". The series focused on the final settlers of the remote Scottish island St. Kilda, with Rankin featuring as Sloane Sinclaire. == Personal life ==