Editing Paul McGann (section)

===Early work and breakthrough===
McGann's breakthrough role was in ''[[Give Us a Break (TV series)|Give Us a Break]]'', devised by [[Geoff McQueen]], McGann played a good snooker player who got into scrapes with [[Robert Lindsay (actor)|Robert Lindsay]], who played his wideboy manager. The series was a comedy drama in the vein of the popular ITV series of the time, ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]''. The series only lasted for one season and it was concluded by a one-off special. His first major dramatic role was the [[British people|British]] [[World War I]] deserter and criminal [[Percy Toplis]] in the 1986 [[BBC]] serial ''[[The Monocled Mutineer]]''. The film was based on the 1978 book of the same name, written by William Alison and [[John Fairley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/aug/03/paul-mcgann-actor|title=Portrait of the artist: Paul McGann, actor|last=Barnett|first=Laura|date=August 3, 2009|website=The Guardian|access-date=May 9, 2018}}</ref>

The serial garnered controversy from British right-wing media,<ref name=badsey>{{cite book|last=Badsey|first=Stephen| title=The Media and International Security|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2000|pages=83–84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKtBLkjm83AC|isbn=0-7146-4848-5}}</ref> though McGann's performance garnered acclaim.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/feb/29/next-box-set-monocled-mutineer |title=Your next box set: The Monocled Mutineer|website=The Guardian|date=29 February 2012 |access-date=18 March 2023 |last1=Hogan |first1=Michael }}</ref> In 1986, he was cast as the anonymous main character (Marwood) in [[Bruce Robinson (writer)|Bruce Robinson]]'s [[cult film]], ''[[Withnail and I]]''. He also starred as Anton Skrebensky in [[Ken Russell]]'s 1989 adaptation of [[D. H. Lawrence]]'s ''[[The Rainbow]]''. McGann's other early film appearances include ''[[The Monk (1990 film)|The Monk]]'', ''[[Dealers (film)|Dealers]]'', ''[[Tree of Hands]]'' and the epic war film ''[[Empire of the Sun (film)|Empire of the Sun]]''. McGann and other young British actors who were becoming established film actors such as [[Tim Roth]], [[Gary Oldman]], [[Colin Firth]] and [[Bruce Payne]] were dubbed the '[[Brit Pack (actors)|Brit Pack]]'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brucepayne.de/press/articles/facearticle1987.html |title=The Brit Pack |publisher=Brucepayne.de |access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRBBAAAQBAJ&dq=bruce+payne+brit+pack&pg=PA198 |first=Alan |last=Kistler |title=Doctor Who: A History |year=2013 |access-date=20 November 2021 |page=198 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781493000166}}</ref>

Since 1989, McGann has concentrated primarily on television work, including ''Nice Town'' and ''[[Nature Boy]]'' for the BBC, and ''[[The One That Got Away (1996 film)|The One That Got Away]]'' and the second series of ''[[Hornblower (TV series)|Hornblower]]'' for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. However, he has had small roles in a number of high-profile American films like ''[[The Three Musketeers (1993 film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' and ''[[Alien 3]]''. His role in ''Alien 3'' was originally larger, but much of it was edited out of the final print. The cut footage can be seen in the extended version of the film.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

In 1992, he was cast as [[Richard Sharpe (fictional character)|Richard Sharpe]], the lead character in the [[Sharpe (TV series)|Sharpe]] series of made-for-TV films based on [[Bernard Cornwell]]'s novels. However, he injured his knee while playing football just days into filming ''[[Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)|Sharpe's Rifles]]'' in [[Ukraine]] and was replaced by [[Sean Bean]] in the role.