Forbes (Robertson) Masson (born 17 August 1963 in Falkirk) is a Scottish actor and writer. He is an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is best known for his roles in classical theatre, musicals, comedies, and appearances in London's West End. He is also known for his comedy partnership with Alan Cumming. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life, a Scottish situation comedy in which they play the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight. Characters McCracken and Flight were heavily based on Victor and Barry, famous Scottish comedy alter-egos of Masson and Cumming. Forbes also stars in the 2021 film The Road Dance, set on The Isle of Lewis as the Reverend MacIver.
Personal life
Masson completed a three-year drama course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and has a BA in Dramatic Studies. Masson met Cumming during this time, and the pair performed some cabaret work together in order to earn Equity cards. He lives in North London with his wife, Melanie Masson, who was a finalist on The X Factor (British series 9) in 2012. They have two children, Rua (daughter) and Ramsay (son).
Television
Masson's first television appearances were in the late 1980s, including an episode of Taggart. He played Stan Laurel in the episode "Meltdown" of the sitcom Red Dwarf, Eck in the 1992 comedy series My Dead Dad, Rodney Morris in EastEnders (2000), Tam Flood in Hamish Macbeth (1996) as well as various roles in Is It Bill Bailey? (1998), working alongside Simon Pegg. He also played rock-band manager Art Stilton in Channel 4's cult comedy The Young Person's Guide To Becoming a Rock Star (1998), Cronie McKay in No Holds Bard (2009), Governor Grantham in Dead Boss by Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh (series 1, episode 5, 2012), Patrick in Catastrophe (series 2) by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney Channel 4 2015, and as Reverend Willard in BBC One's Father Brown (series 7).
Theatre
Other theatre includes:
The Breathing House (Gilbert) by Peter Arnott, Art (Yvan) by Yasmina Reza,directed by Kenny Ireland Stiff! (George Mathieson), directed by Caroline Hall, Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick): Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.
Endgame by Samuel Beckett (Clov), The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway(Dr Green), Dumbstruck by David Kane (Herman Katz), The Real Wurld by Michel Tremblay (Claude), all directed by Michael Boyd Cinzano by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (Pasha) (directed by Roman Kozak): Tron Theatre Glasgow.
Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel): Assembly Edinburgh/Wellington Festival NZ.
The Life of Stuff (Fraser) by Simon Donald: Donmar Warehouse, London.
Loose Ends (Callum), Wormwood (Artemis): Traverse Theatre Edinburgh.
He also appeared as Fool to Pete Postlethwaite's King Lear, directed by Rupert Goold at The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool Autumn 2008 and the Young Vic in early 2009 with Headlong Theatre.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Mr. Tumnus) at Threesixty Theatre in Kensington Gardens, directed by Rupert Goold and Michael Fentiman, music by Adam Cork.
In "Macbeth" at Trafalgar Theatre, Whitehall, London, Forbes played Banquo to James McAvoy's Macbeth directed by Jamie Lloyd.
In 2014 he played Hastings in "Richard III" also at Trafalgar Transformed, directed by Jamie Lloyd, with Martin Freeman in the title role.
He worked with James McAvoy again, playing a total of seven different characters, in the revival of Peter Barnes "The Ruling Class" directed by Jamie Lloyd for Trafalgar Transformed in early 2015.
In September 2015, he starred alongside Simon Russell Beale, playing John Hunter in Ian Kelly's "Mr Foote's Other Leg", at the Hampstead Theatre. It had a limited West End run at Theatre Royal Haymarket until early 2016.
He played Lucifer to Kit Harington's Faustus and Jenna Russell's Mephistopheles in Jamie Lloyd's production of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York's Theatre, London
In Summer of 2016 he played Peter Quince with Phill Jupitus as Bottom in Laurence Boswell's production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Theatre Royal, Bath.
In Autumn 2016, he portrayed Lenin in Tom Stoppard's Travesties with Tom Hollander at the Menier Chocolate Factory and at the Apollo Theatre when the play transferred to the West End in early 2017. It was directed by Patrick Marber
He played King Cunobeline alongside Gina McKee in Tristan Bernays' Boudica at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, directed by Eleanor Rhode in Autumn 2017