Douglas Henshall was born in Glasgow, Scotland in November 1965, to a mother who was a dedicated nurse and a father who was a skilled salesman. As the youngest of three children, he has two older sisters, and grew up in the lovely town of Barrhead, where he attended Barrhead High School.
At school, a friend asked him to join The Scottish Youth Theatre, based in Glasgow, which he enthusiastically accepted. After completing his education, he moved to London to train at the prestigious Mountview Theatre School. Following his training, he returned to Glasgow, where he joined the 7:84 theater company.
Eventually, he relocated back to London, where he received widespread critical acclaim for his theater work, including standout performances in "Life of Stuff" at the Donmar Warehouse (1993) and "American Buffalo" at the Young Vic (1997).
One of his early notable film roles was as Edgar in "Angels and Insects" (1995),followed by starring roles in "Orphans" (1998),"Twice Upon a Yesterday" (1998),"Lawless Heart" (2001),and "It's All About Love" (2003).
Douglas has also had a successful career in television, appearing in various series, including "Psychos" (1999),"Kid in the Corner" (1999),"Loving You" (2003),and "Frances Tuesday" (2004).
In addition to his stage and screen work, Douglas has also performed in numerous BBC radio plays, including the iconic roles of Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" (1999),David in "The Long Farewell" (2002),Jack Parlabane in "Bampot Central" (2004),and Richard in "Richard III" (2004).
In the summer of 2002, Douglas returned to the London stage, taking on the role of Michael Bakunin in Tom Stoppard's new trilogy of plays, "The Coast of Utopia", at The National Theatre.
During 2004, he continued his stage work, starring as John Proctor in "Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'" at The Crucible in Sheffield and Thomas Huxley in "Darwin in Malibu" by Crispin Whittell, at the Hampstead Theatre.
In 2005, Douglas made his West End debut at The Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue, playing the critically acclaimed role of Biff Loman in the production of Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", alongside the renowned Brian Dennehy.