DOUGLAS Henshall’s mood should be as heavy as the rain-sodden overcoats he drags around during his filming stints in BBC drama Shetland. 

After all, the actor who plays Detective Perez has flown in from LA just minutes ago. 

But his 50-year-old blond head is not in a bad place at all. And he has reasons to be upbeat. 

He’s in line for a major movie role, and his current film effort, he says, was a delight to be involved with. 

Iona, written and directed by Scott Graham, is not a Whisky Galore island romp, it’s a dark brooding film.

The story of a young(ish) mother (played by Ruth Negga) who takes off to the island she was named after with her teenage son, this is a secret journey, and we know this because Iona torches her car before taking the ferry from the mainland. 

When she reaches Iona she goes to live with Daniel, her ex (Henshall): an enigmatic, pivotal character who plays a bigger part in the central characters’ lives than we first realise. 

From there we piece together the jigsaw that is her past, discovering she was raped by a policeman boyfriend, has a fractious relationship with her sister, and a son who can’t resist the allure of a blonde schoolgirl. 

“The film is about violence against women, it’s about faith, and one of the themes explored is redemption,” says the actor. “Iona is looking for it for herself, and of course for her son.” (To reveal what Junior has been up to would spoil the plot.)

The actor reveals he holidayed on the island  with his family, mum, dad and two sisters, as an 11-year-old. 

“My ma wanted to go and have a wee look at where all the Scottish kings had been buried,” he recalls. 

“So we traipsed over Mull, in the p***** rain, with the parents desperately trying to find things to do as is the case with a holiday in Scotland, then on to Iona.”

Did the filming throw up difficult memories, given he has since lost his mother (to heart disease, aged 59)?

“No, my ma died nearly 20 years ago. I still miss her, and I still think about her a lot but the memories I have are warm, rather than melancholic or tinged with sadness.”

There is a strong spiritual element in the film. Did it prompt thoughts of divine spirits? 

“No, it didn’t because I’m a confirmed atheist. That was one thing my mum’s death did sort out for me.” 

Does the loss of loved ones, including friends such as the late, great Gerard Kelly, who offered a leg up the acting ladder, make him more conscious of mortality: carpe diem, and all that? 

“Mm. I’m always wary of that sentiment. To be honest, I’m not sure how to grab life with both hands. I’ve been trying to find a way to do that my whole life and failed, so if someone has a wee book I’d be glad to read it.”

Dougie Henshall has been married to Croatian writer Tena Stivicic since 2010. But the role of Contented Actor is not one he seems to play well. 

The actor reveals he wasn’t the predictable jazz-hands child, performing at the opening of a fridge door. 

“I was a mix of shy and far too forthright as a child,” he offers. “I was socially awkward, and never sure how you were supposed to behave in society.

Acting, I guess, gave me a place where I could express myself, where I didn’t feel that sweaty-handedness in being around people.”

Dougie Henshall is one of Scotland’s most in-demand actors who has worked solidly in TV and film since emerging from drama college in London.

And of course he had stints with 7:84 and the Citizens’ Theatre in Scotland. 

Has he ever been intimidated by co-stars? What about Kristin Scott Thomas, often described as an “ice queen”, who he appeared with on stage in Pinter’s Betrayal in 2011. 

“Yes, that scared the bejaysus out of me,” he admits, grinning. 

“With someone like Kristin you have to find a way not to be intimidated so what I did was take the p*** out of her a wee bit and we ended up having a laugh.”

A very Scottish technique. How did it manifest itself? “For some strange reason me and [co-star] Ben Miles used to call her Stanley all the time.

"And she ran with it. I learned Kristin is very warm and friendly and we had a great time. 

“There are a couple of times in my life, however, when I’ve been really intimidated. I was doing a play with Tom Conti in Windsor and Tom was lovely, but after one matinee I went down to make a phone call past the dressing rooms and Tom appeared with this lady. 

“I realised it was Isabella Rossellini and Tom grabbed me and said, ‘Dougie, this is Isabella.’ Now, I didn’t know what to say. All I could think was something my ma used to say about her: ‘Oh, my god, she’s so like her mother!’ 

“Now, I stood there facing her, my face going bright red almost 
at the point of  saying, ‘Oh, you’re so like your mum,’ but I didn’t. 
I couldn’t think of anything else so I made my excuses and ran off.”
Dougie was also out of sorts during one moment of filming the 1996 film Angels And Insects. 

“Me and Patsy Kensit were playing a brother and sister who had an incestuous relationship and we had to film this big sex scene. 

“I was slightly intimidated because Patsy was so famous at the time and I was still coming up. 

“But as I was leaving the house, Patsy called over and said, ‘Dougie, I want you to meet my husband. This is Jim.’ 

“Now, I found myself standing staring at Jim Kerr, who was for me the coolest man on the planet. And all I could think to say was, ‘Listen, Jim. I’m sorry about the sex with your wife.’ But thankfully, I didn’t. Again, I just ran away.”

• Iona is now showing in cinemas.