Christopher Eccleston as David Stephens: A shy chartered accountant who keeps a low profile. After drawing the short straw and having to cut up the body, he becomes introverted and paranoid. Ewan McGregor as Alex Law: A cheeky, vain, and self-described "hack" journalist. Alex works for the local paper and is able to find out inside information of the police investigation. His confidence in their plot starts to be undermined by David's deteriorating mental health. Ken Stott as Detective Inspector McCall Keith Allen as Hugo: An enigmatic man who rents the spare room under the pretense of being a writer. He is later found dead after a drug overdose, leaving a suitcase full of money under his bed. Colin McCredie as Cameron: A potential flatmate who is interviewed at the beginning of the film. He is ridiculed and then thrown out by Alex and the housemates. Later, at a party, he punches Alex after being mocked again. Victoria Nairn as Woman Visitor: The "identify this song" potential flatmate. Gary Lewis as Male Visitor: The "not having an affair" potential flatmate. Jean Marie Coffey as Goth: A potential flatmate. Peter Mullan as Andy: A murderous thug searching for Hugo and the money. Leonard O'Malley as Tim: A murderous thug searching for Hugo and the money. In addition, the film's screenwriter, John Hodge, appears in the role of Detective Constable Mitchell, whose main duty appears to be writing: "Make a note of that, Mitchell. ... Write it down." Production Shooting for Shallow Grave lasted for thirty days. The tight budgetary restraints during filming meant many of the props had to be auctioned off for them to afford sufficient film stock. Boyle claimed that Christopher Eccleston was so afraid of getting locked in a real-life mortuary for a scene, he had to ask a crew member to stand in the shadows and comfort the nervous actor. Danny Boyle said in his commentary on the 2009 Special Edition DVD and 2012 Blu-ray that Alex is not meant to be dead, so the line of Alex saying hello to the detective was added in post-production to clarify this. Filming locations The crew shot predominantly in Glasgow rather than Edinburgh, which is where the story is set, since the Glasgow Film Fund gave them a £150,000 (£ today) grant. Locations in the film include: Flat 6 North East Circus Place, New Town, Edinburgh Hospital scenes were