Clive Merrison
Encyclopedia
Clive Merrison is a Welsh
actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College
.
as Reilly. He has twice appeared in supporting roles in Doctor Who
, in The Tomb of the Cybermen
(1967) and Paradise Towers
(1987). He has also appeared in Drop the Dead Donkey
, The Kit Curran Radio Show, Yes, Prime Minister, Foyle's War
, Time Riders, The Bill
, Mortimer's Law, Midsomer Murders
, Bergerac
, The Labours of Erica
, The Tomorrow People
and in the 2010 Peep Show
Christmas special. He has also done voice work as a guest appearance in the children's animated series Testament: The Bible in Animation
and Shakespeare: The Animated Tales
.
Company in the 1970's and the Royal Shakespeare Company
, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
in Stratford-on-Avon.
in the 1994 movie Heavenly Creatures
, directed by Peter Jackson
and he played the traditionalist headmaster in Alan Bennett
's The History Boys
, filmed in 2006. He also appeared in the 1982 Clint Eastwood vehicle Firefox
, An Awfully Big Adventure
and played the lawyer in Saving Grace
.
on radio, with Michael Williams as Dr. Watson. Later, with Andrew Sachs
as Watson, Merrison continued to play Holmes in the Bert Coules
-scripted pastiche series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
, the first series of which was broadcast in 2002, the second in 2004, the third in 2008-9 and the fourth in 2010. He is the only actor to have played Holmes in adaptations of every single Conan Doyle short story and novel about the character.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance is a British drama school, offering university-level and professional vocational training for theatre and performance and the BA and MA degrees, based in Sidcup, Southeast London.-History:Founded in 1950, Rose Bruford "pioneered the first acting degree...
.
Television
He has made numerous television appearances. He appeared as Boris the White Russian commander in the series Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983) starring Sam NeillSam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
as Reilly. He has twice appeared in supporting roles in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, in The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967 and is the earliest serial starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor to exist in its entirety...
(1967) and Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1987.-Plot:...
(1987). He has also appeared in Drop the Dead Donkey
Drop the Dead Donkey
- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
, The Kit Curran Radio Show, Yes, Prime Minister, Foyle's War
Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
, Time Riders, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, Mortimer's Law, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
, Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, The Labours of Erica
The Labours of Erica
The Labours of Erica was a 1989/90 British sitcom starring Brenda Blethyn as self-made businesswoman Erica Parsons. The series premiered on ITV in the United Kingdom at 8:00pm on Monday 13 March 1989 and ran for two series until the 9 April 1990....
, The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People is a British children's science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer...
and in the 2010 Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
Christmas special. He has also done voice work as a guest appearance in the children's animated series Testament: The Bible in Animation
Testament: The Bible in Animation
Testament: The Bible in Animation was a 1997 animated series produced by Sianel 4 Cymru . It featured animated versions of stories from the Bible, each story using its own unique style of animation, including stop-motion animation. It ran for two seasons in the United Kingdom and won one Emmy,...
and Shakespeare: The Animated Tales
Shakespeare: the Animated Tales
thumb|right|[[Banquo]] and [[Fleance]] from the "Macbeth" episode. Shakespeare: The Animated Tales comprised two six-part television series, first broadcast in 1992 and 1994...
.
Stage
Merrison was a member of Sir Laurence Olivier's National TheatreNational Theatre
National Theatre may refer to: -in Africa:*Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi, Kenya*National Theatre in Accra, Ghana-in Asia:*National Theater and Concert Hall, Republic of China in Taipei, Taiwan*National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo, Japan...
Company in the 1970's and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
in Stratford-on-Avon.
Film
Merrison played the onscreen father of Kate WinsletKate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
in the 1994 movie Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
, directed by Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
and he played the traditionalist headmaster in Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's The History Boys
The History Boys
The History Boys is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Lyttelton Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where there were 185 performances staged before it closed on 1 October 2006.The play won multiple...
, filmed in 2006. He also appeared in the 1982 Clint Eastwood vehicle Firefox
Firefox (film)
Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
, An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story focuses on a teenage girl who joins a seedy theatre troupe in Liverpool...
and played the lawyer in Saving Grace
Saving Grace (2000 film)
Track Listing# "Introduction" – 1:02# "Grace's Theme" – 2:42# "Take a Picture" – 5:55# "Make Me Smile " – 4:07# "Spirit in the Sky" – 3:56...
.
Sherlock Holmes on radio
From 5 November 1989 to 5 July 1998 he played the lead role of Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
on radio, with Michael Williams as Dr. Watson. Later, with Andrew Sachs
Andrew Sachs
Andrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
as Watson, Merrison continued to play Holmes in the Bert Coules
Bert Coules
Bert Coules is an English writer, mainly for the BBC, who has produced a number of adaptations and original works. He works mainly in radio drama but also writes for TV and the stage.-Early years:...
-scripted pastiche series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
This article is about the BBC Radio 4 series transmitted from 2002 to 2010. There is also a U.S. produced series, which began in 1998, that transmits under the same title....
, the first series of which was broadcast in 2002, the second in 2004, the third in 2008-9 and the fourth in 2010. He is the only actor to have played Holmes in adaptations of every single Conan Doyle short story and novel about the character.