Joss Ackland
Encyclopedia
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928), known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.
, London, the son of Ruth Izod and Sydney Norman Ackland. He was trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
. Ackland and his wife, the former Rosemary Kirkcaldy, were married on 18 August 1951 when Ackland was 23 and she 22. She was an actress and Ackland wooed her when they appeared on stage together in Pitlochry
, Scotland. The couple struggled initially as Ackland's acting career was in its infancy. They moved to Kenya
, where Ackland managed a tea plantation
for six months, but, deciding it was too dangerous, they moved to Cape Town
, South Africa. Though they both obtained steady acting jobs in South Africa, after two years, they returned to England in 1957.
, appearing alongside other notable actors including Maggie Smith
, Judi Dench
and Tom Courtenay
. Ackland's career advanced with parts in The Sicilian
, Lethal Weapon 2
, The Hunt For Red October
and White Mischief
. He has also appeared in in Passion of Mind
with Demi Moore
and the 2-part TV serial Hogfather based on Terry Pratchett
's Discworld
. He played C. S. Lewis
in the television version of Shadowlands
before it was adapted into a stage play starring Nigel Hawthorne
and then a theatrical film with Anthony Hopkins
in the same role.
His stage roles included creating the role of Juan Perón
in Tim Rice
and Andrew Lloyd Webber
's musical Evita opposite Elaine Paige
. He also starred in the London production of Stephen Sondheim
's and Hugh Wheeler
's A Little Night Music
with Jean Simmons
and Hermione Gingold
, performing on the RCA Victor original London cast album.
Ackland appears in the Pet Shop Boys
' 1987 film It Couldn't Happen Here
, and in the video for their version of the song Always on My Mind
, which was taken from the film. Several years later, he claimed in an interview with the Radio Times
that he appeared with the band purely because his grandchildren liked their music.
Ackland, in a 2001 interview with the BBC
, admitting to being forced to make "awful films" due to being a workaholic
, said that he "regretted" appearing in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
and the Pet Shop Boys music video
, while lambasting former co-star Demi Moore
as "not very bright or talented".
In 2007, with his distinctive voice, Ackland narrated and provided the voice for the Robert Garofalo biography film/documentary on notorious Occultist Aleister Crowley
, titled In Search of The Great Beast 666 that was released on DVD.
Also in 2007, Ackland appeared in the film How About You opposite Vanessa Redgrave
, portraying a recovering alcoholic living in a residential home after being forced to retire and losing his wife to cancer.
In 2008 he returned to the small screen as Sir Freddy Butler, a much married baronet, in the popular ITV1 whodunnit show Midsomer Murders
. The episode, entitled Vixens Run also featured veteran actress Siân Phillips
.
.
Their eldest son, Paul, died of a heroin overdose in 1982, aged 29. In 2000, Rosemary Ackland learned she had motor neurone disease
. The last two years of her life saw the degenerative effects of this disease manifest, but she maintained her humorous disposition and continued writing a diary, just as she had done for decades. Rosemary Ackland died on 25 July 2002.
In the years since her death, Ackland has read and edited the diaries for publication under the title My Better Half and Me.
Early life
Ackland was born in North KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London, the son of Ruth Izod and Sydney Norman Ackland. He was trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
. Ackland and his wife, the former Rosemary Kirkcaldy, were married on 18 August 1951 when Ackland was 23 and she 22. She was an actress and Ackland wooed her when they appeared on stage together in Pitlochry
Pitlochry
Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....
, Scotland. The couple struggled initially as Ackland's acting career was in its infancy. They moved to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, where Ackland managed a tea plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
for six months, but, deciding it was too dangerous, they moved to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa. Though they both obtained steady acting jobs in South Africa, after two years, they returned to England in 1957.
Career
Ackland joined the Old VicOld Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, appearing alongside other notable actors including Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
. Ackland's career advanced with parts in The Sicilian
The Sicilian
The Sicilian is a novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group , it is based on Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfathers literary sequel....
, Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Patsy Kensit, Joe Pesci, Derrick O'Connor and Joss Ackland...
, The Hunt For Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
and White Mischief
White Mischief
White Mischief is a 1987 film dramatising the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, when Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll....
. He has also appeared in in Passion of Mind
Passion of Mind
Passion of Mind is a 2000 American psychological drama film starring Demi Moore. It was the first English-language film from Belgian director Alain Berliner, best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose.-Plot:...
with Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
and the 2-part TV serial Hogfather based on Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
. He played C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
in the television version of Shadowlands
Shadowlands
Shadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....
before it was adapted into a stage play starring Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
and then a theatrical film with Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
in the same role.
His stage roles included creating the role of Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
in Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's musical Evita opposite Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
. He also starred in the London production of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's and Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Callingham Wheeler was an English-born playwright, screenwriter, librettist, poet, and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended London University.Under the noms de plume Patrick Quentin, Q...
's A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
with Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
and Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
, performing on the RCA Victor original London cast album.
Ackland appears in the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
' 1987 film It Couldn't Happen Here
It Couldn't Happen Here
It Couldn't Happen Here is a 1988 musical film starring the British pop duo Pet Shop Boys and based around their music. It was originally conceived as an hour-long video based around their album Actually, but it turned into a surreal full-scale feature film directed by Jack Bond and co-starring...
, and in the video for their version of the song Always on My Mind
Always on My Mind
"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers...
, which was taken from the film. Several years later, he claimed in an interview with the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
that he appeared with the band purely because his grandchildren liked their music.
Ackland, in a 2001 interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, admitting to being forced to make "awful films" due to being a workaholic
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
, said that he "regretted" appearing in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Peter Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their respective roles...
and the Pet Shop Boys music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, while lambasting former co-star Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
as "not very bright or talented".
In 2007, with his distinctive voice, Ackland narrated and provided the voice for the Robert Garofalo biography film/documentary on notorious Occultist Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, titled In Search of The Great Beast 666 that was released on DVD.
Also in 2007, Ackland appeared in the film How About You opposite Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, portraying a recovering alcoholic living in a residential home after being forced to retire and losing his wife to cancer.
In 2008 he returned to the small screen as Sir Freddy Butler, a much married baronet, in the popular ITV1 whodunnit show 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...
. The episode, entitled Vixens Run also featured veteran actress Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
.
Personal life
Ackland and his wife were married for 51 years. They had seven children and, as of May 2006, 32 grandchildren. Despite his filming taking him to far-flung locations, Ackland said they never spent a night apart. In 1963, their house in Barnes caught fire. Rosemary Ackland managed to save their five children but broke her back when jumping from the bedroom window to safety. She was told she would lose the baby she was carrying and would never walk again. She managed to confound the doctors, and both gave birth and returned to walking, after two years in Stoke Mandeville HospitalStoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital within Aylesbury Urban Area to the south of the town of Aylesbury, near the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire...
.
Their eldest son, Paul, died of a heroin overdose in 1982, aged 29. In 2000, Rosemary Ackland learned she had motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
. The last two years of her life saw the degenerative effects of this disease manifest, but she maintained her humorous disposition and continued writing a diary, just as she had done for decades. Rosemary Ackland died on 25 July 2002.
In the years since her death, Ackland has read and edited the diaries for publication under the title My Better Half and Me.
Selected filmography
- Landfall (1949) (uncredited) as O'Neil
- Seven Days to NoonSeven Days to NoonSeven Days to Noon is a 1950 British drama / thriller film directed by John Boulting and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for this film.-Plot:The film is set in the early 1950s...
(1950) - Destination Downing Street (1957) (TV) as Immelmann
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream (1959 film)A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1959 Czechoslovak animated puppet film directed by Jiří Trnka. It is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. It was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival...
(1959) - In Search of the CastawaysIn Search of the CastawaysIn Search of the Castaways is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–1868. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Édouard Riou. In 1876 it was republished by George Routledge & Sons as a three volume set titled "A Voyage Round The World"...
(1962) (uncredited) as Seaman on yacht - The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling (1963) (TV) as William Stevens
- David Copperfield (1966) (TV series) as Mr. Peggotty
- Rasputin: the Mad Monk (1966) as The Bishop
- Lord Raingo (1966) (TV) as Tom Hogarth
- On the March to the Sea (1966) (TV)
- Room 13Room 13Room 13 is a 1989 horror novel by Robert Swindells. It won the Children's Book Award in 1990.- Plot summary:Felicity 'Fliss' Morgan has a nightmare on the night before her school trip to Whitby; however, on the trip and upon arriving a series of strange events occur, in which she turns purely awesome...
(1966) (TV) as Herr Scavenius - The Further Adventures of the Three Musketeers (1967) (TV series) as d'ArtagnanD'ArtagnanCharles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
- The Troubleshooters (1966) (TV) (1966–1968) as Mr. Gibbon (1966), Sam Jardine (1966–1967), Considine (1968), Lewis (1968)
- Mystery and ImaginationMystery and ImaginationMystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and...
(1966) (TV) (1966, 1968) as Herr Scavenius - A Place of One's OwnA Place of One's OwnA Place of One's Own is a British film directed by Bernard Knowles. An atmospheric ghost story based on the novel by Osbert Sitwell, it stars James Mason, Barbara Mullen, Margaret Lockwood, Dennis Price and Dulcie Gray...
(1968) (TV) - Z-CarsZ-CarsZ-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
(1967) (TV) (1967–1968) as Det. Insp. Todd - The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
(1969) (TV series) as Brig. Hansing - The Gold Robbers (1969) (TV) as Derek Hartford
- Before the Party (1969) (TV) as Harold Bannon
- The House That Dripped BloodThe House That Dripped BloodThe House That Dripped Blood is a 1970 British horror anthology film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee...
(1970) as Neville Rogers - The Three Sisters (1970) (BBC Play of the Month series) as Chebutykin
- Mr. Forbush and the PenguinsMr. Forbush and the PenguinsMr. Forbush and the Penguins, also known as Cry of the Penguins, is a 1971 British film, directed by Arne Sucksdorff, Alfred Viola and Roy Boulting. It stars John Hurt, Hayley Mills, Dudley Sutton and Tony Britton.-Cast:...
(1972) as The Leader - Thirty-Minute Theatre (1971) (TV) (1971, 1972)
- VillainVillain (1971 film)Villain is a 1971 gangster film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane, T. P. McKenna and Donald Sinden.-Plot:...
(1971) as Edgar Lewis - The Persuaders!The Persuaders!The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
(1972) (TV) as Felix Meadowes - Shirley's WorldShirley's WorldShirley's World was a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ATV Network and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her...
(1972) (TV) as Inspector Vaughan - The Happiness CageThe Happiness CageThe Happiness Cage is a 1972 science fiction film directed by Bernard Girard. The film stars Christopher Walken and Joss Ackland. The film was also known as The Mind Snatchers and it is the first starring role for Walken.-Plot:Dr...
(1972) as Dr. Frederick - Six Faces (1972) (TV series) as Harry Mellor
- Six Faces: True Life (1972) (TV)
- Six Faces: Gallery of Faces (1972) (TV)
- Penny Gold (1973)
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1973) (TV) as Grubber
- Hitler: The Last Ten DaysHitler: The Last Ten DaysHitler: The Last Ten Days is a 1973 film depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's suicide. It stars Alec Guinness and Simon Ward. The original music score was composed by Mischa Spoliansky...
(1973) (TV) as Gen. Burgdorf - England Made Me (1973) as Haller
- The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1973 film)The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser . It was originally proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in two other films...
(1973) as D'Artagnan's Father - The ProtectorsThe ProtectorsThe Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It is Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in the present day...
(1974) (TV) as Arthur Gordon - The Black WindmillThe Black WindmillThe Black Windmill is a 1974 British spy thriller directed by Don Siegel and starring Michael Caine, John Vernon, Janet Suzman and Donald Pleasence The screenplay by Leigh Vance is based on Clive Egleton's novel Seven Days to a Killing. The story involves a British secret service agent, John...
(1974) as Chief Supt. Wray - S*P*Y*S (1974) ... Martinson
- The Little PrinceThe Little Prince (film)The Little Prince is a 1974 American/British science fiction musical film with screenplay and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
(1974) as The King - Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
(1974) (TV) as Joe Gargery - One of Our Dinosaurs Is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
(1975) as B.J. Spence - Royal FlashRoyal Flash (film)Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez...
(1975) as Sapten - Operation DaybreakOperation DaybreakOperation Daybreak is a 1975 World War II film based on the true story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague - starring Anthony Andrews, Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and shot mostly on location in Prague. It was adapted from the book Seven Men...
(1975) as Janák - You Talk Too Much (1976) (TV)
- The Crezz (1977) (TV series) as Charles Bronte
- The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know ItThe Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know ItThe Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It is a 1977 comedy starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in general.- Plot :...
(1977) as President - Watership DownWatership Down (film)Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
(1978) (voice) as Black Rabbit - Enemy at the DoorEnemy at the DoorEnemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War...
(1978) (TV) as Major General Laidlaw - The Greek TycoonThe Greek TycoonThe Greek Tycoon is a 1978 American drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells loosely based on Aristotle Onassis and his relationship with Jacqueline Kennedy.-Plot:...
(1978) (uncredited) - Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? is a 1978 comedy mystery film starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, and Robert Morley. It was based on a novel entitled Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons...
(1978) as Cantrell - Return of the SaintReturn of the SaintReturn of the Saint was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States...
(1978) (TV) as Gunther - The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
(1978) (TV) as Alan Ember - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley SquareA Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (film)A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square is a 1979 British heist film directed by Ralph Thomas, written by Guy Elmes and starring Richard Jordan, Oliver Tobias, and David Niven...
(1979) (uncredited) as Prison Warden - Saint JackSaint JackSaint Jack is a 1973 novel by Paul Theroux and a 1979 film of the same name. It tells the life of Jack Flowers, a pimp in Singapore. Feeling hopeless and undervalued, Jack tries to make money by setting up his own bordello, and clashes with Chinese triad members in the process.Ben Gazzara stars as...
(1979) as Yardley - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpyTinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpyTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...
(TV) (1979) as Jerry Westerby - Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected (TV series)Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
(1980) (TV) (1980, 1988) as Malcolm Harper (1980), Colonel George Peregrine (1988) - A Question of Guilt (1980) (TV series) as Samuel Kent
- The Love Tapes (1980) (TV) (uncredited) as Narrator
- Rough Cut (1980) as Insp. Vanderveld
- The Gentle TouchThe Gentle TouchThe Gentle Touch is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which ran from 1980-1984. Commencing transmission on 11 April 1980, the series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police detective as its leading character, ahead of...
(TV) as Ivor Stocker - The Apple (1980) as Hippie Leader/Mr. Topps
- Dangerous Davies - The Last Detective (1981) as Chief Insp. Yardbird
- Thicker Than Water (1981) (TV) as Joseph Lockwood
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1982) (TV) as Edward Moulton-Barrett
- Shroud for a NightingaleAdam DalglieshAdam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...
(1984) (TV) as Stephen Courtney-Briggs, surgeon - The Tragedy of CoriolanusBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(1984) (TV) as Menenius - ShadowlandsShadowlandsShadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....
(1985) (TV) as C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland... - A Zed & Two NoughtsA Zed & Two NoughtsElements of Michael Nyman's score invoke the "Dies Irae" section from Heinrich Ignaz Biber's Requiem ex F con terza minore. The Angelfish Decay/Swan Rot/L'Escargot theme was originally written for Childs Play, a dance work commissioned by Lucinda Childs. Performance of the soundtrack is credited...
(1985) as Van Hoyten - The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the TV series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, although only the first two series bore that title on screen. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK,...
– "The Copper Beeches" (1985) (TV series) as Jephro Rucastle - Lady JaneLady Jane (film)Lady Jane is a 1986 British costume drama romance film directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character in her first major film role. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days' Queen, on her reign and romance with husband Lord...
(1986) as Sir John Bridges - When We Are MarriedWhen We Are MarriedWhen We Are Married is a 1938 play by English dramatist, J. B. Priestley. It is the first play ever to be televised unedited from a theatre.-Productions:* 1938 World premiere, London, England* 16 November 1938 BBC live telecast...
(1987) (TV) as Henry Ormonroyd - White MischiefWhite MischiefWhite Mischief is a 1987 film dramatising the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, when Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll....
(1987) as Sir Jock Delves Broughton - A Killing on the Exchange (1987) (TV) as Sir Max Sillman
- Queenie (1987) (TV) as Sir Burton Rumsey
- The SicilianThe SicilianThe Sicilian is a novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group , it is based on Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfathers literary sequel....
(1987) as Don Masino Croce - It Couldn't Happen HereIt Couldn't Happen HereIt Couldn't Happen Here is a 1988 musical film starring the British pop duo Pet Shop Boys and based around their music. It was originally conceived as an hour-long video based around their album Actually, but it turned into a surreal full-scale feature film directed by Jack Bond and co-starring...
(1988) as Priest/murderer - The Man Who Lived at the Ritz (1988) (TV) as Goering
- Codename: KyrilCodename: KyrilCodename: Kyril is a 208-minute British serial, first broadcast in 1988. It is a Cold War espionage drama, starring Ian Charleson, Edward Woodward, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, and Richard E. Grant...
(1988) (TV) as 'C' - To Kill a Priest (1988) as Colonel
- First and Last (1989) (TV) as Alan Holly
- A Quiet Conspiracy (1989) (TV) as Theo Carter
- The Justice Game (1989) (TV) as Sir James Crichton
- Lethal Weapon 2Lethal Weapon 2Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Patsy Kensit, Joe Pesci, Derrick O'Connor and Joss Ackland...
(1989) as Arjen 'Aryan' Rudd - Jekyll & Hyde (1990) (TV) as Dr. Charles Lanyon
- The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October (film)The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
(1990) as Ambassador Andrei Lysenko - The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990) (TV) as Gen. Gerhard Hellstein
- Incident at Victoria Falls (1991) (TV) as King Edward
- A Murder of QualityA Murder of QualityA Murder of Quality is the second novel by John le Carré. It follows George Smiley, the most famous of le Carré's recurring characters, in his only book set outside the espionage community.-Plot summary:...
(1991) (TV) as Terence Fielding - The Object of BeautyThe Object of BeautyThe Object of Beauty is a 1991 film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.-Cast:* John Malkovich - Jake* Andie MacDowell - Tina* Lolita Davidovich - Joan* Rudi Davies - Jenny* Joss Ackland - Mr. Mercer* Bill Paterson - Victor Swayle...
(1991) as Mr. Mercer - Bill & Ted's Bogus JourneyBill & Ted's Bogus JourneyBill & Ted's Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Peter Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their respective roles...
(1991) as Chuck De Nomolos - A Woman Named JackieA Woman Named JackieA Woman Named Jackie is a 1991 American made for television miniseries chronicling the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It was based on C...
(1991) (TV) as Aristotle OnassisAristotle OnassisAristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis... - Ashenden (1991) (TV) as Cumming
- They Do It with MirrorsThey Do It with MirrorsThey Do It With Mirrors is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1952 under the title of Murder with Mirrors and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 17 in the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition...
(1991) (TV) as Lewis Serrocold - The Sheltering Desert (1992) as Col. Johnston
- Once Upon a CrimeOnce Upon A CrimeOnce Upon a Crime is a 1992 ensemble comedy film starring, among others; Richard Lewis, John Candy, James Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, Sean Young and Ornella Muti. The film was directed by Eugene Levy.- Plot :...
(1992) as Hercules Popodopoulos - Shadowchaser (1992) as Kinderman
- The BridgeThe Bridge (1992 film)The Bridge is a 1992 independent film based on the novel by Maggie Hemingway. Directed by Sydney Macartney, it stars Saskia Reeves, David O'Hara, Joss Ackland, Rosemary Harris, Anthony Higgins, and Geraldine James...
(1992) as Smithson - The Mighty DucksThe Mighty DucksThe Mighty Ducks is the first film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy, produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and originally released on October 2, 1992. In the UK and Australia, the film was titled Champions...
(1992) as Hans - The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
(1992) (TV) as The Prussian - Shakespeare: The Animated TalesShakespeare: the Animated Talesthumb|right|[[Banquo]] and [[Fleance]] from the "Macbeth" episode. Shakespeare: The Animated Tales comprised two six-part television series, first broadcast in 1992 and 1994...
(1992) (TV) (voice) as Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... - Nowhere to Run (1993) as Franklin Hale
- Voices in the Garden (1993) (TV) as Sir Charles (Archie) Peverall
- The Princess and the GoblinThe Princess and the Goblin (film)The Princess and the Goblin is a 1992 European animated fantasy film directed by József Gémes. It is an adaptation of 1872 novel of the same name by George MacDonald....
(1993) (voice) as King Papa - OcchioPinocchio (1994) as Brando
- Jacob (1994) (TV) as IsaacIsaacIsaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
- Citizen Locke (1994) (TV) as Lord Ashley
- GiorginoGiorgino-Presentation:* Title : Giorgino* Direction : Laurent Boutonnat* Screenplay : Laurent Boutonnat, Gilles Laurent* Production : Laurent Boutonnat* Music : Laurent Boutonnat* Photo : Jean-Pierre Sauvaire* Film editing : Laurent Boutonnat, Agnès Mouchel...
(1994) as Father Glaise - Citizen XCitizen XCitizen X is a made-for-TV film, released in 1995, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him.-Synopsis:The film...
(1995) (TV) as Bondarchuk - Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995) as Insp. Sam Stringer
- The Thief and the CobblerThe Thief and the CobblerThe Thief and the Cobbler is an animated feature film, famous for its animation and its long, troubled history. The film was conceived by Canadian animator Richard Williams, who worked 28 years on the project. Beginning production in 1964, Williams intended The Thief and the Cobbler to be his...
(1995) (voice) as Brigands - A Kid in King Arthur's CourtA Kid in King Arthur's CourtA Kid in King Arthur's Court is a 1995 film directed by Michael Gottlieb. It is based on the famous Mark Twain novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, transplanted into the twentieth century....
(1995) as King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and... - Daisies in December (1995) (TV) as Gerald Carmody
- Testament: The Bible in AnimationTestament: The Bible in AnimationTestament: 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,...
(1996) (TV) (voice) as NoahNoahNoah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark... - Hidden in Silence (1996) (TV) as German factory manager
- Deadly VoyageDeadly VoyageDeadly Voyage is a 1996 television film directed by John Mackenzie and written by Stuart Urban. Produced by Union Pictures and John Goldschmidt's Viva Films for joint distribution to BBC Films and HBO Films, it tells the true story of Kingsley Ofosu, the sole survivor of a group of nine African...
(1996) (TV) as Captain - To the Ends of Time (1996) (TV) as King Francis
- Surviving PicassoSurviving PicassoSurviving Picasso is a 1996 Merchant Ivory Film starring Anthony Hopkins as the painter Pablo Picasso. It was shot in Paris and southern France.It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper...
(1996) as Henri MatisseHenri MatisseHenri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter... - D3: The Mighty DucksD3: The Mighty DucksD3: The Mighty Ducks is the third film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy. It was produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and Walt Disney Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, and originally released to movie theaters on October 4, 1996.-Plot:The film opens with team captain Charlie Conway and...
(1996) as Hans - Swept from the SeaSwept from the SeaSwept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron....
(1997) as Mr. Swaffer - Heat of the Sun (1998) (TV) as Max van der Vuurst
- My GiantMy GiantMy Giant is a 1998 comedy drama film starring Billy Crystal, and NBA player Gheorghe Muresan in his only film appearance. Crystal also co-wrote the story.-Synopsis:A huckster named Sammy travels to Romania on business...
(1998) (uncredited) as. Monsignor Popescu - The Mumbo Jumbo (2000) as Mayor Smith
- Passion of MindPassion of MindPassion of Mind is a 2000 American psychological drama film starring Demi Moore. It was the first English-language film from Belgian director Alain Berliner, best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose.-Plot:...
(2000) as Dr. Langer, the French Psychiatrist - OthelloOthello (2001 TV film)Othello is a 2001 British television film starring Eamonn Walker, Christopher Eccleston and Keeley Hawes. It is an adaptation in modern English of William Shakespeare's play Othello...
(2001) (TV) as James Brabant - No Good DeedNo Good DeedNo Good Deed is a 2002 crime thriller film directed by Bob Rafelson. It starred Samuel L. Jackson, Milla Jovovich, Stellan Skarsgård and Doug Hutchison. The screenplay by Christopher Cannan and Steve Barancik is based on the short story The House on Turk Street by Dashiell Hammett. The original...
(2002) as Mr. Thomas Quarre - K-19: The WidowmakerK-19: The WidowmakerK-19: The Widowmaker is a movie released on July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine of the same name. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow...
(2002) as Marshal Zelentsov - Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003) (voice) as Pieter Van Eckhardt
- Henry VIIIHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(2003) (TV) as Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor.... - I'll Be There (2003) as Evil Edmonds
- A Different LoyaltyA Different LoyaltyA Different Loyalty is a 2004 drama film inspired by the story of British traitor Kim Philby's love affair and marriage to Eleanor Brewer in Beirut and his eventual defection to the Soviet Union. The story takes place in the 1960s and stars Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett...
(2004) as Randolph Cauffield - The Christmas Eve Snowfall (2005) (Narrator)
- IconIcon (film)Icon is a Hallmark Channel original television film directed by Charles Martin Smith and based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth. The film premiered on the network May 30, 2005...
(2005) (TV) as retired General Nikolai Nikolayev - Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer 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...
(2006) Vixen's Run.(TVs) as Sir Freddy Butler - These Foolish ThingsThese Foolish ThingsThese Foolish Things is a 1973 album by Bryan Ferry, containing cover versions of standard songs. It was his first solo effort, still being Roxy Music's lead singer...
(2006) as Albert - Moscow ZeroMoscow ZeroMoscow Zero is a 2006 film directed by María Lidón. The film was shot on location in Spain and Russia.-Plot:A rescue team searches for a missing anthropologist in underground caves and catacombs beneath the city of Moscow which are inhabited by demons....
(2006) as TolstoyTolstoyTolstoy, or Tolstoi is a prominent family of Russian nobility, descending from Andrey Kharitonovich Tolstoy who served under Vasily II of Moscow... - Above and BeyondAbove and Beyond (mini series)Above and Beyond is a four-hour 2006 miniseries aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on October 29 and 30. The miniseries is about the Atlantic Ferry Organization, which was tasked with delivering aircraft from North America to Europe in the early years of the Second World War. It...
(2006) (TV) as Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice... - Hogfather (2006) (TV) as Mustrum Ridcully
- Rise of the OgreRise of the OgreRise of the Ogre is an autobiography about the virtual band Gorillaz. Ostensibly written by the four band-members in collaboration with Gorillaz musician and official scribe Cass Browne, the book is 304 pages long and is extensively illustrated. It was released in the UK on 26 October 2006 by...
(Audiobook) (2006) (Narrator) - How About YouHow About YouHow About You is a 2007 Irish film directed by Anthony Byrne. The film is based on a short story sometimes published as "How About You" and sometimes published as "The Hard Core" in a collection of short stories titled "This Year It Will Be Different" by Maeve Binchy...
(2007) as Donald - KingdomKingdom (TV series)Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal...
(2007) as Mr. Narbutowicz - Prisoners of the SunPrisoners of the Sun (film)Prisoners of the Sun is an upcoming movie directed by Roger Christian starring John Rhys-Davies, David Charvet, Carmen Chaplin, Emily Holmes, Nick Moran, Joss Ackland, Michael Higgs and Gulshan Grover.-Plot :...
(2007) as Prof. Mendella - Flawless (2008) as MKA
- Katherine of Alexandria (2011) as Rufus