Michael Cochrane
Encyclopedia
Michael Cochrane is an English
actor who specialises in playing upper class
characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy.
He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4
soap opera The Archers
, The Pallisers
(1974), Wings (1977–78), The Citadel
(1983), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984), No Job for a Lady
, The Chief
(1990–1995), and as Sir Henry Simmerson in the Sharpe
series.
He has twice appeared in the BBC
science fiction
series Doctor Who
, first as Charles Cranleigh in the serial "Black Orchid
" (1982) and later as Redvers Fenn-Cooper in "Ghost Light
" (1989). He was later associated with Doctor Who when he appeared in the 2006 Big Finish Productions
audio drama "No Man's Land
".
He featured in the ITV
science fiction series The Uninvited. In 2008 he appeared in the soap opera
Doctors as Daniel's solicitor and in 2009 in Margaret as MP Alan Clark
. He appeared in the situation comedy
Perfect World
as the sex-obsessed marketing director.
Cochrane also starred in the 2002 film
Offending Angels
with Susannah Harker
and Shaun Parkes
. He is married to the actress Belinda Carroll
.
His most recent appearence was the vicar in Downton Abbey
with Hugh Bonneville
and Maggie Smith
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor who specialises in playing upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy.
He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
soap opera The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
, The Pallisers
The Pallisers
The Pallisers is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.-Cast :*Anthony Ainley: Rev. Emilius*Terence Alexander: Lord George*Anthony Andrews: Lord Silverbridge*Sarah Badel: Lizzie Eustace...
(1974), Wings (1977–78), The Citadel
The Citadel (TV series)
The Citadel is a 1983 BBC television adaptation written by Don Shaw from A. J. Cronin's novel The Citadel, which was originally published in 1937. It was produced by Ken Riddington. Other television versions include a British and two Italian adaptations.The BBC dramatisation stars Ben Cross as...
(1983), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984), No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1990 to 1992. Starring Penelope Keith, it was written by Alex Shearer, and directed and produced by John Howard Davies...
, The Chief
The Chief (UK television series)
The Chief is a British television crime drama series that aired on ITV from 1990 to 1995, starring Martin Shaw, Michael Cochrane and Tim Pigott-Smith. It was made by Anglia Television.-Summary:...
(1990–1995), and as Sir Henry Simmerson in the Sharpe
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
series.
He has twice appeared in 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...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series 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...
, first as Charles Cranleigh in the serial "Black Orchid
Black Orchid (Doctor Who)
Black Orchid is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two parts on 1 March and 2 March 1982...
" (1982) and later as Redvers Fenn-Cooper in "Ghost Light
Ghost Light (Doctor Who)
-Pre-production:Working titles for this story included The Bestiary and Life-Cycle. As revealed in the production notes for the DVD release, the story was renamed Das Haus der tausend Schrecken upon translation into German.The story evolved out of an earlier, rejected script entitled Lungbarrow...
" (1989). He was later associated with Doctor Who when he appeared in the 2006 Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama "No Man's Land
No Man's Land (Doctor Who audio)
No Man's Land is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Synopsis:The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex land in Northern France in 1917 during World War I...
".
He featured in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
science fiction series The Uninvited. In 2008 he appeared in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Doctors as Daniel's solicitor and in 2009 in Margaret as MP Alan Clark
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
. He appeared in the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Perfect World
Perfect World (sitcom)
Perfect World is a television show that was first shown on BBC television in the UK from February 25, 2000 to June 25, 2001. It is set around the life of Bob Slay, an obnoxious, lazy and amoral phony marketing executive for a leading toiletries company...
as the sex-obsessed marketing director.
Cochrane also starred in the 2002 film
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
Offending Angels
Offending Angels
Offending Angels is a 2002 British romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Rajan.-Plot:Sam and Baggy are two non-committal slackers who wile their time away with nonsensical affairs while dreaming of greater things in life. Paris and Zeke are two guardian angels who confront them with plans for...
with Susannah Harker
Susannah Harker
Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She is the daughter of English actress Polly Adams and actor Richard Owens, and the great-niece of Gordon Adams. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards...
and Shaun Parkes
Shaun Parkes
Shaun Parkes is an English actor currently appearing in the ITV drama Identity.-Biography:At 16 he enrolled at Seltec College to study drama, two years later he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Career:...
. He is married to the actress Belinda Carroll
Belinda Carroll
Belinda Carroll is a British stage and television actress.-Background and early career:Carroll's parents were John F. Carroll, a flying instructor with the Royal Air Force, and actress Hazel Bainbridge...
.
His most recent appearence was the vicar in Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
with Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
and 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...