Richard Dempsey
Encyclopedia
Richard Dempsey is an English
actor
.
adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1988. The following year, he appeared in the adaptation of Prince Caspian
. His other UK TV appearances have included The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (The Last Vampyre), Crime Traveller
, Island at War
and Egypt.
At the age of 17, he made his professional stage debut in the role of Jack in the Original London production of the award winning musical Into the Woods
with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
at The Phoenix Theatre in London's West End. After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
he starred as Nick Piazza in the West End
hit musical Fame
in 1995/96 (original cast) and as Ugly in the musical Honk!
. He has since performed in a large variety of roles in television, film and on stage (e.g. with the Royal Shakespeare Company
, The National Theatre
, Frantic Assembly and Propeller
).
Dempsey appeared in the original cast of the stage adaptation of Eleanor Bergstein's Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre
in London's West End playing Neil Kellerman.
He also starred in Mark Ravenhill's Citizenship
at Royal National Theatre
, and toured with the production in Hong Kong
.
Dempsey appeared in the world tour of Edward Hall's acclaimed all male productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream
and The Merchant of Venice
, playing Titania and Lorenzo, touring to New York BAM
, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, Milan, Galway and throughout the UK.
“The moonlit romantic scene in the last act between Jessica and her husband, Lorenzo, played with a light ease by Richard Dempsey, is an unexpected high point.”-The New York Times
(2009).
In 2011 he played The Rt Hon Gerald Bolingbroke in the Sheffield Crucible's acclaimed production of Me and My Girl
.
Richard Dempsey's voice can be heard on the Original Cast Recordings of Into the woods
, Fame
, Honk!
, Just So, Dirty Dancing
, Weird and Wonderful with wonderfully ironic songs by Alexander S. Bermange
and the recent concert recording of "A Spoonful of Stiles and Drewe".
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
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
Dempsey's first role was at the age of 15, when he was cast as Peter Pevensie, the lead role in the BBC'sBBC
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...
adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1988. The following year, he appeared in the adaptation of Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian/The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989 TV Serial)
Prince Caspian/The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was shown on BBC television in 1989. Originally aired as two separate series, it has been edited into one series for VHS and DVD home video release. It was the second series of the Narnia trilogy adaptation that ran from 1988 to 1990.-Cast:*Warwick...
. His other UK TV appearances have included The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (The Last Vampyre), Crime Traveller
Crime Traveller
Crime Traveller is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes....
, Island at War
Island at War
Island at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St...
and Egypt.
At the age of 17, he made his professional stage debut in the role of Jack in the Original London production of the award winning musical Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
with music and lyrics by 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...
at The Phoenix Theatre in London's West End. After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
he starred as Nick Piazza in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
hit musical Fame
Fame (musical)
A stage musical based on the 1980 musical film Fame has been staged under two titles. The first, 'Fame – The Musical' conceived and developed by David De Silva, is a musical with a book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. The musical premiered in 1988 in Miami,...
in 1995/96 (original cast) and as Ugly in the musical Honk!
Honk!
Honk! is a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles...
. He has since performed in a large variety of roles in television, film and on stage (e.g. with 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...
, The National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Frantic Assembly and Propeller
Propeller (theatre company)
Propeller is a theatre company which presents the plays of William Shakespeare in the UK and around the world. The director is Edward Hall, and the casts are exclusively male actors.-Background:...
).
Dempsey appeared in the original cast of the stage adaptation of Eleanor Bergstein's Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
in London's West End playing Neil Kellerman.
He also starred in Mark Ravenhill's Citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
at Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, and toured with the production in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Dempsey appeared in the world tour of Edward Hall's acclaimed all male productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, playing Titania and Lorenzo, touring to New York BAM
Bam
Bam is commonly used as an onomatopoeia for a sound, mostly that of an impact or collision.Bam or BAM may also refer to:Places:*Bam, Iran, a city*Bam County, an administrative subdivision of Iran*Bam Province, Burkina Faso...
, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, Milan, Galway and throughout the UK.
“The moonlit romantic scene in the last act between Jessica and her husband, Lorenzo, played with a light ease by Richard Dempsey, is an unexpected high point.”-The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(2009).
In 2011 he played The Rt Hon Gerald Bolingbroke in the Sheffield Crucible's acclaimed production of Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
.
Richard Dempsey's voice can be heard on the Original Cast Recordings of Into the woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
, Fame
Fame (musical)
A stage musical based on the 1980 musical film Fame has been staged under two titles. The first, 'Fame – The Musical' conceived and developed by David De Silva, is a musical with a book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. The musical premiered in 1988 in Miami,...
, Honk!
Honk!
Honk! is a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles...
, Just So, Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
, Weird and Wonderful with wonderfully ironic songs by Alexander S. Bermange
Alexander S. Bermange
Alexander S. Bermange is an English musical theatre composer and lyricist. He has often served as musical director and pianist for his own productions. He is also a regular broadcaster on UK radio.-Career:...
and the recent concert recording of "A Spoonful of Stiles and Drewe".
Filmography
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988) - Peter PevensiePeter PevensiePeter Pevensie is a major fictional character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Peter appears in four of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy...
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (1989) - Peter Pevensie
- Tonight at 8.30 (1991) - Mr Burnham
- The Good Guys (1992) - Dominic
- Anna LeeAnna Lee (TV series)Anna Lee is a British television series produced by Brian Eastman and Carnival Films for London Weekend Television. Following a 1993 pilot, five two-hour programmes were produced in 1994, loosely based on the detective novels of Liza Cody. These were broadcast in the U.S. on the A&E cable network....
(1992) - Sam Tulloch - The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (The Last Vampyre), (1992) - Jack Ferguson
- Don't leave me this WayDon't Leave Me This Way"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both...
(1992) - Felix Neil - Prince of JutlandPrince of JutlandPrince of Jutland is a 1994 film adaptation of the Danish legend of prince Amleth, drawing upon the 11th century works of Saxo Grammaticus, which was also the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet....
(1993) - Sigurd - The Inspector Alleyn MysteriesThe Inspector Alleyn MysteriesThe Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series adapted from nine of the Roderick Alleyn novels by Ngaio Marsh. It originally aired between 1990 and 1994.In the pilot episode Detective Inspector Alleyn was played by Simon Williams...
- "Dead Water" (1993) - Patrick - WycliffeWycliffe (TV series)Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...
- "Lost Contact" (1995) - James Coryn - Student Prince (1997) - Sebastian
- Crime TravellerCrime TravellerCrime Traveller is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes....
(1997) - Nicky Robson - The Barber of SiberiaThe Barber of SiberiaThe Barber of Siberia is a 1998 Russian film that re-united the Academy Award winning team of director Nikita Mikhalkov and Michel Seydoux...
(1997) - The stutterer - 24 Hours in London24 Hours in London24 Hours in London is a 2000 British crime thriller film from writer-director Alexander Finbow. The film takes place in London in the year 2009.-Plot:...
(1998) - Olly Walsh - Tilly Trotter (1999) - Harry Sopwith
- Scarlet PimpernelScarlet pimpernelScarlet pimpernel is a low-growing annual plant found in Europe, Asia and North America...
(1999) - Comte de Claris de Florian - Aristocrats (1999) - Lord Beaufield
- Wives and DaughtersWives and DaughtersWives and Daughters is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866...
(1999) - Mr Bold - The Ancients (2000) - Francis Finch
- Cleopatra (2001) - Octavian
- DoctorsDoctors (BBC Soap Opera)Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
(2003) - Gareth Appleton - Island at WarIsland at WarIsland at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St...
(2004) - Eugene La Salle - Egypt (2005) - William Beechey
- Peter Warlock, Some Little Joy (2005) - Moeran
External links
- Richard Dempsey's Official Website
- Dirty Dancing - Richard Dempsey's Video Diary
- http://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/all/results?event=B&recordType=ALL&route=&recordCount=-1&forenames=Richard&_includeForenamesVariants=on&surname=Dempsey&_includeSurnameVariants=on&fromYear=1972&toYear=1975®ion=5&county=&mothersMaidenName=&_useMothersMaidenNameAsSurname=on&sortOrder=RK%3Atrue&_performExactSearch=on&x=47&y=11