Michael Gambon Biography

Sir Michael John Gambon (born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-born English actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is also recognised for his roles as Philip Marlow in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as Professor Albus Dumbledore in the final six Harry Potter films.

Early life and education

Gambon was born in Cabra, Dublin, during World War II. His father, Edward Gambon, was an engineer, and his mother, Mary (née Hoare), was a seamstress. His father decided to seek work in the rebuilding of London, and so the family moved to Mornington Crescent in North London, when Gambon was five. His father had him made a British citizen, a decision that would later allow Gambon to receive a substantive rather than honorary, knighthood and CBE.

Brought up as a strict Roman Catholic, he attended St Aloysius Boys' School in Somers Town and served at the altar. He then moved to St Aloysius' College in Hornsey Lane, Highgate, London, whose former pupils include Peter Sellers and Joe Cole. He later attended a school in Kent, before leaving with no qualifications at fifteen. He then gained an apprenticeship with Vickers Armstrong as a toolmaker. By the time he was 21, he was a fully qualified engineer. He kept the job for a further year, acquiring a fascination and passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches, and classic cars.

Early work

At the age of 18, Gambon began drama school at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, where he studied Classical acting for three years, eventually receiving a BA in Classical Acting. Whilst at RADA, Gambon acted in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov and many others. Aged 19, while at RADA, he joined the Unity Theatre in King's Cross. Five years later he wrote a letter to Michael MacLiammoir, the Irish theatre impresario who ran Dublin's Gate Theatre. It was accompanied by a CV describing a rich and wholly imaginary theatre career "? and he was taken on.

Gambon made his professional stage début in the Gate Theatre Dublin's 1962 production of Othello, playing "Second Gentleman", followed by a European tour. A year later, cheekily auditioning with the opening soliloquy from Richard III, he caught the eye of star-maker Laurence Olivier who was recruiting promising spear carriers for his new National Theatre Company. Gambon, along with Robert Stephens, Derek Jacobi and Frank Finlay, was hired as one of the "to be renowned" and played any number of small roles, appearing on cast lists as "Mike Gambon". The company initially performed at the Old Vic, their first production being Hamlet, directed by Olivier and starring Peter O'Toole. Gambon played for four years in many NT productions, including named roles in The Recruiting Officer and The Royal Hunt of the Sun, working with directors William Gaskill and John Dexter.

Theatre

After three years at the Old Vic, Olivier advised Gambon to gain experience in provincial rep. In 1967, he left the NT for the Birmingham Repertory Company, which was to give him his first crack at the title roles in Othello (his favourite), Macbeth and Coriolanus. Gambon was suggested for the role of James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), although he was dismissed for being even less known than George Lazenby who was cast.

His rise to stardom began in 1974 when Eric Thompson cast him as the melancholy vet in Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests at Greenwich. A speedy transfer to the West End established him as a comic actor, squatting at a crowded dining table on a tiny chair and agonising over a choice between black or white coffee.

Back at the National, now on the South Bank, his next turning point was Peter Hall's premiere staging of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, a performance marked by subtlety " a production photograph shows him embracing Penelope Wilton with sensitive hands and long slim fingers (the touch of a master clock-maker).

He is also one of the few actors to have mastered the demands of the vast Olivier Theatre. As Simon Callow once said: "Gambon's iron lungs and overwhelming charisma are able to command a sort of operatic full-throatedness which triumphs over hard walls and long distances".

This was to serve him in good stead in John Dexter's masterly staging of The Life of Galileo in 1980, the first Brecht to become a popular success. Hall called him "unsentimental, dangerous and immensely powerful", and The Sunday Times called his performance "a decisive step in the direction of great tragedy... great acting", while fellow actors paid him the rare compliment of applauding him in the dressing room on the first night.

From the first Ralph Richardson dubbed him The Great Gambon, an accolade which stuck, outshining his 1990 CBE, even the later knighthood, although Gambon dismisses it as a circus slogan. But as Sheridan Morley perceptively remarked in 2000, when reviewing Nicholas Wright's Cressida: "Gambon's eccentricity on stage now begins to rival that of his great mentor Richardson". Also like Richardson, interviews are rarely given and raise more questions than they answer. Gambon is a very private person, a "non-starry star" as Ayckbourn has called him. Off-stage he prefers to stay out of the limelight. While he has won screen acclaim, his ravaged King Lear at Stratford, while he was still in his early forties, formed a double act with a red-nosed Antony Sher as the Fool sitting on his master's knee like a ventriloquist's doll.

There were also appearances in Pinter's Old Times at the Haymarket Theatre and Jonson's Volpone and the brutal sergeant in Pinter's Mountain Language. David Hare's Skylight, with Lia Williams, which opened to rave reviews at the National in 1995, transferred first to Wyndham's Theatre and then on to Broadway for a four-month run which left him in a state of advanced exhaustion. "'Skylight' was ten times as hard to play as anything I've ever done" he told Michael Owen in the Evening Standard. "I had a great time in New York, but wanted to return".

Gambon was not among the actors to grace Yasmina Reza's ART at Wyndham's. But together with Simon Russell Beale and Alan Bates he gave a droll radio account of the role of Marc. And for the RSC he shared Reza's two-hander The Unexpected Man with Eileen Atkins, first at The Pit in the Barbican and then at the Duchess Theatre, a production also intended for New York but finally delayed by other commitments.

In 2001 he played what he described as "'a physically repulsive" Davies in Patrick Marber's revival of Pinter's The Caretaker, but he found the rehearsal period an unhappy experience, and felt that he had let down the author. A year later, playing opposite Daniel Craig, he portrayed the father of a series of cloned sons in Caryl Churchill's A Number at the Royal Court, notable for a recumbent moment when he smoked a cigarette, the brightly lit spiral of smoke rising against a black backdrop, an effect which he dreamed up during rehearsals.

In 2004, Gambon played the lead role (Hamm) in Samuel Beckett's post-apocalyptic play Endgame at the Albery Theatre, London. In 2005 he finally achieved a lifelong ambition to play Falstaff, in Nicholas Hytner's National production of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, co-starring with Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Hal.

Films and television

He made his film debut in the Laurence Olivier Othello in 1965. He then played romantic leads, notably in the BBC television series, The Borderers (1968"70), in which he was swashbuckling Gavin Ker. As a result, Gambon was asked by James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli to audition for the role in 1970, to replace George Lazenby. His craggy looks soon made him into a character actor, although he won critical acclaim as Galileo in John Dexter's production of The Life of Galileo by Brecht at the National Theatre in 1980. But it was not until Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective (1986) that he became a household name. After this success, for which he won a BAFTA, his work includes such controversial films as The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, which also starred Helen Mirren.

In 1992 he played a psychotic general in the Barry Levinson film Toys and he also starred as Georges Simenon's detective Inspector Jules Maigret in an ITV adaptation of Simenon's series of books. He starred as Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the Hungarian director Károly Makk's movie The Gambler (1997) about the writing of Dostoyevsky's novella The Gambler. In recent years, films such as Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Plunkett & Macleane (1998), and Sleepy Hollow (1999), as well as television appearances in series such as Wives and Daughters (1999) (for which he won another BAFTA), a made-for-TV adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Endgame (2001) and Perfect Strangers (2001) have revealed a talent for comedy. Gambon played President Lyndon B. Johnson in the television film Path to War. For this performance, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. In 2003, he appeared with Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner, playing the principal villain in the Western film Open Range.

In 2004, he appeared in five films, including Wes Anderson's quirky comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; the British gangster flick Layer Cake; theatrical drama Being Julia; and CGI action fantasy Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

In 2004, he began playing Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts's headmaster in the third installment of J. K. Rowling's franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, taking over the role after the death of Richard Harris. (Harris had also played Maigret on television four years before Gambon took that role.) Gambon reprised the role of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was released in November 2005 in the United Kingdom and the United States. He returned to the role again in the fifth film, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He appeared in the seventh film; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts I and II, released in two parts in 2010 and 2011. Gambon told an interviewer that, when playing Dumbledore, he does not "have to play anyone really. I just stick on a beard and play me, so it's no great feat. I never ease into a role"?every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I'm not really a character actor at all...'"

Radio

In 1990 he played Jerry in Harold Pinter's Betrayal for BBC Radio 3. In 2006 he played Henry in Stephen Rea's play about Samuel Beckett's Embers for Radio 3. In 2007 he was Sam in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming for Radio 3.

Ongoing work

He performed as Joe in Beckett's Eh Joe, giving two performances a night at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. He currently does the voice over to the new Guinness ads with the penguins. In 2007 he played major roles in Stephen Poliakoff's Joe's Palace, and the five-part adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's Cranford novels, both for BBC TV.

In 2008 Gambon appeared in the role of Hirst in No Man's Land by Harold Pinter in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, opposite David Bradley as Spooner, in a production directed by Rupert Goold, which transferred to the London West End's Duke of York's Theatre, for which roles each received nominations for the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. He also appeared as the Narrator in the British version of Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.

After Pinter's death on 24 December 2008, Gambon read Hirst's monologue selected by the playwright for Gambon to read at his funeral, held on 31 December 2008, during the cast's memorial remarks from the stage as well as at the funeral and also in Words and Music, transmitted on the BBC Radio 3 on 22 February 2009.

In late 2009 he had to withdraw from his role of W. H. Auden in The Habit of Art (being replaced by Richard Griffiths) because of ill health. That same year he played his role as Mr. Woodhouse in a television adaptation of Jane Austen's famously irrepressible Emma, a four-hour miniseries that premiered on BBC One in October 2009, co-starring Jonny Lee Miller and Romola Garai. Gambon received a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie nomination for his performance.

In April 2010, Gambon returned once again to the Gate Theatre Dublin to appear in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, which transferred to London's Duchess Theatre in October 2010.

Gambon appeared alongside Katherine Jenkins in the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who, A Christmas Carol.

In 2012 he starred with Eileen Atkins in an adaptation of Beckett's radio play, All That Fall. Its premiere is at the Jermyn Street Theatre and transfers to the Arts Theatre. Also that year he played a role in Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut with Quartet, based on the same-titled play by Ronald Harwood and starring Maggie Smith. He had previously worked with Hoffman in the HBO horse-racing drama Luck, which was canceled in March 2012 after three horses died on set.

Personal life

Gambon married Anne Miller when he was 22, but has always been secretive about his personal life, responding to one interviewer's question about her: "What wife?" The couple lived near Gravesend, Kent, where she has a workshop. In the New Year Honours 1998 Gambon was appointed a Knight Bachelor for "services to drama". and on Friday 17 July 1998 was invested by Prince Charles. They have one son, Fergus, a ceramics expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

While filming Gosford Park, Gambon brought Philippa Hart on to the set and introduced her to co-stars as his girlfriend. When the affair was revealed in 2002, he moved out of the marital home and bought a bachelor pad. Hart, who worked with Gambon on the film, Sylvia in 2003, in late 2006 moved into a £500,000 terraced home in Chiswick, west London. In February 2007, it was revealed that Hart was pregnant with Gambon's child, and gave birth to son, Michael, in May 2007. On 22 June 2009 she gave birth to her second child, a boy named William, who is Gambon's third child.

Gambon is a qualified private pilot and his love of cars led to his appearance on the BBC's Top Gear programme. Gambon raced the Suzuki Liana and was driving so aggressively that it went round the last corner of his timed lap on two wheels. The final corner of the Top Gear test track has been named "Gambon" in his honour.

He appeared on the programme again on 4 June 2006, and set a time in the Chevrolet Lacetti of 1:50.3, a significant improvement on his previous time of 1:55. He clipped his namesake corner the second time, and when asked why by Jeremy Clarkson, replied, "I dunno "? I just don't like it."

Work

Theatre

• Othello (Second Gentleman), Gate Theatre, Dublin, professional debut, followed by a European tour, 1962
• Hamlet, National Theatre at the Old Vic, 1963
• Saint Joan, National/Old Vic, 1963
• The Recruiting Officer (Coster Permain), National/Old Vic, 1963
• Andorra, National/Old Vic, 1964
• Philoctetes, National/Old Vic, 1964
• Othello, National/Old Vic, 1964
• The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Diego), Chichester Festival and National/Old Vic, 1964
• The Crucible (Herrick), National/Old Vic, 1965
• Mother Courage and Her Children (Eilif), National/Old Vic, 1965
• Love for Love (Snap), National/Old Vic, 1965, also tour to Russia and Germany
• Juno and the Paycock (Jerry Devine), National/Old Vic, 1966
• The Storm, National/Old Vic, 1966
• Events While Guarding the Bofors Gun by John McGrath (Flynn), Birmingham Rep, 1967
• A Severed Head (Palmer Anderson), Birmingham Rep, 1967
• The Doctor's Dilemma (Patric Cullen), Birmingham Rep, 1967
• Saint Joan (Cauchon), Birmingham Rep, 1967
• Peer Gynt (The Button Moulder), Birmingham Rep, 1968
• Othello (title role), Birmingham Rep, 1968
• Macbeth, The Forum Theatre, Billingham, 1968
• In Celebration (Andrew), Liverpool Playhouse, 1969
• Coriolanus (title role), Liverpool Playhouse, 1969
• The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising (Wiebe), RSC Aldwych Theatre, 1970
• Major Barbara (Charles Lomax), RSC Aldwych Theatre, 1970
• Henry VIII (Surrey), RSC Aldwych Theatre, 1971
• When Thou Art King (Hotspur), RSC Roundhouse, 1971
• The Brass Hat (Guy Holden), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, 1972
• Not Drowning But Waving by Leonard Webb (Robin), Greenwich Theatre, 1973
• The Norman Conquests trilogy (Tom), Greenwich Theatre, 1974
• The Norman Conquests (Tom), Globe Theatre, London 1975
• The Zoo Story (Gerry), Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park lunchtime production, 1975
• Otherwise Engaged (Simon), Queen's Theatre, 1976 (replacing Alan Bates)
• Just Between Ourselves (Neil), Queen's Theatre, 1977
• Alice's Boys by Felicity Browne and Jonathan Hales (Bertie), Savoy Theatre, London, 1978
• Betrayal (Jerry), National Theatre (Olivier), 1978
• Close of Play (Henry), National Theatre (Lyttelton), 1979
• Richard III (taking over as Buckingham), National (Olivier), 1979
• Othello (Roderigo), National (Olivier), 1980
• Sisterly Feelings (Patrick), National (Olivier), 1980
• The Life of Galileo (title role), National Theatre (Olivier), 1980
• Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), National Theatre (Olivier), 1981
• King Lear (title role) RSC Stratford,1982; Barbican Theatre, 1983
• Antony and Cleopatra (Antony), RSC Stratford, 1982; Barbican, 1983
• Tales from Hollywood (-dön von Horváth), National (Olivier), 1983
• Old Times (Deeley), Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1985
• A Chorus of Disapproval (Dafyd ap Llewellyn), National (Olivier), 1985
• Tons of Money (Sprules), National (Lyttelton), 1986
• A View from the Bridge (Eddie Carbone), National (Cottesloe), 1987
• A Small Family Business (Jack McCracken), National (Olivier), 1987
• Mountain Language (Sergeant), National (Lyttelton), 1988
• Uncle Vanya (title role), Vaudeville Theatre, 1988
• Veterans Day (Walter Kercelik), Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1989
• Man of the Moment (Douglas Beechey), Globe Theatre, London, 1990
• Othello (title role), Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, 1991
• Taking Steps, Stephen Joseph, Scarborough, 1991
• Volpone (title role), National (Olivier), 1995
• Skylight (Tom Sergeant), National (Cottesloe), 1995 and Wyndham's Theatre, 1996
• Skylight (Tom Sergeant), Royale Theatre, New York City, 1996
• Tom and Clem (Tom Driberg), Aldwych Theatre, 1997
• The Unexpected Man (The Man), RSC The Pit, Barbican, 1998
• Juno and the Paycock (Captain Jack Boyle), Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 1999
• Cressida (John Shank), The Almeida Theatre at the Albery, 2000
• The Caretaker (Davies), Comedy Theatre, 2001
• A Number (The Father), Royal Court Theatre, 2002
• Endgame (Hamm), Albery Theatre, 2004
• Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 (Sir John Falstaff), National (Olivier), 2005
• Celebration Pinter staged reading (Lambert), Gate Theatre, Dublin/Albery, 2005
• Eh Joe (Joe), Gate Theatre, transfer to Duke of York's Theatre, 2006
• No Man's Land (Hirst), Gate Theatre, transfer to Duke of York's Theatre 2008
• Krapp's Last Tape (Krapp), Gate Theatre, transfer to Duchess Theatre, 2010
• All That Fall, Jermyn Street Theatre, transfer to the Arts Theatre, 2012
• Eh Joe (Joe), Edinburgh Festival, 2013
• All That Fall, 59E59 Theatres, New York, 2013

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1965	Othello	Company	Film debut
1973	Nothing But the Night	Inspector Grant
1974	The Beast Must Die	Jan Jarmokowski
1985	Turtle Diary	George Fairbairn
1988	Paris by Night	Gerald Paige
	Missing Link	Narrator	(voice)
1989	The Rachel Papers	Doctor Knowd
	A Dry White Season	Magistrate
	The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover	Albert Spica
1991	Mobsters	Salvatore Maranzano
1992	Toys	General Leland Zevo
1994	A Man of No Importance	Ivor J. Garney
	Clean Slate	Philip Cornell
	Squanto: A Warrior's Tale	Sir George
	The Browning Version	Dr. Frobisher
1995	Bullet to Beijing	Alex
	Two Deaths	Daniel Pavenic
	Nothing Personal	Leonard
1996	Mary Reilly	Mr. Reilly
	The Innocent Sleep	Det. Insp. Matheson
	Midnight in Saint Petersburg	Alex
1997	The Gambler	Fyoder Dostoyevsky
	The Wings of the Dove	Lionel Croy
1998	Dancing at Lughnasa	Father Jack Mundy
	Plunkett & Macleane	Lord Gibson
1999	Le Château des singes	Master Martin	(voice in English version: A Monkey's Tale)
	Dead on Time	Maurice
	The Insider	Thomas Sandefur
	The Last September	Sir Richard Naylor
	Sleepy Hollow	Baltus Van Tassel
2001	Gosford Park	Sir William McCordle
	Charlotte Gray	Levade
	High Heels and Low Lifes	Kerrigan
	Christmas Carol: The Movie	Ghost of Christmas Present	(voice)
2002	Ali G Indahouse	Prime Minister
2003	Little Wolf's Book of Badness	Uncle Bigbad	(voice)
	The Actors	Barreller
	Open Range	Denton Baxter
	Sylvia	Professor Thomas
	Deep Blue	Narrator	Documentary (voice)
2004	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Albus Dumbledore
	Standing Room Only	Larry
	Being Julia	Jimmie Langton
	Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	Morris Paley
	Layer Cake	Eddie Temple
	The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou	Oseary Drakoulias
2005	Stories of Lost Souls	Larry	(segment "Standing Room Only")
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Albus Dumbledore
2006	The Omen	Bugenhagen
	The Good Shepherd	Dr. Fredericks
	John Duffy's Brother	Narrator	(voice)
	Amazing Grace	Lord Charles Fox
2007	The Good Night	Alan Weigert
	The Baker	Leo
	The Alps	Narrator	Documentary (voice)
	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Albus Dumbledore
2008	Brideshead Revisited	Lord Marchmain
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	Albus Dumbledore
	Fantastic Mr. Fox	Franklin Bean	(voice)
2010	The Book of Eli	George
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows " Part 1	Albus Dumbledore
	The King's Speech	King George V
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows " Part 2	Albus Dumbledore
2012	Quartet	Cedric Livingstone
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Much Ado About Nothing	Watchman No.4	TV film
1968	Public Eye	Unknown	Episode 3.4: "Have Mud, Will Throw"
1969	Fraud Squad	Rex Lucien	Episode 1.3: "Last Exit to Leichstenstein"
1968"1970	The Borderers	Gavin Ker	Appeared in 26 episodes: Episodes of The Borderers
1970	Confession	Mr. Tennent	Episode 1.4: "People Who Visit Glass Houses"
1971	Eyeless in Gaza	Mark Staithes	Episode 1.1: "O Dark, Dark, Dark, Amid the Blaze of Noon" Episode 1.2: "With Inward Eyes Illuminated" Episode 1.5: "And Calm of Mind, All Passion Spent"
1972	The Challengers	John Killane	Episode 1.1: "The Tomorrow Business"
	The Man Outside	Ralph Kenward	Episode 1.6: "Cuculus Canorus"
1967"1972	Softly, Softly	Cranley	Episode 2.21: "Appointment in Wyvern" Episode 8.11: "Welcome to the Club"
1973	Menace	Ellis	Episode 2.1: "Judas Goat"
	A Picture of Katherine Mansfield	Harry	Episode #1.5
	Special Branch	Muller	Episode 3.12: "Hostage"
	Arthur of the Britons	Roland	Episode 2.3: "The Prisoner"
	Six Days of Justice	Mr.Golding	Episode 3.2: "Stranger in Paradise"
	ITV Saturday Night Theatre	Brother Kevin	Episode 6.9: "Catholics"
	Great Mystery	Major Rolfe	Episode 1.16: "An Affair of Honour"
1974	Zodiac	Reuben Keiser	Episode 1.2: "The Cool Aquarian"
	Masquerade	Stewart	Episode 1.2: "May We Come In?"
1976	Centre Play	Edith Harrison	Episode 3.9: "In the Labyrinth"
1972"1976	Play for Today	Various characters	Episode 2.17: "Cows" Episode 6.11: "The Other Woman" Episode 6.21: "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"
1977	ITV Sunday Night Drama	Various characters	Episode 1.11: "Now Is Too Late" Episode 2.15: "The Man Who Liked Elephants"
1967"1978	Play of the Month	Various characters	Episode 3.3: "Romeo and Juliet" Episode 4.3: "The Seagull" Episode 7.1: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Episode 11.8: "French Without Tears" Episode 13.4: "The Seagull"
1978	Premiere	Kenny	Episode 2.5: "One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day"
1977"1979	The Other One	Brian Bryant	Appeared in 13 episodes with Richard Briers
1979	Chalk and Cheese	Unknown	Unknown episodes
1980	Tales of the Unexpected	Andrew	Episode 2.11: "The Umbrella Man"
1982	ITV Playhouse	Unknown	Episode 14.4: "The Breadwinner"
	La ronde	Unknown	TV film
1985	Absurd Person Singular	Geoffrey Jackson	TV film
	Oscar	Oscar Wilde	TV mini-series Episode 1.1: "Gilded Youth" Episode 1.2: "Trials" Episode 1.3: "De Profundis"
	Tropical Moon Over Dorking	Bill	TV film
1986	The Singing Detective	Philip Marlow	TV serial Episode 1.1: "Skin" Episode 1.2: "Heat" Episode 1.3: "Lovely Days" Episode 1.4: "Clues" Episode 1.5: "Pitter Patter" Episode 1.6: "Who Done It".
1987	Bergerac	Jarvis McLeod	Episode 5.2: "Winner Takes All"
	Night Theatre: Ghosts	Pastor Manders	TV serial
1989	The Heat of the Day	Harrison	TV film
	Monster Maker	Ultragorgon	TV serial (voice)
	About Face	Trevor	Episode 1.1: "Searching for Señor Duende"
1990	Blood Royal: William the Conqueror	William I	TV film
1991	The Storyteller	The Storyteller	Appeared in 4 episodes: Episodes of The Storyteller
	Minder	Tommy Hanbury	Episode 8.5: "Guess Who's Coming to Pinner?"
1992"1993	Maigret	Insp. Maigret	Appeared in 12 episodes: Episodes of Maigret
1993	Performance	Archie Rice	Episode 1.1: "The Entertainer"
1994	Faith	Peter John Moreton	TV film
1995	The Wind in the Willows	Badger	TV film (voice)
1996	Expert Witness	Himself	Presenter/Narrator
	Samson and Delilah	King Hanun	TV mini-series
	The Willows in Winter	Badger	TV film (voice)
1999	Wives and Daughters	Squire Hamley	TV mini-series
2000	Longitude	John Harrison	TV film
	Endgame	Hamm	TV film adaptation of the play by Samuel Beckett
2001	Perfect Strangers	Raymond	TV film
2002	Path to War	Lyndon B. Johnson	TV mini-series
2003	The Lost Prince	Edward VII	TV mini-series
	Angels in America	Prior Walter Ancestor	TV mini-series Episode 1.2: "Millennium Approaches: Chapter Two " In Vitro" Episode 1.3: "Millennium Approaches: Chapter Three " The Messenger"
2006	Celebration	Lambert	TV film adaptation of the play by Harold Pinter
2007	Joe's Palace	Elliot Graham	TV film
	Cranford	Mr. Holbrook	TV mini-series Episode 1.2: "August 1842" Episode 1.3: "November 1842 "
2009	Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire	The Narrator (uncredited)	TV series Episode 1.1: "Wench Trouble" (voice)
	Emma	Mr. Woodhouse	TV mini-series Appeared in 4 episodes: Episodes of Emma
2010	Doctor Who	Kazran/Elliot Sardick	2010 Christmas Special: "A Christmas Carol"
2011	Comic Relief: Uptown Downstairs Abbey	Narrator (uncredited)
	Page Eight	Benedict Baron
2012	Luck	Michael "Mike" Smythe	TV series
	Restless	Baron Mansfield	Two-part thriller

Radio

Date	Title	Role	Director	Station
	Betrayal	Jerry	Ned Chaillet	BBC Radio 3
	Embers	Henry	Stephen Rea	BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3
	The Homecoming	Sam	Thea Sharrock	BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3

Video games

• Ghosthunter (2003) " Lord William Hawksmoor
• The Elder Scrolls Online (2013) - Narrator

CDs

• Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Music and Sonnetts (2011) " Michael Gambon, Robert Atchison and the Altamira Chamber Orchestra

Awards and nominations