Oliver Ford Davies
| Oliver Ford Davies | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oliver Robert Ford Davies 12 August 1939 Ealing, Middlesex, England, UK[1] |
| Occupation | Actor, writer |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jenifer Armitage (1977-present) |
Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his role as Sio Bibble in Star Wars Episodes I through III.
Contents
Early life and academic career
Davies was born in Ealing, Middlesex, England. He attended the King's School, Canterbury. From there, he won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he read History and became President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS). After obtaining his D Phil,[2] he worked as a history lecturer at the University of Edinburgh before taking up acting professionally in 1967.[3]
Acting career
Davies had a regular role as Peter Foxcott QC in Kavanagh QC. He also appeared in the ITV television drama The Uninvited, and in a 2002 episode of the popular drama Foyle's War. His highest-profile acting role was most likely his role as Sio Bibble in the Star Wars "prequel trilogy" films, released in 1999, 2002 and 2005.
He appeared as Polonius in Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and in 2009 appeared in All's Well That Ends Well at the Royal National Theatre as the King of France. In 2010 he appeared as Balfour in the premiere of Ben Brown's play The Promise, about the Balfour Declaration. In 2012, he appeared in a stage adaptation of Michelle Magorian's book Goodnight Mister Tom, in which he played the central character, Thomas Oakley. He is back with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014 as Justice Shallow in "Henry IV, Part 2".
Awards and nominations
Davies was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1990 (1989 season) for Best Actor in a New Play for Racing Demon. He was twice nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in Absolutely! (perhaps) at the Wyndham's Theatre in 2003 and again in 2009 for his performance as Polonius in the RSC production of Hamlet at the Novello Theatre.
Books
Oliver Ford Davies' books include Playing Lear, an account of his experience while performing King Lear at the Almeida Theatre, and Performing Shakespeare. Both are published by Nick Hern Books.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Defence of the Realm | Anthony Clegg | |
| 1989 | Scandal | Mr. Woods | |
| 1990 | Paper Mask | Coroner | |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Doctor Harris | |
| 1997 | Mrs. Brown | Dean of Windsor | |
| 1997 | Mrs. Dalloway | Hugh Whitbread | |
| 1998 | Titanic Town | Whittington | |
| 1999 | An Ideal Husband | Sir Hugo Danforth | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Gov. Sio Bibble | |
| 2001 | Blow Dry | Doctor Hamilton | Credited as Oliver Ford Davis |
| 2001 | Revelation | Prof. Casaubon | |
| 2002 | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | Sio Bibble | |
| 2003 | Johnny English | (Archbishop of Canterbury) | |
| 2003 | The Mother | Bruce | |
| 2004 | Gladiatress | uncredited | |
| 2005 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | Sio Bibble | |
| 2005 | Heidi | Dr. Classen |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Tenko | Priest | 2 episodes |
| 1983 | The Citadel | Reverend Parry | |
| 1988 | Hannay | Russian Ambassador | |
| 1988 | A Very Peculiar Practice | Lecturer | |
| 1988 | A Very British Coup | Tweed | |
| 1989 | Casualty | The Major | |
| 1990 | Chancer | Vicar | |
| 1991 | Inspector Morse | Frederick Redpath | 1 episode |
| 1992 | Van der Valk | Guus Kroese | 1 episode |
| 1992 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Ship's Captain | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Between the Lines | John Gollap | TV series |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis | Prof. Carson | TV Movie |
| 1995 | Coogan's Run | Dr. Phillips | |
| 1995-2001 | Kavanagh QC | Peter Foxcott QC | recurring role, 26 episodes |
| 1996 | Wycliffe | Dr. Donald Treloar | |
| 1997 | Pie in the Sky | James Truman | |
| 1997 | A Royal Scandal | Lord Liverpool | TV Movie |
| 1999 | Heartbeat | Henry Tomkinson | TV series |
| 1999 | David Copperfield (1999 film) | Mr. Wickfield | TV Mini-series |
| 2000 | Poirot : The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | Dr. James Sheppard | 1 episode |
| 2002 | Bertie and Elizabeth | Archbishop Lang | TV Movie |
| 2002 | Foyle's War | Lawrence Gascoigne | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Spooks | Sir Richard 'Dickie' Bowman | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Sparkling Cyanide | Col. Geoffrey Reece | TV Movie |
| 2004 | Rosemary & Thyme | Sir Basil Slavinski | TV series |
| 2005 | Midsomer Murders | Otto Benham | TV series |
| 2007 | Waking the Dead | Hugo Keegan | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2008 | The Long Walk to Finchley | Sir Donald Kaberry | TV series |
| 2012 | Game of Thrones | Maester Cressen | |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Major Palgrave | 1 episode "A Caribbean Mystery" |
References
- ↑ Profile at ftvdb.bfi.org.uk
- ↑ Naxos Audiobooks: Oliver Ford Davies; accessed 22 March 2013
- ↑ "Oliver Ford Davies, actor – portrait of the artist", The Guardian, 18 December 2012. Accessed 22 March 2013
External links
- Oliver Ford Davies at the Internet Broadway DatabaseLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Oliver Ford Davies at the Internet Movie Database
- Nick Hern Books
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1939 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
- English male film actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- People educated at The King's School, Canterbury
- Laurence Olivier Award winners
- Royal Shakespeare Company members
- British male Shakespearean actors
- Male actors from Kent
