Frank Finlay
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| Frank Finlay | |
| Born | 6 August 1926 Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire |
| Official site | Frank Finlay |
| Notable roles | Iago to Olivier's Othello Father in The Pianist |
Francis "Frank" Finlay, CBE (b. 6 August 1926, Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire, England) is a British stage, film and television actor of English, Irish and Scottish descent.
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[edit] Beginnings and the National
Finlay began his stage career in rep before graduating from RADA. There followed several appearances at the Royal Court Theatre, notably in the Arnold Wesker trilogy. He is particularly associated with the National Theatre, especially during the Olivier years and its predecessor, the Chichester Festival Theatre, where he played a wide variety of roles ranging from the First Gravedigger in Hamlet to Saint Joan, Hobson's Choice, Much Ado About Nothing, The Dutch Courtesan, The Crucible, Mother Courage, Juno and the Paycock and culminating in his controversial Iago to Lord Olivier's title character in the film Othello.
Finlay's original stage performance of Iago as an NCO left critics unmoved, but later received high praise when the play was filmed and earned him an Academy Award nomination.
He was also seen on Broadway in Epitaph for George Dillon (1958-59), and, also, in the National Theatre and Broadway productions of Filumena (opposite Olivier's wife, Joan Plowright) in 1980.
[edit] Television and film
His first major success on television was in the title role of Casanova in Dennis Potter's BBC2 series of the same name. Following which in 1972, he won perhaps the greatest praise of his career for his chilling portrayal of the Nazi dictator in his last days in The Death Of Adolf Hitler. Many critics said he was "the most frightening" Hitler of all.
He went on to star as the father in the controversial Bouquet of Barbed Wire and he was reunited with his Bouquet of Barbed Wire co-star, Susan Penhaligon, when he played Van Helsing in the BBC Count Dracula with Louis Jourdan (1977). He played Porthos for director Richard Lester in The Three Musketeers (1973) , The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). He has also appeared several other films, including The Wild Geese (1978).
He appeared in two Sherlock Holmes films as Inspector Lestrade, solving the Jack the Ripper murders (A Study in Terror and Murder By Decree). In 1984, Finlay appeared on American television in A Christmas Carol. He played Marley's Ghost opposite George C. Scott's Ebenezer Scrooge. While some have said Scott was the finest Scrooge, many others said that Finlay was equally fine as Marley's Ghost.
Finlay also played a rather slim Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison's Don Quixote, in the 1973 British made-for-television film The Adventures of Don Quixote, for which he won a BAFTA award. He won another BAFTA award that year for his performance as Voltaire in a non-musical BBC TV production of Candide.
He also guest-starred as "The Witchsmeller Pursuivant" in an episode of the popular 1983 British sitcom Blackadder.
Perhaps Finlay's most-watched recent performance has been as Adrian Brody's father in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist (2002). His most recent appearances have been in the TV series Life Begins and as Jane Tennison's father in Prime Suspect 7 (2006).
[edit] Private life
A devout Catholic, educated at St. Gregory the Great School, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He met his future wife, Doreen Shepherd, when they were both members of the Farnborough Little Theatre. They lived in Weybridge, Surrey. They were married until her death in 2005.[1]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
| 1965 | Othello | Iago |
In 1977, Finlay appeared in the BBC production of Count Dracula as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, with Louis Jourdan in the title role.
[edit] References
- ^ Bolton Evening News, 2nd Jun 2005
[edit] External links
Categories: 1926 births | Commanders of the Order of the British Empire | English film actors | English Roman Catholics | English stage actors | English television actors | BAFTA winners (people) | Living people | People from Farnworth | People of Irish descent in Great Britain | Roman Catholic entertainers | Royal National Theatre Company members
