Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed OBE ( born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in Z-Cars; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of I, Claudius; King Richard IV in the first series of Blackadder; Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon; Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre; Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, in Henry V; Boss Nass in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; and the voice of Clayton and the Tarzan yell in Disney's Tarzan. In 2016, Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts and charity. Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of William Blessed, a socialist coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team, and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99. Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg, Lincolnshire; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg. Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF, in Bicester, before enrolling at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1956.
Acted Movies
Director: Kevin Lima
Writers: Tab Murphy,
Cast: Alex D. Linz, Brian Blessed, Glenn Close, Lance Henriksen, Minnie Driver, Nigel Hawthorne, Rosie O'Donnell, Taylor Dempsey, Tony Goldwyn, Wayne Knight,
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Kenneth Branagh,
Cast: Brian Blessed, Charles Kay, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson, James Larkin, James Simmons, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Paul Scofield, Simon Shepherd,
Director: Brian G. Hutton
Writers: S. Lee Pogostin,
Cast: Bess Armstrong, Brian Blessed, Cassandra Gava, Jack Weston, Lynda La Plante, Michael Sheard, Robert Morley, Timothy Carlton, Tom Selleck, Wilford Brimley,
Director: Mike Hodges
Writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr.,
Cast: Brian Blessed, Chaim Topol, John Osborne, Mariangela Melato, Max von Sydow, Melody Anderson, Ornella Muti, Peter Wyngarde, Sam J. Jones, Timothy Dalton,
Director: Arthur Hiller
Writers: Dale Wasserman,
Cast: Brian Blessed, Gino Conforti, Harry Andrews, Ian Richardson, James Coco, John Castle, Julie Gregg, Peter O'Toole, Rosalie Crutchley, Sophia Loren,
Director: James Clavell
Writers: James Clavell,
Cast: Brian Blessed, Christian Roberts, Florinda Bolkan, Madeleine Hinde, Michael Caine, Miguel Alejandro, Nigel Davenport, Omar Sharif, Per Oscarsson, Yorgo Voyagis,