Trivia

Had vertigo and was doubled in Time Bandits (1981) in the scene where the Evil Genius walks up the steps after caging the bandits, because he could not handle the drop below him.

Had played three dissimilar species in the Star Trek universe: a human in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), a Klingon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and a Cardassian in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987).

Warner's limp in Straw Dogs (1971) was real. He smashed both his heels in a fall sometime before filming began and it was a long time before he could walk normally again. He clarified in a 2017 interview that this was unrelated to the fact his name is not in the credits (as has been claimed): his agent wanted him to have above-the-title billing with Dustin Hoffman and Susan George, Hoffman and George's agents refused, and he decided to resolve the quarrel by going uncredited.

In Time After Time (1979), he played John Leslie Stevenson (Jack the Ripper). In The Outer Limits (1995) episode "Ripper", he played Inspector Harold Langford, who was investigating Dr. John York (Cary Elwes), who was suspected of being Jack the Ripper.

He took over the role of Gul Madred on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) (two-part episode "Chain of Command") on three days' notice. He could not learn his lines in that short time, so he had to use cue cards. He said: "Every line I said, I actually was reading over Patrick Stewart's shoulder or they put it down there for me to do it. After I finished it, I thought it worked, which obviously it did.".

Was one of only 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original Star Trek (up to and including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)) and in one of the spin-offs.

Although he played Reinhard Heydrich, one of the key architects of the Holocaust, in both Holocaust (1978) and Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985), he had part Jewish ancestry in real life. He told an interviewer that playing Heydrich first time around "was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had as an actor", and that he reprised the role purely "because I needed the work".

Made guest appearances on two dissimilar series about Superman. He played Superman's biological father Jor-El on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993) and Ra's-Al-Ghul on Superman: The Animated Series (1996).

Both he and his The Company of Wolves (1984) co-star Terence Stamp have played Jor-El, the biological Kryptonian father of Superman. He played the role in Foundling (1994) whereas Stamp provided the character's voice on Smallville (2001).

By appearing on Batman: The Animated Series (1992), he became the first actor to play the villain Ra's-Al-Ghul. To date, he has been succeeded by Ken Watanabe, Liam Neeson and Matt Nable.

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London, England. Became an Associate Member of the Academy.

David Warner played the same role twice (King Henry VI) in two dissimilar productions of the same name, for two dissimilar directors, over 20 years apart. First came The Wars of the Roses (1965) for director John Barton, and second came The Wars of the Roses (1989) for director Michael Bogdanov. Coincidentally, the later production was released in the same year as The War of the Roses (1989) which was unrelated in every way, but had a similar title, and which did not star Warner.

He was among the actors in the running for the roles of Dr. Armstrong and Dr. Bukovsky in the horror film Lifeforce (1985); Sir Patrick Stewart and Michael Gothard won the roles.

Is one of only 29 actors to have speaking roles in both the Doctor Who and Star Trek franchises.

Had played the same character (Ra's-Al-Ghul) on three dissimilar series: Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Superman: The Animated Series (1996) and Batman Beyond (1999).

Had worked with Malcolm McDowell in Time After Time (1979). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Warner appeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and McDowell appeared in Star Trek: Generations (1994).

Had worked with James Cromwell in The Man with Two Brains (1983). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Warner appeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and Cromwell appeared in Star Trek: First Contact (1996).

Had appeared in three films about the RMS Titanic: S.O.S. Titanic (1979), Time Bandits (1981) and Titanic (1997). Titanic (1997) has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Had appeared with Sir Ian Holm in six films: The Bofors Gun (1968), The Fixer (1968), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), Holocaust (1978), S.O.S. Titanic (1979) and Time Bandits (1981). In addition, they are on screen together near the end of "Part II: Edward IV" in The Wars of the Roses (1965), where Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Holm) murders Henry VI (Warner) before becoming the cruel Richard III. This last was a televised version of the Royal Shakespeare Company production, the RSC being where Warner and Holm first meet and worked together on stage.

Had appeared in two sci-fi films co-written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and Planet of the Apes (2001). Had also appeared in three films involving time travel: Time After Time (1979), Time Bandits (1981) and Planet of the Apes (2001).

Had appeared in two Academy Award winners for Best Picture: Tom Jones (1963) and Titanic (1997). Chosen by Tony Richardson for his role in Tom Jones (1963) after the director enjoyed his performance in the play "Afore the Night" (1962).

He has two roles in common with his Time After Time (1979) co-star Malcolm McDowell: (1) McDowell played Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994), Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995) and Wing Commander Academy (1996) while Warner played him in Wing Commander (1999) and (2) McDowell played Professor Van Helsing in Suck (2009) while Warner played him in Penny Dreadful (2014).

He has two roles in common with both David Collings and Richard E. Grant: (1) Collings played Bob Cratchit in Scrooge (1970), Warner played him in A Christmas Carol (1984) and Grant played him in A Christmas Carol (1999) and (2) Grant played the Doctor in Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) and Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (2003), Collings played him in the Big Finish audio drama "Full Fathom File" and Warner played him in the Big Finish audio dramas "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Masters of War".

He has two roles in common with Peter Cushing, Nigel Davenport and Frank Finlay: (1) Cushing played Professor Van Helsing in Horror of Dracula (1958), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974), Davenport played him in Dracula (1974), Finley played him in Count Dracula (1977) and Warner played him in Penny Dreadful (2014) and (2) Davenport played Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Conan Doyle (1972), Cushing played him in The Great Houdini (1976), Finley played him in The Other Side (1992) and Warner played him in Houdini (1998).

He was suggested by Jane Baker as a candidate to replace Colin Baker as the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), which ultimately went to Sylvester McCoy. He was considered for many guest roles on the series: Aukon in State of Decay: Part One (1980), Commander Scott in Earthshock: Part One (1982), Valgard in Terminus: Part One (1983), Vorshak in Warriors of the Deep: Part One (1984), Colonel Archer in Snuff (2016), The Governor in Vengeance on Varos: Part One (1985), Maylin Tekker in Timelash: Part One (1985), Orcini in Revelation of the Daleks: Part One (1985), Merdeen in The Trial of a Time Lord: Part One (1986), Yrcanos and Corzier in The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Five (1986), Gavrok in Delta and the Bannermen: Part One (1987), Kane in Dragonfire: Part One (1987), Ratcliffe in Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One (1988), Josiah Samuel Smith in Ghost Light: Part One (1989) and Peter Warmsly in Battlefield: Part One (1989). He was also considered for the role of Borusa in Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) before the character was the dropped from the screenplay. He did guest star as the cruel Azlok in Doctor Who: Dreamland (2009), as well as Professor Griskenko in Cold War (2013).

Pictured as the character Klingon Chancellor Gorkon on one of a set of 18 British commemorative postage stamps issued 13 November 2020, celebrating the "Star Trek" television and film franchise. Stamps were issued as 12 individual stamps, honoring captains and crew members; and 6 stamps in a single souvenir sheet, highlighting heroes and villains. All stamps were nondenominated and marked first class (76p on day of issue). Others honored by this set are William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Jason Isaacs, Leonard Nimoy, Marina Sirtis, Alexander Siddig, Dominic Keating, Sonequa Martin-Green, Shazad Latif, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy, Malcolm McDowell, Alice Eve, and Idris Elba.

Two of his Royal Shakespeare Company performances from the 1960s have been captured on video, coincidentally both times as weak and tragic kings of England who were deposed and murdered. In The Deadly Affair (1967) he appeared as Edward II, and in The Wars of the Roses (1965) he played Henry VI.

He turned down the role of Richard Rich in A Man for All Seasons (1966), as he was busy playing Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon. The role went to Sir John Hurt.

Although he played Rosanna DeSoto's father in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), he was only nine years his senior and only has 10 minutes of screen time.

In the early 1960s, he was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) playing Hamlet, Edward II, Henry VI and Richard II among others.

David Warner passed away from cancer at Denville Hall on July 24, 2022, only five days away from what would have been his 81st birthday on July 29, 2022.

His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His mother's family were English.