Trivia

He won a Laurence Olivier Award Nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in "Death of a Salesman" at The National Theatre.

His voice has been used for many TV and radio commercials, documentary narrations, corporates, video games and book reads.

Is a member of Mensa, the IQ society, as are his twin sons.

He snapped his Achilles tendon playing squash at the RAC Club and was forced to relinquish his role in the iconic '70s drama series Out (1978).

He turned down the title role in the popular TV series Ace of Wands (1970) to go into rep to play Hotspur, the Shakespearean part which he most admired at the time. His agent, the former head of casting at Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood, Ben Lyon, had retired just two weeks earlier.

Was considered for the part of Rasputin in "Nicholas & Alexandra".

Once worked for the legendary Orson Welles for a short while, writing the idiot boards for his documentary F for Fake (1973), but together with his co-writer and good pal Nicholas Bromley was fired as a result of an over extended liquid lunch causing the afternoons idiot board writing to be illegible. They were paid off and thus able to drown their sorrows in the same pub that caused the problem in the first place.

Was cast by David Mamet in his movie "Spartan" after meeting him in The National Theatre Green Room after his performance in the play "Edmund", which Mamet as author had just attended.

He initiated and then established The Rada Students Hardship Fund, and with the help of Michael Simkins, Michael Reed, Richard Digby Day, Charlotte Howard and various high profile graduates has raised over £50K.

Sometimes mispronounced, his surname rhymes with "strife".

In his later years he was often confused with Charles Dance due both to similar appearances and voices.

In his first season at the National Theatre under Sir Laurence Olivier at The Old Vic in 1971, he was additionally asked to understudy Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Plummer and latterly Ronald Pickup in Long Day's Journey into Night, for whom he went on for a number of performances. One of the scariest and most thrilling moments of his life was at the first of those performances having had just a few hours notice and hearing the Tannoy announcement in his dressing room for the start of Act 4. "This is your fourth act beginners call. Your calls please Sir Laurence and Mr Greif. Sir Laurence and Mr Greif your calls please". It was a 25 minute duologue with his boss, his idol and the reason he had become an actor and he knew his future happiness and sanity depended on it. Thankfully, all went well.

An Associate Member of RADA where he was judged by and commended for the Prestigious Tree Prize by Jill Balcon, daughter of Sir Michael Balcon and mother of Daniel Day-Lewis. He was eventual runner up in the Final round but won two other awards that night and three further awards on graduation including The Kendal award for Best Actor.

He won a Critics Circle Nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in "Saturday, Sunday, Monday" for The National Theatre in the West End.

He was chosen as one of the hundred alumni for a specially commissioned book of portraits by Cambridge Jones celebrating RADA's centenary and entitled "Off Stage"

He together with BBC Producer Jonathan James Moore invented VoiceQuality, a system for describing voices and used primarily by actors and actresses and licensed worldwide to the famous actors' directory The Spotlight.

Is an associate, audition panel member and graduate of RADA.

His first sponsor to work in the USA was the playwright Arthur Miller.

Worked with legendary black-and-white cinematographer Robert Krasker on the short film Cry Wolf.

Considered for Roger Derebridge in "Lifeforce" (1985).

Whilst at RADA, he signed a two-year agency contract with Ben Lyon, the ex-head of casting at 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, with his wife Bebe Daniels in attendance. On the wall just above was a large framed picture of Marilyn Monroe signed "To Ben, to who I owe everything, Love Marilyn.".