Nicholas C. Frost (born 1955), known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor.
Nicholas Farrell | |
|---|---|
 Farrell in 2023 | |
| Born | Nicholas C. Frost 1955 (age 68–69) Brentwood, Essex, England |
| Education | Fryerns Grammar School Bristol Old Vic Theatre School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editFarrell was born in Brentwood, Essex.[1] He was educated at Fryerns Grammar and Technical School in Basildon, Essex,[2] He furthered his education studying acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.[3]
Life and career
editFarrell's early screen career included the role of Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.[4] In 1983, he starred as Edmund Bertram in a television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park.[1] In 1984, he appeared in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes,[1] and The Jewel in the Crown.[3]
Since then, his film and television work has included several screen adaptations of Shakespeare's works, including Kenneth Branagh's 1996 Hamlet,[2] in which he played Horatio, a role he had played previously with Branagh for the Royal Shakespeare Company.[2] He has also appeared in film adaptations of Twelfth Night (1996), Othello (1995) and In the Bleak Midwinter (1995). He provided the voice of Hamlet for the animated television adaptation Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992).[3]
In 2009, he played the role of Albert Dussell in the BBC series The Diary of Anne Frank.[5] In 2011, he played Margaret Thatcher's close friend and advisor Airey Neave in The Iron Lady.[6]
In 2014, he portrayed Eyre Crowe in the British documentary drama miniseries 37 Days, about the weeks leading up to World War I.[1] Other television appearances have included two Agatha Christie's Poirot films,[2] Sharpe's Regiment,[1] Lipstick on Your Collar, To Play the King, Roman Mysteries, Torchwood,[2] and Collision. He has also appeared in episodes of Lovejoy,[1] Foyle's War,[6] Absolute Power, Spooks,[2] Midsomer Murders,[6] Drop the Dead Donkey, Call the Midwife,[1] and Casualty.[1] He also voiced the Golem Pump 19 in the 2010 two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal.[1]
Farrell's theatre work includes performances of The Cherry Orchard,[2] Camille,[2] and The Crucible,[2] as well as Royal Shakespeare Company productions of The Merchant of Venice,[2] Julius Caesar,[2] and Hamlet.[2] In the 2011 Chichester Festival he played schoolmasters Dewley and Crocker-Harris in the double bill of South Downs and The Browning Version.[7] In 2021 he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Nottingham Playhouse.[8][3]
In 2014, Farrell starred in the Grace Kelly biopic Grace of Monaco alongside Nicole Kidman and Tim Roth, and the short film The Pit and the Pendulum: A Study in Torture, based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story.[3]
In 2020, he starred as the racehorse trainer in the Welsh film Dream Horse, alongside Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, and Owen Teale.[3]
In 2021 he was chosen as the face of the Saga plc television campaign 'Experience is Everything'.[3]
He is married to Scottish actress Stella Gonet, and they have a daughter, Natasha.[3]
Selected film and television appearances
editFilm
edit- Chariots of Fire (1981) as Aubrey Montague[1]
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) as Sir Hugh Belcher[1]
- Playing Away (1987) as Derek
- In the Bleak Midwinter (US title A Midwinter's Tale) (1995) as Tom Newman (Laertes, Fortinbras, and messengers)
- Othello (1995) as Montano
- Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1996) as Antonio
- Hamlet (1996) as Horatio
- The Treasure Seekers (1996) as Bastable
- Gator King (1997) as Henchman
- Legionnaire (1998) as Mackintosh
- Plunkett & Macleane (1999) as M.P.s Secretary
- Beautiful People (1999) as Dr. Mouldy
- Pearl Harbor (2001) as RAF Squadron Leader[1]
- The Discovery of Heaven (2001) as Mr. Quist (uncredited)
- Arthur's Dyke (2001) as Geoffrey
- Charlotte Gray (2001) as Mr. Jackson
- Bloody Sunday (2002) as Brigadier Patrick Maclellan
- The Third Wave (2003) as Frank Devlin
- Red Mercury (2005) as Minister
- Driving Lessons (2006) as Robert Marshall
- Amazing Grace (2006) as Henry Thornton
- Late Bloomers (2011) as Francis
- The Iron Lady (2011) as Airey Neave[1]
- Summer in February (2011) as Mr. Carter Wood
- Grace of Monaco (2014) as Jean-Charles Rey
- Testament of Youth (2014) as Headmaster
- Robot Overlords (2014) as Sentry Robot / Air Drone (voice)
- Mortdecai (2015) as Auctioneer
- Legend (2015) as Dr Humphries
- Remainder (2015) as Daubenay
- Tear Me Apart (2015) as Old Man (voice)
- Altamira (2016) as Vilanova
- Mindhorn (2016) as Mayor
- Jack the Ripper: The London Slasher (2016) as Samuel Harris
- Another Mother's Son (2017) as De La Haye
- Hurricane (2018) as Sir Hugh Dowding
- The Coldest Game (2019) as Griswald Moran
- Dream Horse (2020) as Philip Hobbs[3]
- Widow Clicquot (2023) as Jean-Remy Moet[9]
Television
edit- Matador (1981) as Jim Donaldson
- The Agatha Christie Hour: "The Manhood of Edward Robinson" (1981) as Edward Robinson
- Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981) as Georg
- Mansfield Park (1983) as Edmund Bertram[1]
- The Jewel in the Crown (1984) as Teddy Bingham[1]
- Casualty: "Facing Up" (1991) as Phil Byron[1]
- Lovejoy: "The Italian Venus" (1991) as Douglas Holden[1]
- Agatha Christie's Poirot: "The A.B.C. Murders" (1992) as Donald Fraser
- Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: "Hamlet" (1992) as Hamlet (voice)
- The Riff Raff Element (1993)
- Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) as Maj. Church
- To Play the King-second part of the House of Cards (UK) trilogy (1993) as David Mycroft
- MacGyver: "Trail to Doomsday" (1994) as Paul Moran[1]
- Bramwell (1995) as Major Stuart Hyde
- The Choir (1995) as Leo Beckford
- Sharpe's Regiment (1996) as Lord Fenner[1]
- Drop the Dead Donkey: "Dave and Diana" (1996) as Martin Jones
- Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll (1999) as Howard Brookes
- Midsomer Murders: "Strangler's Wood" (1999) as John Merrill[6]
- The Jury (2002) as Jeremy Crawford (Juror #5)
- Sparkhouse (2002) as Paul Lawton
- Spooks: "The Rose Bed Memoirs" (2002) as Richard Maynard[2]
- Absolute Power: "Mr Fox" (2003) as Simon Wellington
- Foyle's War, "The Funk Hole" (2003) as Chief Inspector James Collier[6]
- Trial & Retribution VIII: "Blue Eiderdown" (2004) as Jonathan Southwood MP
- Agatha Christie's Poirot: "The Mystery of the Blue Train" (2005) as Major Knighton[2]
- Jericho: "To Murder and Create" (2005) as Charles Hewitt[1]
- Casualty 1906 (2006) as Sydney Holland
- Persuasion (2007) as Mr. Musgrove
- Criminal Justice (2007) as painter
- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: "Limbo" (2007) as Sam Oborne
- Casualty 1907 (2008) as Sydney Holland[1]
- A Touch of Frost: "Mind Games" (2008) as Simon Slater
- Casualty 1909 (2009) as Chairman Sydney Holland[1]
- The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) as Mr. Dussell[1]
- Torchwood (2009) as Prime Minister Brian Green[2]
- Collision (2009) as Guy Pearson
- Lewis (2010) as Professor Milner[6]
- New Tricks (2011) as James Winslow
- Death in Paradise (2011) as Nicholas Dunham[1]
- Secret State (2012) as General[1]
- Spying on Hitler's Army: The Secret Recordings (2013) as Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
- 37 Days (2014) as Eyre Crowe
- Call the Midwife (2014) as Charles Newgarden, episode 4.2
- Father Brown (2015) as Sir Raleigh Beresford, episode 3.2 The Curse of Amenhotep[1]
- Thirteen (2016) as Henry Stone[1]
- Siblings (2016) as Charles
- The Crown Series 4 (2020) as Michael Shea (Episode 8)[1]
- Silent Witness Series 24:6 (2021) as Professor Adrian Cowley[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Nicholas Farrell Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Nicholas Farrell voice". sohovoices.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nicholas Farrell". saga.co.uk. 18 November 2021.
- ^ "How we made: Hugh Hudson and Nicholas Farrell on Chariots of Fire". theguardian.com. 9 July 2012.
- ^ "The Diary of Anne Frank". bbc.co.uk. 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "First Impressions - Nicholas Farrell". lady.co.uk. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Nicholas Farrell - Posted by StageTalk". The Stage. 30 March 2015.
- ^ Cremona, Patrick (22 September 2022). "Mark Gatiss's A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is coming to cinemas". Radio Times.
- ^ Ross, Deborah (21 August 2024). "The best film you won't go and see this week: Widow Clicquot reviewed". The Spectator.