Hugh Fraser | |
---|---|
Born | Hugh Fraser 23 October 1945 Westminster, London, England |
Other names | Hugh Frazer |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1956–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 1, Lily Fraser |
Hugh Fraser (born 23 October 1945) [1] is an English actor, theatre director and author. He is best known for his portrayal of Captain Hastings in the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot opposite David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and for his role as the Duke of Wellington (replacing David Troughton) in the Sharpe television series.
Fraser was born in Westminster, but grew up in the Midlands. He studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Fraser's first big break came after portraying Anthony Eden in the 1978 television series Edward & Mrs. Simpson , with Edward Fox, after which he was frequently cast as upper class or aristocratic characters, such as Mr Talmann in Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contract .
Born in Westminster in 1945, [2] but brought up in the Midlands, Hugh Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. As a member of the folk band Telltale, Hugh co-wrote and performed the theme music for Rainbow , the ITV children's television series.
Fraser's first big break came after portraying Anthony Eden in the 1978 television series Edward & Mrs. Simpson , with Edward Fox, after which he was frequently cast as upper class or aristocratic characters, such as Mr Talmann in Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contract .
He has regularly appeared on film and television and is best known for his portrayals of Captain Hastings in Agatha Christie's Poirot , opposite David Suchet, and of Duke of Wellington (replacing David Troughton) in Sharpe opposite Sean Bean.
In the 1980s, he appeared in the BBC thriller Edge of Darkness . Fraser can be frequently heard narrating the audiobooks of Christie's works, which are currently published by HarperCollins.
His film credits include Curse of the Pink Panther , 101 Dalmatians and Patriot Games along with his Sharpe co-star Sean Bean. He has also worked in theatre, playing Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1979. He has guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio dramas Circular Time (2007) and Cradle of the Snake (2010), and in 2003, alongside Martin Shaw in Death in Holy Orders .
Fraser guest starred in a Season 2 episode of the British audio comedy podcast Wooden Overcoats , for which his wife, Belinda Lang, was the narrator.
Fraser has been an associate tutor, director, and member of the audition panel at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, specialising in Shakespeare. [3] [4] He has also directed several plays, including a production of David Mamet's adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya , which was staged at Wilton's Music Hall in London in January 2007, with Rachael Stirling as Yelena [5] [6] and the first London production in nearly a century of Kate O'Brien’s play Distinguished Villa at the Finborough Theatre in 2022. [7]
Fraser is the author of a series of crime fiction thrillers featuring contract killer Rina Walker. His first novel, Harm, was published in 2015, [8] followed by Threat in 2016. [9] The third in the Rina Walker series, Malice, came out in October 2017 [10] and Stealth, in 2018 [11]
During his appearance on Pointless Celebrities (30 Jan 2021), flute player Hugh explained that he composed the theme melody for the children's programme Rainbow along with other songs for the show and theme tunes for other (unmentioned) TV series.
He is married to the actress Belinda Lang and has one daughter, Lily. [12]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | Deviation | Unknown | |
1976 | The Ritz | Disc Jockey | |
1977 | The Man in the Iron Mask | Montfleury | TV movie |
The Duellists | Unknown | ||
1978 | Edward & Mrs. Simpson | Anthony Eden | TV Mini-Series, 2 episodes |
1979 | Hanover Street | Captain Harold Lester | |
1982 | Firefox | Police Inspector Aleksei Tortyev | |
Cloud Howe | Robert Colquhoun | TV series, 4 episodes | |
The Draughtsman's Contract | Mr. Talmann | ||
The Missionary | Usher At Wedding | ||
1983 | Tales of the Unexpected | Paul Standing | TV series, episode "Clerical Error" |
Curse of the Pink Panther | Dr. Arno Stang | ||
Reilly, Ace of Spies | George Hill | TV Mini-Series, 6 episodes | |
1985 | Edge of Darkness | Robert Bennett | TV Mini-Series, 4 episodes |
1987 | Murder on the Bluebell Line | Sherlock Holmes | TV series, Documentary |
1988 | Codename: Kyril | Peter Jackson | TV Mini-Series, 4 episodes |
Jack the Ripper | Sir Charles Warren | TV series, 2 episodes | |
1990 | Lorna Doone | James II | TV movie |
1992 | Patriot Games | Geoffrey Watkins | |
1993 | Taggart | Bobby Gault | Episode: Gingerbread Part One |
1996 | 101 Dalmatians | Frederick | |
2001 | The Lost Battalion | General DeCoppet | TV movie |
2003 | Death in Holy Orders | George Gregory | TV Mini-Series, 2 episodes |
2004 | The Baby Juice Express | Arthur Burnett, CBE | |
The Alan Clark Diaries | Tristan Garel-Jones | TV series, 6 episodes | |
New Tricks | Paul Adamson | TV series, 1 episode | |
1994–2006 | Sharpe | Duke of Wellington | 9 TV Movies |
2010 | Jackboots on Whitehall | BBC Newsreader / Gaston | Voice |
1989–2001, 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Captain Arthur Hastings | TV series, 43 episodes |
2016 | With Love From... Suffolk | Sat Nav | Voice |
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays, and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.
Sir David Courtney Suchet is an English actor known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial Oppenheimer (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his performance as Augustus Melmotte in the British serial The Way We Live Now (2001). International acclaim and recognition followed his performance as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–2013), for which he received a 1991 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination.
Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the United States, it was published on 28 February 1934, under the title of Murder in the Calais Coach, by Dodd, Mead and Company. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.
Agatha Christie's Poirot, or simply Poirot, is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, which revolves around the fictional private investigator, Hercule Poirot. David Suchet starred as the fictional detective. Initially produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the US.
Edward Cedric Hardwicke was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in Colditz (1972–73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes (1986–94).
Cards on the Table is a detective fiction novel by the English author Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 2 November 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
The A.B.C. Murders is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer known only as "A.B.C.". The book was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 January 1936, sold for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) while a US edition, published by Dodd, Mead and Company on 14 February of the same year, was priced $2.00.
Lord Edgware Dies is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Thirteen at Dinner. Before its book publication, the novel was serialised in six issues of The American Magazine as 13 For Dinner.
Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.
The Murder on the Links is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead & Co in March 1923, and in the UK by The Bodley Head in May of the same year. It is the second novel featuring Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6), and the US edition at $1.75.
The Big Four is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 27 January 1927 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It features Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
The Hollow is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6). A paperback edition in the US by Dell Books in 1954 changed the title to Murder after Hours.
David Troughton is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in A Very Peculiar Practice and Ricky Hanson in New Tricks.
The Draughtsman's Contract is a 1982 British period comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway – his first conventional feature film. Originally produced for Channel 4, the film is a form of murder mystery, set in rural Wiltshire, England in 1694. The period setting is reflected in Michael Nyman's score, which borrows widely from Henry Purcell, and in the extensive and elaborate costume designs. The action was shot on location in the house and formal gardens of Groombridge Place. The film received the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.
Dumb Witness is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 July 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Poirot Loses a Client. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
Anthony Calf is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He had recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as DAC Robert Strickland. He has also worked in theatre, where his credits include productions of The Madness of George III with the National Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream, The false servant at the National Theatre and Rock'n Roll at the Duke of York's Theatre. He was nominated as best actor in the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2008 for his work in Uncle Vanya at the Gate Theatre. He was featured in King Charles III on Broadway in 2015.
John Aleck Suchet is an English author, television news journalist and presenter of classical music on Classic FM.
Nicholas C. Frost, known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor.
Georgina Elizabeth Rylance is an English actress, best known for Dinotopia.
Brian Robert Eastman is a producer of feature films, television drama, and stage productions. He has received two BAFTA awards and two international Emmy awards and his productions have received many other awards and nominations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society. He divides his time between the UK and US.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |url=
(help)