Julian Bleach

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Julian Bleach
Born (1963-12-29) 29 December 1963 (age 61)
Bournemouth, England
NationalityEnglish
Alma mater London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, playwright
Years active1990–present

Julian Bleach (born 29 December 1963) [1] is an English actor, singer and playwright, who is known as co-creator and "MC" of Shockheaded Peter , a musical entertainment based on the works of Heinrich Hoffmann, [2] which won the 2002 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. [3] He is also known for playing Davros in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who (in 2008, 2015, and 2023).

Contents

Early life

Bleach was born in Bournemouth. He was educated at Summerbee School and studied drama at Bournemouth and Poole College. After that he trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. [4]

Career

Bleach's other theatre work includes playing Ariel to Patrick Stewart's Prospero in the RSC's 2007 production of The Tempest , [5] directed by Rupert Goold, and Mr. Sowerberry (to Louise Gold's Mrs. Sowerberry) and Dr. Grimwig in the 2009 Theatre Royal Drury Lane production of the musical Oliver!.

On television, he has starred as "The Monster" in the 2007 ITV adaptation of Frankenstein . [6] He played the Grand Master from the second series of children's drama M.I.High and guest-starred as the villainous "Ghostmaker" in Peter J. Hammond's "From Out of the Rain" in the second series of Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood . [4] Bleach was later cast by the parent series as Davros, enemy of The Doctor and creator of the Daleks, in "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End", the two-part season finale of the 2008 series, [7] and live at the Doctor Who Prom, [8] before returning to the role in the 2015 series opener, "The Magician's Apprentice", and its conclusion, "The Witch's Familiar". In 2010, it was announced that he would star as the eponymous character in The Nightmare Man , the opening story of Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures . This makes him one of only two actors (the other being Paul Marc Davis) to appear in not only Doctor Who, but two of its spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah-Jane Adventures. In 2011, he appeared as Niccolò Machiavelli in the Showtime series The Borgias .

In 2016 Bleach appeared as Barkilphedro in the critically acclaimed new musical The Grinning Man at Bristol Old Vic which transferred in late 2017 to Trafalgar Studios. In the same year he also appeared in Rory Mullarkey's new play Saint George and the Dragon at the Royal National Theatre.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990 The Fool
1994Beg!Dr. Rogers
1999 Topsy-Turvy Mr. Plank
2002Ghost ChildLeo
2005 The Brothers Grimm Letorc
2006 The Fall Mystic/Elderly Patient
2008 Lecture 21 Aristocrat
2009BadinageFranklin Gothic
2011 Anonymous Sir Richard Pole
2012Lord Horror: The Dark and Silver AgeLord Horror
Les Misérables Claquesous
2013The Fallen WordFranklin Gothic
2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron Ballet Instructor
MindGamers Preacher
Remainder Pianist
Word Made Flesh: Sir Peter BlakeMad HatterShort film
2016MotherCrematorium TechnicianShort film
Suicide NoteThe ManShort film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002The GistDavid LuscombeTV movie
2005Riot at the RiteViolinistTV movie
2007 The Afternoon Play StefanEpisode: "Come Fly With Me"
Frankenstein The Monster TV movie
2008–13 M.I. High The Grand Master
2008 Torchwood The GhostmakerEpisode: "From Out of the Rain"
2008, 2015, 2023 Doctor Who Davros 4 episodes, 1 mini episode
2008 Criminal Justice GaolerSeries 1, Episode 3
2009 Doctor Who at the Proms Davros
2010 The Sarah Jane Adventures The Nightmare ManSerial: The Nightmare Man
Psychoville Doctor/EddieEpisode: "Halloween Special"
2011–13 The Borgias Niccolò Machiavelli
2012 Ripper Street Cecil CreightonEpisode: "I Need Light"
2014 This is Jinsy UndertakerEpisode: "Population 791"
2016 Close to the Enemy Geoffrey SalterTV miniseries
2017 Emerald City Roquat 4 episodes
2019 Heirs of the Night Dracula
2022 Halo Mercyx episodes[ quantify ]
2022 The English Jerome McClintock2 episodes

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2015 Lego Dimensions DavrosUncredited

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Macbeth Macbeth Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
1993 Dracula Count Dracula London Bubble Theatre Company
1995 Gormenghast Flay/BarquentineDavid Glass New Mime Ensemble
1996 The Government Inspector Zemlyanika Leeds Playhouse
1997 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck English Shakespeare Company
1998–05 Shockheaded Peter Shockheaded Peter
2002 Cabaret Emcee Chichester Festival Theatre
2003 The Firework-Maker's Daughter Hamlet the Elephant Crucible Theatre
2005 The Importance of Being Earnest Lane/Merriman Oxford Playhouse
2006 Antony and Cleopatra Clown/Alexas Royal Shakespeare Company
2006 The Tempest Ariel Royal Shakespeare Company
2008–09 Oliver! Mr. Sowerberry/Dr. Grimwig Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
2010 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour Ivanov Royal National Theatre
2016–18 The Grinning Man Barkilphedro Bristol Old Vic/Trafalgar Studios
2016Raising MarthaRoger Duffy Park Theatre
2017 Saint George and the Dragon The Dragon Royal National Theatre
2022 Into the Woods The Mysterious Man Theatre Royal, Bath
2024-25 The Importance of Being Earnest Merriman/Lane Royal National Theatre

References

  1. ↑ Swain, Richard (29 December 2016). "Happy Birthday to Who? – 29th December: Bernard Cribbins & Julian Bleach". Blogtor Who. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Brantley, Ben (23 February 2005). "Nasty Surprises for Bad Children (and Grown-Ups, Too)". The New York Times . Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  3. ↑ Gans, Andrew (4 November 2004). "Olivier-Winning Shockheaded Peter to Play-off-Broadway's Little Shubert Theatre". Playbill . Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  4. 1 2 John, Timothy (23 October 2007). "I'm so proud of my 'monstrous' son!". Dorset Echo . Newsquest Media Group . Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  5. ↑ Spencer, Charles (2 March 2007). "Beamed to a better ship". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  6. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (25 October 2007). "Titchmarsh scares off Frankenstein". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  7. ↑ Clout, Laura (17 June 2008). "Dr Who's enemy Davros to make a comeback". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  8. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben (28 July 2008). "'Doctor Who' and Davros take over Proms". Digital Spy . Retrieved 29 July 2008.
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