Karl Johnson (actor)

Not to be confused with Carl Johnson (Grand Theft Auto).

Karl Johnson
Born	(1948-03-01) 1 March 1948 (age 77) Wales

Karl Johnson (born 1 March 1948) is a Welsh actor, who has worked on stage, film and television. His notable roles to date include the title role in Derek Jarman's 1993 film Wittgenstein , ^[2] and those of Cato the Younger in the television drama series Rome and of Twister Turrill in the BBC costume drama Lark Rise to Candleford . ^[3]

Filmography

Film

• Jubilee (1978) - Sphinx
• The Tempest (1979) - Ariel, an airy spirit
• Prick Up Your Ears (1987) - Douglas Orton
• A Prayer for the Dying (1987) - Fitzgerald
• Close My Eyes (1991) - Colin
• Let Him Have It (1991) - Parris
• Wittgenstein (1993) - Ludwig Wittgenstein
• Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) - John Deakin
• Tomorrow La Scala (2002) - Sydney
• Pure (2002) - Grandad
• Frozen (2005) - Coastguard Bill
• Heidi (2005) - Old Man
• The Illusionist (2006) - Doctor / Old Man
• Copying Beethoven (2006) - Stefan Holtz
• Four Last Songs (2007) - Erico
• Hot Fuzz (2007) - PC Bob Walker
• The Edge of Love (2008) - Dai Fred (uncredited)
• Is Anybody There? (2008) - Arthur (uncredited)
• I Know You Know (2008) - Ernie
• Third Star (2010) - Ticket Seller
• Frankenstein (2011) - de Lacey
• The Pier (2011) ^[4] - Larry McCarthy
• The Deep Blue Sea (2011) - Mr Miller
• Good Vibrations (2012) - George Hooley
• The Sea (2013) - Blunden
• Mr Turner (2014) - Mr Booth
• Hamlet (2015) - Ghost of Hamlet's Father / Gravedigger
• The Carer (2016) - Joseph
• Kaleidoscope (2016) - John
• Winter Thaw (2016) - Stepanovich
• The Death of Stalin (2017) - Dr. Lukomsky
• Peterloo (2018) ^[5] - Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary
• King Lear (2018) - The Fool
• Dream Horse (2020) - Kerby

Television

• Rainbow (1973–1974) - Karl, part of the music trio
• Sons and Lovers (1981) - Paul Morel
• A Tale of Two Cities (1989) - Barsad
• Rules of Engagement - Dave Gillespie
• The Bill (1989–2004) - Jon Jennings / Len Rogers / Geoff Hallwood / D.I. Osborne
• Agatha Christie's Poirot (1993, TV Series, 1 episode: Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan) - Saunders
• Catherine the Great (1995, TV Movie) - Sheshkovsky
• An Independent Man (1995) - Bill Rutherford
• The Temptation of Franz Schubert (1997, TV Movie) - Doctor
• Wing and a Prayer (1997)
• Vanity Fair (1998) - Major Loder
• David Copperfield (1999) - Tungay
• Without Motive (2000–2001) - Robert Jackson
• Born and Bred (2003) - Alec Rossendale
• The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003, TV Movie) - Fall
• When I'm 64 (2004, TV Movie) - Billy
• Dalziel and Pascoe : Soft Touch (2004) - Stevie Earle
• Midsomer Murders (2005) - Derek Lockwood
• Rome (2005–2007) - Porcius Cato
• The Chatterley Affair (2006, TV Movie) - Mr. Justice Byrne
• Nostradamus (2006, TV Movie)
• Elizabeth David: A Life in Recipes (2006) - Norman Douglas
• New Tricks (2006) - Gary Kendall
• Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006) - Marcellus
• As You Like It (2006)
• Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011) - Twister Turrill
• Small Island (2009) - Arthur Bligh
• Merlin (2010) - Taliesin
• Call the Midwife (2013) - Mr. Masterson
• Plebs (2014) - Judge
• Why We Went to War (2015)
• Lovesick (2016) - Richard
• Mum (2016–2019) - Reg
• King Lear (2018, TV Movie) - Fool
• Ray's Daze
• Halo (2022) - Truth
• Truelove (TV series) (2024) - Tom

Selected stage career

• The Seafarer , as James 'Sharky' Harkin, National Theatre, London
• Tales From The Vienna Woods, National Theatre, London
• Scenes from the Big Picture, National Theatre, London
• Hamlet, National Theatre, London ^[6]
• The Walls, National Theatre, London
• Cardiff East, National Theatre, London
• The Ends of the Earth, National Theatre, London
• Machine Wreckers, National Theatre, London
• The Shape of The Table, National Theatre, London
• Black Snow, National Theatre, London
• Golden Boy, National Theatre, London
• The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, National Theatre, London
• The Sea, National Theatre, London
• Uncle Vanya, National Theatre, London
• Don Quixote, National Theatre, London
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, National Theatre, London
• The Fawn, National Theatre, London
• Glengarry Glen Ross, National Theatre, London
• Wild Honey, National Theatre, London
• The Rivals, National Theatre, London
• The Mysteries, National Theatre, London
• Animal Farm, National Theatre, London
• Almost Nothing/At The Table, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen, Royal Court Theatre, London
• This Is A Chair, Royal Court Theatre, London
• The Night Heron, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Boy Gets Girl, Royal Court Theatre, London
• The Weir, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Been So Long, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Just a Little Less Than Normal, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Sudlow's Dawn, Royal Court Theatre, London
• Irish Eyes and English Tears, Royal Court Theatre, London
• In The Company of Men, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford
• TV Times, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford
• Knight of the Burning Pestle, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford
• Amadeus, Peter Hall Company
• The Country Wife, Centreline Productions
• The Last Yankee, Leicester Haymarket
• Woyzeck, Foco Novo at Lyric Hammersmith
• War Crimes, ICA
• The Dresser, Leatherhead
• Hedda Gabler, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford
• Much Ado About Nothing, Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
• As You Like It, Old Vic
• Vieux Carre, West End
• Frankenstein, National Theatre, London
• Barking in Essex , Wyndham's Theatre
• The Cherry Orchard , St. Ann's Warehouse ^[7]

References

1. "Karl Johnson on The Pineapple Pub". London Beyond Sight. 1 October 2012. VocalEyesAD.
2. Open Culture: Wittgenstein Archived 6 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 7 May 2014
3. BBC One - Lark Rise to Candleford. Accessed 7 May 2014
4. "Irish Film Board - Film Directory - Features - The Pier". Directory.irishfilmboard.ie. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
5. "History with a human face". The Sunday Telegraph. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
6. Patrick O'Kane (2 May 2012). Actors' Voices: The People Behind the Performances: The People Behind the Performances. Oberon Books. p. 9. ISBN   978-1-84943-336-5.
7. "The Cherry Orchard (Off-Broadway, St. Ann's Warehouse, 2025)". Playbill. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

External links

• Karl Johnson at IMDb