Louis Selwyn

Last updated

Louis Selwyn is an English actor and film producer. He portrayed Martin Downes, the only child of Bet Lynch who, it is implied, is connected to current Coronation Street storylines concerning Laura Neelan[ citation needed ]. He is known for his early roles in the BBC's The Three Musketeers and on stage at The Royal Shakespeare Company, [1] as well as later appearances in the series The Strauss Family as Josef Strauss, and later as Jofre Borgia in The Borgias , both for the BBC. He went on to play Mick Jagger in Let the Good Stones Roll [2] with Sara Coward at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End [3] and on to roles at The Royal National Theatre's Olivier Theatre. He released a record, Bind Your Love in Heaven, in 2001 on his own label Quantum Records. Louis has since been credited as a Producer on four feature-length films including Evil Never Dies in which he also starred as 'Gordon'. He stars in an upcoming Hitchcockian thriller/comedy/horror Heckle, due for release in 2021.

Contents

Stage

Louis Selwyn began his stage work, [4] as a child actor, with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 in a production of Henry V, Part 2 alongside Malcolm McDowell, Sir Patrick Stewart OBE, Sir Ian Holm CBE and Frances de la Tour. He was known to the cast and crew as 'Little Louis'. He went on to take another part immediately after the show closed, again at the RSC, but this time on Twelfth Night alongside Dame Diana Rigg under the directorship of Clifford Williams.

In his early twenties, Selwyn appeared in the West End at the Ambassadors Theatre as Mick Jagger in a production of Rayner Bourton's Let The Good Stones Roll. [3]

1979 saw Selwyn drawn to The Royal National Theatre, appearing at The Olivier Theatre on four separate productions. [5] He played William in As You Like It , directed by John Dexter, alongside Dermot Crowley and Oz Clarke, followed by a role as Messenger in Richard III alongside Michael Beint and Mary Wimbush and directed by Christopher Morahan. The next production that year was Amadeus , appearing alongside Felicity Kendal and Simon Callow and directed by Peter Hall. The final production at The Olivier Theatre in December of 1979 was Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck alongside Sir Ralph Richardson.

Television

Selwyn began his television career, as a child actor, in 1967 playing the young King Louis in 13 episodes of the series The Further Adventure of the Musketeers for the BBC, followed by further BBC parts that year on Not in front of the children , Merry Go Round and A Hundred Years of Humphrey Hastings. [6] In 1968 Selwyn played Roger Perry [7] in a two-part story on Season 6 of the Z Cars series.

In 1969 he again took a role with the BBC in The First Lady with Thora Hird, followed by an appearance on ITV's Sunday Night Theatre and later, in 1970, on ITV's Sunday Night Drama.

The Strauss Family , in 1972, saw Louis play Josef Strauss in three episodes of the TV miniseries alongside Barbara Ferris and Jane Seymour.

Selwyn played Jabir in QB VII , a 1974 mini-series starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Leslie Caron and Anthony Quayle. The series was considered a television milestone, dealing with difficult subjects surrounding World War Two, it was based on the book by Leon Uris. This same year, Louis played Martin Downdes, the son of Bet Lynch whom she gave up for adoption, in Coronation Street . He would appear twice before the character was tragically killed, never having introduced himself to his mother.

In 1978 he played a hijacker in the series Life at Stake for the BBC, after which he played Jofre Borgia in the BBC TV mini series The Borgias . He later played a small part in Tender is the Night , Dennis Potter's BBC adaptation [8] of the F.Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name, starring Timothy West.

Film

In 1960 Louis played an Apprentice in Cry of the Banshee with Vincent Price and Michael Elphick. It was a British horror film released by American International Pictures and directed by Gordon Hessler. Terry Gilliam is credited with producing the original animated title sequence.

Caught Looking [9] was a 1991 short film starring Louis as the "voyeur", alongside iconic actor and activist Bette Bourne as narrator. It won the Teddy award for Best Short Film at Berlin International Film Festival.

Leo Asemota's Palindrome r.s.s.r, released in 2002, was billed as a cinematic installation examining the issues of race, sex and religion. Louis played Simon Peter.

Selwyn played "Gordon" in the horror/thriller film Evil Never Dies , alongside Tony Scannell, in 2014. Louis is credited as Producer on the movie. Continuing in the genre, he later played Charles on Blue Moon, also directed by Martyn Pick, on which Louis is also credited as Producer. It was screened at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as part of Screamfest. Originally for release in 2019, Louis Selwyn has most recently featured in the comedy/horror Heckle, starring Steve Guttenberg, Clark Gable III and Toyah Willcox, this movie features in the 2020 Frightfest Digital Festival. Louis is also credited as Producer on Heckle.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Branagh</span> British actor and filmmaker (born 1960)

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Berkshire, Branagh trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has served as its president since 2015. He has directed and starred in numerous projects on stage and screen. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours, and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Jacobi</span> English actor (born 1938)

Sir Derek George Jacobi is an English actor. Jacobi is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Rigg</span> English actress (1938–2020)

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969); Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–2017); and the title role in Medea in the West End in 1993 followed by Broadway a year later.

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn is a British theatre director. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, like Macbeth, as well as opera and musicals, such as Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985).

Alex Michael Jennings is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for Too Clever by Half (1988), Peer Gynt (1996), and My Fair Lady (2003). He is the only performer to have won Olivier awards in the drama, musical, and comedy categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Clay</span> English actor

Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Kitchen</span> English actor

Michael Roy Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama Foyle's War, which comprised eight series between 2002 and 2015. He also played the role of Bill Tanner in two James Bond films opposite Pierce Brosnan, and that of John Farrow in BBC Four's comedy series Brian Pern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Eve</span> British actor

Trevor John Eve is an English film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead. He is the father of three children, including actress Alice Eve.

Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre and has performed in a long line of major stage productions since the mid-1980s. She has made numerous appearances on television including a long-running role as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995) which made her a household name and favourite. She has often worked as a voice actress on radio, and her film credits include a starring role in In Love with Alma Cogan (2011).

Christopher Benjamin is a retired English actor with many stage and television credits since the 1960s. His television roles include three appearances in Doctor Who, portraying Sir Keith Gold in Inferno (1970), Henry Gordon Jago in The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977) and Colonel Hugh Curbishley in The Unicorn and the Wasp (2008). He also provided the voice of Rowf in the animated film The Plague Dogs (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Larkin</span> British actor

Chris Larkin is an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Magee (actor)</span> Northern Irish actor (1922–1982)

Patrick George Magee was a Northern Irish actor. He was noted for his collaborations with playwrights Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, sometimes called "Beckett's favourite actor," as well as creating the role of the Marquis de Sade in the original stage and screen productions of Marat/Sade.

Oliver Charles Cotton is an English actor and playwright, known for his prolific work on stage, TV and film. He remains best known for his role as Cesare Borgia in the BBC's 1981 drama series The Borgias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carter (actor)</span> English actor

James Edward Carter is an English actor, best known for his role as Mr Carson in the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), which earned him four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012–2015). He reprised the role in the feature films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) and starred as the main villain Rookery in The Little Vampire and its 2017 remake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Sinden</span> English filmmaker and actor

Marcus Andrew Sinden is an English actor and film & theatre director and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Richardson</span> British actor (born 1963)

Miles Richardson is a British actor, born in Battersea, London to parents Ian Richardson and Maroussia Frank, both founder members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His maternal great grandfather was the Russian philosopher Semyon Lyudvigovich Frank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Kinnear</span> English actor

Rory Michael Kinnear is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode, and for playing the William Shakespeare villain Iago in Othello in 2014.

David Meyer is an English actor. He is the twin of Anthony Meyer who has often appeared alongside him in film. He is best known for his role as a knife-throwing circus performer and assassin in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, for Shakespearean roles such as Hamlet and Ferdinand, and for portraying Isaac Newton on stage. Meyer, as part of Shakespeare's Globe, has appeared in numerous productions on stage in London in recent decades, and in 2017 played Saturn in James Wallace's production of The Woman in the Moon at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

William Alexander Paterson known professionally as Bill Alexander is a British theatre director who is best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and as artistic director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He currently works as a freelance, internationally as a theatre director and most recently as a director of BBC Radio 4 drama.

Martin David Anson Duncan is an English director, actor, composer, and choreographer. Duncan was artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse from 1994 to 1999 and joint artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre from 2003 to 2005 with Ruth Mackenzie and Steven Pimlott. He has composed the musical scores for over 50 theatre productions.

References

  1. ↑ "Louis Selwyn". Theatricalia. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  2. ↑ Warner, Sam (13 February 2017). "The Archers actress Sara Coward dies, aged 69". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Production of Let The Good Stones Roll". Theatricalia. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  4. ↑ "Search | RSC Performances | TWE196606 - Twelfth Night | Shakespeare Birthplace Trust". collections.shakespeare.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "CalmView: Overview". catalogue.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. ↑ A Hundred Years of Humphrey Hastings (TV Series 1967), IMDb, retrieved 15 October 2020[ unreliable source? ]
  7. ↑ Martinus, Derek (2 December 1968), Breakdown: Part 1 (Crime, Drama), Paul Angelis, Geoffrey Bayldon, Ron Davies, Windsor Davies, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), retrieved 15 October 2020[ unreliable source? ]
  8. ↑ Tender Is the Night (1985) , retrieved 15 October 2020
  9. ↑ "Caught Looking (1992)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.