Martin Potter (actor)

Last updated

Martin Potter
Born (1944-09-04) 4 September 1944 (age 79)

Martin Potter (born 4 October 1944) is a British actor.

After the National Youth Theatre and repertory theatre in Guildford and Hampstead, Potter received his first role in British television at the age of 23 in the television drama The Bonegrinder (1968) written by Dennis Potter. In the same year he had another small part alongside Brian Cox in the futuristic drama The Year of the Sex Olympics .

One year later Potter's career took off with a much larger role. The Italian director Federico Fellini chose him for the main role of Encolpius in his film Satyricon . Terence Stamp, Fellini's original choice for the main role, was not available, and Fellini was looking for someone of a similar appearance.

After this star role, Potter's career tended back to smaller roles again: mostly B-films and television productions like the film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's Olive. Among his more well-known parts are the history film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and the film The Big Sleep (with Robert Mitchum as private detective Philip Marlowe). He also appeared in horror films, including Craze with Jack Palance, and television series such as Doctor Who . In 1975 he achieved some popularity with the title part of Robin Hood in a TV mini-series The Legend of Robin Hood . In 1985 he again took a part in a production concerning Ancient Rome: the American mini-series A.D. in which he portrayed the Roman politician and opponent of Nero, Gaius Calpurnius Piso.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1968 Theatre 625 Kin HodderEpisode: "The Year of the Sex Olympics"
1969 Fellini Satyricon Encolpio
1970 Goodbye Gemini Julian / Brother
1970 The Only Way Morten Jensen
1971 Nicholas and Alexandra Prince Yussoupov
1972 All Coppers Are... Joe
1974 Craze Ronnie
1975 The Legend of Robin Hood Robin Hood6 episodes
1976 Satan's Slave Stephen Yorke
1977 Cruel Passion Lord Carlisle
1978 The Big Sleep Owen Taylor
1979 Lady Oscar Comte de Giraudet, Oscar's Fiancé
1981 The Borgias Paolo Orsini6 episodes
1985 A.D. Gaius Calpernius Piso5 episodes
1986 Gunpowder Powder

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Rickman</span> English actor (1946–2016)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, languid voice, he trained at RADA in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987, he was nominated for a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Pryce</span> Welsh actor (born 1947)

Sir Jonathan Pryce is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards, and a knighthood for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gambon</span> Irish-English actor (1940–2023)

Sir Michael John Gambon was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hardy</span> British actor (1925–2017)

Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Siegfried Farnon in the BBC television series All Creatures Great and Small, Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter film series and Winston Churchill in several productions, beginning with the Southern Television series Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. He was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor for All Creatures Great and Small in 1980 and Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years in 1982. Aside from acting, Hardy was an acknowledged expert on the medieval English longbow and wrote two books on the subject.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Broadbent</span> British actor (born 1949)

James Broadbent is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Quilley</span> English actor, singer (1927–2003)

Denis Clifford Quilley, OBE was an English actor and singer. From a family with no theatrical connections, Quilley was determined from an early age to become an actor. He was taken on by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in his teens, and after a break for compulsory military service he began a West End career in 1950, succeeding Richard Burton in The Lady's Not For Burning. In the 1950s he appeared in revue, musicals, operetta and on television as well as in classic and modern drama in the theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Addie</span> English actor (1960–2003)

Robert Alastair Addie was an English film and theatre actor, who came to prominence playing the role of Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1980s British television drama series Robin of Sherwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nighy</span> English actor

William Francis Nighy is an English actor. Known for his work in several stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and also has had nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Tate</span> English actor

Reginald Tate was an English actor, veteran of many roles on stage, in films and on television. He is remembered best as the first actor to play the television science-fiction character Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Shaw</span> English actor (born 1945)

Martin Shaw is an English stage, television, and film actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series The Professionals (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in The Chief (1993–1995), Judge John Deed (2001–2007) and Inspector George Gently (2007–2017). He has also acted on stage and in film, and has narrated numerous audiobooks and presented various television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Nedwell</span> British actor (1946–1999)

Robin Courteney Nedwell was an English actor, formally trained at Central School of Speech and Drama. He is best remembered for his role as Doctor Duncan Waring in the television comedy series Doctor in the House and its sequels including Doctor Down Under; although he was critically acclaimed for his performance in television series such as The Lovers, The Upchat Connection, The Climber and the ATV comedy-drama Shillingbury Tales. He also featured in several British films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bradley (English actor)</span> English actor (born 1942)

David John Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for his screen roles including Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series The Strain.

Lee David Ingleby is an English actor who first gained attention with his leading role in the BBC Two miniseries Nature Boy (2000). His other notable roles include Detective Insp. John Bacchus on the BBC's Inspector George Gently (2007–2017), Paul Hughes in The A Word (2016–2020), Det. Tony Myerscough on Netflix's Criminal: UK (2019–2020), and DCS Jim Hobson in ITV's The Long Shadow (2023). Ingleby was the voice of Bob the Builder in the show of the same name from 2015 to 2018. His film credits include Ever After (1998), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).

Alan Wheatley was an English actor. He was a well known stage actor in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, appeared in forty films between 1931 and 1965 and was a frequent broadcaster on radio from the 1930s to the 1990s, and on television from 1938 to 1964. His most prominent television role was the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1950s TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, with Richard Greene as Robin Hood; Wheatley played the sheriff in 54 episodes between 1955 and 1959. Earlier, he had played Sherlock Holmes in the first television series featuring the great detective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Henshall</span> Scottish actor (born 1965)

Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).

Nicholas Brimble is an English actor whose long career has spanned theatre, television, film, and voice work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Cooke</span> English actor (born 1987)

Christian Louis Cooke is an English actor. He is known for playing Luke Kirkwall in Where the Heart Is, Luke Rutherford in Demons, Dorian Gaudain in Trinity, Freddie Taylor in Cemetery Junction and Len Matthews in the Channel 4 mini series The Promise. Cooke's most recent roles include ex-soldier Graham Connor in Crackle's original drama The Art of More and Mickey Argyll in BBC's three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie novel Ordeal by Innocence.

Michael J. Jackson is an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Standen</span> English actor

Clive James Standen is an English actor best known for playing Bryan Mills in the NBC series Taken (2017–2018), based on the film trilogy of the same name, as well as Rollo in the History Channel series Vikings (2013–2018), Sir Gawain in the Starz series Camelot, Archer in the BBC One series Robin Hood, and Private Carl Harris in the BBC science-fiction programme Doctor Who.

Tristan Sturrock is a British theatre, television and film actor. He has worked with the theatre company Kneehigh for 30 years. He played Colin Hedges in the drama series Bad Girls during its fifth, sixth and seventh series between 2003 and 2005, and the role of Zacky Martin in Poldark in all five seasons, which aired from 2015 to 2019 in the UK. He has performed in many productions including Brief Encounter on Broadway and Mayday, Mayday, an autobiographical solo project which he wrote and performed internationally.