Oliver Tobias

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Oliver Tobias
Oliver Tobias (1969).jpg
Oliver Tobias (1969)
Born
Oliver Tobias Freitag

(1947-08-06) 6 August 1947 (age 77)
Zürich, Switzerland
Alma mater East 15 Acting School
Years active1968–present
SpouseArabella Zamoyska (2001 – present)
Website www.olivertobias.co.uk (Archive from 2018)

Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born, UK-based film, stage and television actor and director. [1]

Contents

Biography

Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Robert Freitag and the German actress Maria Becker. He came to the United Kingdom at the age of eight and trained at East 15 Acting School, London. In 1968, he appeared in the original London production of Hair , playing the prime rebel role of Berger. [2] The following year, he starred in, directed, and choreographed the rock opera in Amsterdam and, in 1970, directed a production in Tel Aviv.

Film career

Tobias's first role was in the feature film Romance of a Horsethief , co-starring with Yul Brynner, Serge Gainsbourg and Eli Wallach. [3] He then co-starred with Charlotte Rampling in the Jacobean tragedy 'Tis Pity She's a Whore , a film directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi. He became popular as Arthur in the TV series Arthur of the Britons (1972). Peter Weir then directed him in the TV series Luke's Kingdom . [4]

Many other successful films followed, including The Stud in 1978 in which he co-starred with Joan Collins, helping to rekindle her career. In 1981, he starred in the British television series Dick Turpin's Greatest Adventure , where he played the character Noll Bridger, a Colonial North American. Tobias also starred in Smuggler (1981) a children's drama series, set in Cornwall in 1801. Tobias also appeared as the Devil in the promotional video for Ultravox's 1982 hit "Hymn". Tobias became a frontrunner for the role of James Bond in Octopussy (1983) when Roger Moore intended to retire from the role, but Moore was ultimately recast. [5]

In 1991, Tobias starred alongside Charles Gray in the sci-fi movie "Firestar – First Contact" for Ice International Films. In 1996, Tobias played Rebecque, an aide to the Prince of Orange (Paul Bettany), in Sharpe's Waterloo . In 1998, he played Bassa Selim in Mozart in Turkey. In 2000, he starred in the West End musical La Cava . Three years later, he portrayed Percival Brown in the 50th-anniversary production of The Boy Friend and the next year toured in the rock musical Footloose . In 2005, he finished shooting the film An Airfield in England. He has been acting in a variety of roles for German and Swiss TV and has recently reprised the role of Bassa Selim in Mozart's Seraglio at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Italy. Tobias is famous for his voiceover work and was the narrator on the opening track of DJ Shadow's 2006 album The Outsider .

Personal life

In 2001, he married Arabella Zamoyska, with whom he has two sons.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1969 Arthur? Arthur! Peter "Bobo" Jackson
1970 Romance of a Horsethief Zanvill Kradnik
1971 'Tis Pity She's a Whore Giovanni
1974 The God King General Miara
1975King Arthur, the Young Warlord King Arthur
1978 The Stud Tony Blake
1979 Arabian Adventure Prince Hasan
1979 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square "Foxy"
1983 The Wicked Lady Kit Locksby
1985 Mata Hari Captain Georges Ladoux
1986 Operation Nam (Cobra Mission)Richard Wagner
1987 Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown  [ de ] Johann Strauss
1988The ChoiceUnknown
1991L'ultima metaCliff Gaylor
1991Firestar: First ContactCaptain Bremner
1993NexusTarn
1995 Vendetta Colonel de Piemonte
1995Savage HeartsCountry Gent
1996Past Into PresentHimself
1997BreedersPolice Lieutenant Moore
1997Diana & MeHimself
1998 The Brylcreem Boys Hans Jorg Wolff
1998CandyThe Man
1998Mozart in TurkeyBassa Selim
1999 Grizzly Falls Genet
1999 Darkness Falls The Money Dealer
1999Alec to the Rescue!Professor James Richards
2001Journey of a Lifetime, Europe and the Middle EastNarrator
2003Half-EmptyLead
2003Don't Look Back!Tom Johnson
2004MethodTeddy
2005An Airfield in EnglandWriter / Director
2015 Dad's Army Wilhelm Canaris
2015The Honourable RebelHimself
2016Open My EyesGunter Meinertzhagen
2017When the Devil Rides Out"Doc" Antler
2020Conjuring: The Book of the DeadDr. Klien

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1972–1973 Arthur of the Britons King Arthur24 episodes
1974 Luke's Kingdom Luke Firbeck13 episodes
1975 Thriller Alan SmerdonEpisode: "Won't Write Home Mom - I'm Dead"
1977 Jesus of Nazareth JoelTV Mini-Series
1980SmugglerJack Vincent13 episodes
1985 Robin of Sherwood Bertrand de NivelleEpisode: "Lord of the Trees"
1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Captain Jack CrockerEpisode: "The Abbey Grange"
1986Mountain Men: A Dangerous Kind of LoveMelchior AndereggTV movie
1986AdventurerJack Vincent12 episodes
1988BoonJonathan Hillary2 episodes
1989Der SchattenspielerUnknown
1990 Cluedo Count Henri de BeauchampEpisode: "Countdown"
1990 The Paper Man Ian Harris3 episodes
1992–1993 Flash - Der Fotoreporter "Flash"6 episodes
1992Glückliche ReiseLeibwächter MathiasEpisode: "Sri Lanka"
1993DonauprinzessinRick Reimers12 episodes
1993 Das Traumschiff Stefan ReinkingEpisode: "Hongkong"
1994Broken LullabyCount BorodinTV movie
1994 Eurocops CrookEpisode: "Drei Mädchen"
1995The Knock IIAlan Montfort6 episodes
1997 Sharpe's Waterloo Colonel RebecqueTV movie
1997Real WomenCallun
2000 Klinik unter Palmen Dr. Rudolfo Garcia3 episodes
2001Der BestsellerMiguel GonzalesTV movie
2002 Holby City Jim FrostEpisode: "Every Cloud..."
2005 Unter weißen Segeln Yussuf AraziEpisode: "Abschiedsvorstellung"
2006 Mord in bester Gesellschaft Comissario Santa CruzEpisode: "Mord in bester Gesellschaft"
2006AbschiedsmorgenFather
2008 Hunkeler macht Sachen Thomas GarzoniTV movie

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References

  1. Editorial Staff (4 February 2002). "20 Questions with Oliver Tobias". WhatsOnStage.com, Inc. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  2. Tobias, Oliver (7 January 2011). "Stage". Oliver Tobias – The Official Website. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  3. "Romance of a Horsethief (1971)". Turner Classic Movies. Time Warner Company. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. Luke's Kingdom. 22 May 1974. p. 24. Retrieved 5 August 2014.{{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  5. "Octopussy". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.