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For a concise one-sheet printable CV of most recent work, click here |
| FILM |
Click for Theatre or personal biography |
|
TAMBURLAINE |
as King Mycetes, for permanent exhibition at the Elizabethan Rose Theatre site - click for photo |
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Beckett’s MOLLOY |
as Molloy in “the stones” sequence, for internet showing - click for photo - film will be online soon - watch for a link |
|
CENTURY |
as Dr Makin, directed by Stephen Poliakoff |
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PINK FLOYD: THE WALL |
as The Headmaster, directed by Alan Parker |
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FIVE DAYS ONE SUMMER |
as the Horse-bus Driver - Fred Zinnemann’s last film - click for photo |
|
COMING OUT OF THE ICE |
as the suicidal gulag prisoner |
|
THE ARCH OF TRIUMPH |
as The Angel of Death, & starring Antony Hopkins |
|
A TALE OF TWO CITIES |
as Kenneth More’s clerk |
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THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS |
as Campbell, manager of the hydro (the Robert Powell version) |
|
LES MISERABLES |
as the Carter, & starring Anthony Perkins |
|
THE UNBROKEN ARROW |
as the Friar, major role in the series of six films for the Children's Film Foundation |
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|
plus cameo performances in the following major motion pictures |
|
TOM
JONES (the musical) |
|
Television
Including all the magazine
and interview shows he has appeared on, in the UK, US, Canada and other
countries round the world,
Michael has been seen in more than four hundred television programmes. The more
memorable include these ...
|
|
PLAYS & DRAMA SERIES |
|
BBC |
EASTENDERS, as the magistrate who sent Mel to prison |
|
Anglia mini-series |
THE UNINVITED, as the magistrate |
|
Thames |
KAVANAGH QC, as an expert forensic witness |
|
Tiger Aspect for BBC |
QUEEN OF THE EAST, as Sir Stratford Canning, British Ambassador in Egypt - click for photo |
|
Tiger Aspect for BBC |
FULL THROTTLE, as a Norfolk farmer and a French motor-racing enthusiast |
|
Anglia mini-series |
MENACE UNSEEN, as Mr Smith, the enigmatic man from the Ministry |
|
BBC |
CRIMEWATCH: THE LOST BOYS; as the Prosecuting Counsel |
|
BBC |
MAYBURY, as boss of a failing company |
|
Thames |
THE BILL, as Webb - the “nick” of the day, an alcoholic down-and-out |
|
Aspect
Films |
HESS, as Rudolf Hess (Bronze Award, New York Film Festival 1986; nominated for two ACE Awards, as Best Actor & as author of the Best Single Play on US Cable, Los Angeles, 1988). Click here for photo or click here for more information or click here for reviews |
|
ITV South |
THE OTHER SIDE OF ME, as Justice Shallow, scenes from Shakespeare's Henry IV |
|
BBC |
CASUALTY, as Len, a taxi driver |
|
BBC |
TRIAL OF CONSTANCE KENT, as the flamboyant defence counsel |
|
BBC |
SECRET ARMY, as Schliemann, the Jewish victim who was ‘disappeared’ |
|
LWT |
THE PROFESSIONALS, as Alan Reeves, previous owner of Martin Shaw’s flat |
|
ATV |
PURPLE TWILIGHT, as the Air Traffic Controller |
|
BBC |
SPY-TRAP, as spy-of-the-week Danny Steadman, a sort of Blunt figure, sometime before he was unmasked |
|
LWT |
SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN, (Galton & Simpson’s only full-length play) as the TV anchorman |
|
LWT |
MENACE, as a Victorian butler |
|
LWT |
WICKED WOMEN, as a Victorian priest |
|
BBC |
ANGELS, as patient-of-the-week, victim of a road crash |
|
BBC Centre Play |
BRENT GEESE, as a university lecturer |
|
BBC |
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, as the defence lawyer |
|
Granada |
SAM, as the vicar |
|
BBC |
SCARLET AND BLACK, as Father Castenede, head of the seminary |
|
LWT |
MOONLIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY, (Dennis Potter) as the barman |
|
BBC |
STAND UP, NIGEL BARTON, (Dennis Potter), playing an Oxford friend of Nigel |
|
BBC |
KIPLING, playing a theosophist, opposite Jean Kent |
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|
cOMEDY |
|
Tiger Aspect for BBC |
PILGRIMS REST as Ben, the roadmender |
|
Channel 4 |
RED DWARF as Pope Gregory the Great |
|
BBC |
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES as a stunningly brief passer-by who knows about music |
|
BBC |
SORRY! as a doctor |
|
BBC |
POTTER as the postman |
|
LWT |
YES HONESTLY (series) as the nice neighbour - the one who wasn’t Ian Judge |
|
BBC |
WODEHOUSE PLAYHOUSE as Waldo Winkler, the television interviewer |
|
Harlech |
MEN OF AFFAIRS as a burglar |
|
LWT |
METAL MICKEY as a loopy man from the Ministry |
|
LWT |
GALTON & SIMPSON COMEDY as a doctor |
|
LWT |
DOCTOR AT LARGE as a different doctor |
|
LWT |
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE as the janitor |
|
LWT |
THE SECRET LIFE OF EDGAR BRIGGS as a spy |
|
LWT |
PLEASE SIR as the Art Master |
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CHILDREN'S & YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROGRAMMES |
|
SMG |
BUTTERFINGERS (2004 series) as Fred |
|
SMG |
HARRY AND THE WRINKLIES as Mr Barnes the bank manager |
|
BBC |
THAT GREEN STUFF (play) as a corrupt boss in the agri-business |
|
West Deutscher Rundfunk |
THE GUILDFORD GANG as the father of a teenager |
|
BBC |
SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS as Station-Master Frost |
|
Tyne Tees |
ANDY ROBSON as Master of Trinity House |
|
BBC |
BAKER STREET BOYS as Professor Flanders, villain and dupe of the two-parter |
|
BBC |
GOOD NEIGHBOURS (play)as a miserable Neighbourhood Watch organizer |
|
BBC |
JACKANORY PLAYHOUSE as several characters |
|
BBC Schools |
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF |
|
BBC Schools |
HISTORY TRAIL (two programmes) |
|
BBC Schools |
CHOLERA IS COMING as the victim of cholera |
|
BBC Schools |
LAW OF THE LAND as Head gamekeeper |
|
BBC Schools |
THE GREEKS as a Greek father in classical times |
|
BBC Schools |
MERRY-go-ROUND as Presenter for three series |
|
|
DOCUMENTARIES |
|
Ludlow Films USA |
COLD WAR REMEMBERED as myself |
|
Channel 4 |
DISPATCHES: GANG RAPE as a High Court Judge |
|
BBC |
CRIME WATCH RECORD and CRIME LIMITED Several programmes as lawyer, judge or expert witness |
|
BBC |
CRIMEWATCH as the father of a teenage murder victim |
|
BBC |
CRIMEWATCH as Michael Towler, Bradford murder victim |
|
BBC |
ON THE MOVE (several eps) as Factory Boss |
|
BBC East |
DISASTER AT THORPE as Defence Counsel |
|
BBC |
FORGOTTEN VOYAGE as Head Curator at Kew Gardens |
|
BBC |
THE BRONTËS as Patrick Bronte, the father |
|
Finnish TV |
TAKE IT EASY |
|
BBC East |
ANNA SEWELL as her father |
|
BBC East |
PARSON WOODFORDE as his groom |
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|
ARTS PROGRAMMES |
|
BBC |
REVIEW |
|
Anglia TV |
FOLIO |
|
Thames |
AFTERNOON PLUS |
|
BBC |
OMNIBUS |
|
Thames |
CLOSEDOWN of ITV - more than 70 programmes |
|
|
COMMERCIALS |
|
|
Nairn Cushion Floor, McVities (2 commercials), Tesco, New World Cookers, Buxted Southern Chicken, ICI, Flash Floor-cleaner, Kaufringhaus (Germany), Honda, Irischer Fruhling (4 commercials, Germany), Woolworth (2 commercials), British Caledonian Airways, Barclaycard, Cordon Bleu Walls, Glow-Worm, Margarine (Germany), Clydesdale Bank, Wilkinson Sword (Germany), Heineken, Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, Arrigoni (Italy), DFS (2 commercials in umpteen versions), McDonalds Fries, ESSO, Vauxhall, Hyumdai, The Observer, and more ... |
|
|
PROMOTIONAL FILMS |
|
|
Labgear (TV engineer), Monsanto Chemicals (Safety Officer), Lettraset (Presenter), Sun Life of Canada (Presenter), Sun Alliance (Potential customer), Ministry of Agriculture (Shopper), Ministry of Health (Doctor), and more ... |
| Theatre |
Click for Film & Television or personal biography or TOP OF THE PAGE |
|
|
Most recently -
Jeffrey in Animal Magnetism,
Colin Blumenau Restoring the Repertoire: roles in three long-unperformed Georgian plays given acted readings |
|
London West End |
Arthur Kipps in The Woman in Black, Fortune Theatre, Robin Herford (2007) - click for photo Mr
Paravicini in The Mousetrap, St
Martin’s Theatre, Anna Barry (2005-2006) 1st French Baron & 2nd Becket Servant in Becket Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud), Peter Hall (1961) |
|
Royal
Shakespeare Company |
Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Hall Oskar Rose in The Physicists, Peter Brook the Doctor in King Lear, Peter Brook the Pope’s Secretary in The Representative, Clifford Williams Balthazar in A Comedy of Errors, Clifford Williams
Zapo in Picnic on the Battlefield,
David Jones |
|
|
And also -
Brush in A Clandestine Marriage, John Clements Seyton in Macbeth, Michael Benthall Yasha in The Cherry Orchard, Lindsay Anderson |
|
Bristol Old Vic |
Dr Rance in What the Butler Saw, Philip Grout Messengers in The Bacchae, Andy Hinds Sir Robert Morton KC in The Winslow Boy, Patrick Lau Brettschneider & Goering in Schweyk in the Second World War, John David |
|
Mermaid Theatre, London |
Chief of Police in The Price of Justice, Bernard Miles The Judge in Geneva, Philip Grout |
|
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |
Hadrian in Hadrian VII, Philip Grout - click here for review Nipple in Little Malcolm, Richard Eyre Konstantin in The Seagull, Richard Eyre Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, Eric Jones Ron in Events While Guarding a Bofors Gun, Richard Eyre |
|
Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre |
Inquisitor in St Joan, Ken Parrott Flavius in That’ll Be The Day, Ken Parrott |
|
Palace Theatre Watford |
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lou Stein Mr Morland in Mary Rose, Matthew Francis - with Greenwich Theatre - click for photo Dr Ranke in A Doll’s House, Lou Stein Ned in Autumn Garden, Stephen Hollis Dr McPhail in Rain, Stephen Hollis Vershinin in Three Sisters, Stephen Hollis |
|
Salisbury Playhouse |
Philip in Relatively Speaking, Graham Berown Melbury in The Woodlanders, David Horlock |
|
Derby Playhouse |
Clarence in Richard III, Mark Clements Baron Hardup in Mother Goose, Malcolm Sircom The Miser in The Miser, Mark Woolgar Holmes in Enter Sherlock Holmes, Mark Woolgar Polonius in Hamlet, Mark Woolgar - click here for review Prime Minister in Sleeping Beauty, Malcom Sircom Long John Silver in Treasure Island, Mark Woolgar Headmaster in Forty Years On, Mark Woolgar
Ugly Sister in Cinderella,
Malcolm Sircom |
|
Redgrave Theatre Farnham |
George in Jumpers, David Horlock Headmaster in Forty Years On, David Horlock Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, David Horlock - click here for review |
|
Arts Theatre Ipswich |
Beyond the Fringe, Suki Pitcher one of the 4 leads in I Learned in Ipswich How to Poison Flowers, Nicholas Barter |
|
The Mill at Sonning |
Ashley Croucher in Sugar Daddies - click here for review The 3 leads in Plaza Suite, Anna Barry |
|
Angles Theatre Wisbech |
One-man show, An Actor's Tale,
Michael Burrell
Rudolf Hess in Hess, Philip
Grout |
|
Latchmere Theatre London |
Richard & John in Borrowing Time, Philip Grout - click here for review General Burgoyne in The Man Who Lost America, Philip Grout - click for photo |
 |
... plus ... Bad King John in Kings & Liberties
Brigadier, Cole & Cedric in Teddy
Twindletail Talks for England, Granary Theatre Wells, King’s Lynn Arts
Centre Oliphant in A Curious Accident, Nuffield Theatre Southampton, Jeremy Raison Tim in Ten Times Table, Theatre Royal Windsor, dir Robin Herford - click for photo General Burgoyne in The Man Who Lost America, Palace Theatre Westcliff, Philip Grout The Detective in Dial M for Murder, English Speaking Theatre Vienna, Cyril Frankel Rudolf Hess in Hess, Dublin International Theatre Festival, Sherman Theatre Cardiff, Bristol Old Vic, Mercury Colchester, Derby Playhouse, Edinburgh Traverse, and Mickery Theatre Amsterdam Couples, King’s Head London, Jon Bromwich Arnholm in Lady from the Sea, Birmingham Rep, Bill Pride Title
role in The Jesuit, Traverse
Theatre Edinburgh, Sandy Nielson Dromio in A Comedy of Errors, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Nicolas Kent Luigi in A Yard of Sun, Nottingham Playhouse & The National Theatre at the Old Vic, Stuart Burge Gray of Gray’s Elegy (solo show), Cochrane Theatre London Wimsel in The Secret, Theatre Lynn season King’s Lynn, Braham Murray Nicola in Irene, Prospect Productions, Bryan Whitehouse Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew, Arts Theatre Cambridge, Trevor Nunn Spanish Ambassador in A Man for All Seasons, Northampton Rep, dir Alan Brown |
|
Canada and the USA |
... as well as work in some 45 countries including - Rudolf Hess in Hess, Orlando Theatre Festival USA & Bury St Edmunds Festival Burrell on the Bard (solo Shakespeare show), Winnipeg Theatre Festival The Older Rauch in Funker Rauch, Edmonton Theatre Festival, Brian Paisley - click here for review Rudolf Hess in HESS, Winnipeg Theatre Festival General Burgoyne in The Man Who Lost America, Edmonton Theatre Festival, Philip Grout Rudolf Hess in Hess, Canadian Tour Burrell on the Bard, Edmonton Theatre Festival Canada, Christopher Wood
Rudolf Hess in Hess, Edmonton
Theatre Festival Canada |
|
British Council
|
Burrell on the Bard (solo Shakespeare show), India A Slight Ache, Morocco intimate Exchanges, Morocco, Denise Coffey Borrowing Time, Morocco, Philip Grout Burrell on the Bard, Lebanon
Scenes from Shakespeare, Pinter and Bolt - Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal,
Sudan, Algeria & Portugal |
|
|
|
| 1949-56 Education | John Lyon School, Harrow. Re-started drama at the school, which had ceased before WW2, founding and becoming Secretary of the Drama Group; staging and playing in two revues; then directing and appearing in a composite version of Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays; and finally playing in The Proposal by Chekhov. Awarded Shooting Colours 1955. Awarded House Colours 1955. Head Boy 1955-56. First Head Boy to give an address in the Speech Room on Speech Day: this is now a tradtion. In 2008 the school named their new drama studio after him. |
| 1956-58 National Service | In Counter Intelligence, serving in Germany. Chairman of the Anglo-German Club, Moenchen Gladbach, 1957-8. |
| 1958-61 Peterhouse, Cambridge | With fellow undergraduate John Sharp, re-founded the College drama society, the Heywood Society, which had atrophied some years before. Became Secretary 1959-60 and President 1960-61. Appeared in every Marlowe Society production during his time at the University, playing in Friar Bacon & Friar Bungay and in Dr Faustus, both at Stratford-Upon-Avon and at the Lyric, Hammersmith. Also played in several productions with the ADC and University Actors. The ADC musical version of Love's Labours Lost, with music by Clive Swift, transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith with a cast including Derek Jacobi, Corin Redgrave & John Fortune, and included a hit number sung by Michael & Ian McKellen. The University Actors production of Richard Cottrell's Deutsches Haus, re-titled Marking Time, with its student cast again including Michael & Ian McKellen and with Margaret Drabble in a pivotal rôle, went into London's Arts Theatre for a short run. |
 |
He joined the 1960 Footlights revue, Pop Goes Mrs Jessop, at the invitation of Peter Cook (click photo left) playing among others, the Ornithology sketch, straight man to Peter in Interesting Facts, and Perkins in the first version of Peter’s famous RAF sketch (later played by Jonathan Miller). The following year, directed by David Reid, Michael appeared in the revue, I Thought I Saw It Move, along with Peter Bellwood, Hugh Walters, Humphrey Barclay & David Frost. With Cambridge University Mummers in 1960, he played in the world premiere of Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen, which won the National Union of Students annual Drama Competition, judged by Harold Hobson. Michael was Secretary of the CU Mummers from 1959-60 and President from 1960-61. He still managed to graduate in English in 1961, taking his MA in 1965. In 2002, the Peterhouse students appointed Michael Honorary President of the Heywood Society; in 2008 he was elected to the Committee of the Peterhouse Society. |
| Subsequent interests outside work have included long periods serving on various committees, including the Drama Panel of the Eastern Arts Association, the boards of Wells Centre, Wells-Next-The-Sea in Norfolk, Tiebreak Touring Theatre (where he was Company Secretary for 18 years), Kings Lynn Arts Centre & Festival, and The Angles Theatre, Wisbech. From 1998-2008, Michael was Chair of the Wisbech Events Forum, organising and facilitating community events in Wisbech. In 2002, he became a Trustee of Natural High Experience Ltd, a charity working with disadvantaged young people in Cambridgeshire; he has for some years now been its Chairman. | |
| In 2008 he became Patron of the Phoenix Writers, a group with mental health problems with whom he has worked for many years. In 2010 he became Patron of Ratzkool, the Wisbech Angles Theatre programme whereby adults and young people can achieve accreditations and qualifications in performing arts. Also in 2010 he was admitted to the American Order of Merit, conferred by the American Biographical Institute. | |
| Michael has been active in politics since the early 1990s and is currently Chairman of the Huntingdon branch of the Liberal Democrat Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Liberal Club in Whitehall in 2010, having been Vice-Chairman since 2007. He is also a director of NLC Ltd and was Chairman of the Club's General Purposes Committee from 2006-2009. | |
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Last Update - July 2010 |
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