Frank Finlay
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 6, 1926
- Died
- January 30, 2016 (aged 89)
- Birthplace
- Farnworth, Lancashire, England, UK
Biography
Frank received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance as William Shakespeare’s Iago in Stuart Burge’s 1965 film of Laurence Olivier’s staging of Othello. He also won the Best Actor Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He later essayed the definitive screen portrayal of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeer Porthos in three movies for director Richard Lester: The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). Frank’s many other films include The Longest Day; Tony Richardson’s The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner; Martin Ritt’s The Molly Maguires; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Alan Bridges’ The Return of the Soldier (for which he recieved a BAFTA Award nomination); Franco Zeffrelli’s Sparrow; and Eric Styles’ Dreaming of Joseph Lees; and most recently Roman Polanski’s multi-award winning The Pianist and Norma Jewison’s The Statement. His similarly extensive television projects have earned him two BAFTA Awards, for his performances in The Death of Adolf Hitler (starring as Hitler, with Rex Firkin directing); The Adventures of Don Quixote (as Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison, for director Alvin Rakoff); the ground breaking Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Another Bouquet; 84 Charing Cross Road; and recently the critically acclaimed series The Sins. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Finlay had already begun performing on stage when he earned the Sir James Knott Scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Since then he has led theatre companies in London and on Broadway. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1984 New Year’s Honours List, and was presented with his CBE by the Queen in February1984.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Nothing Like a Dame
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Fifty Shades of Erotica
Movie · as (archive footage)
Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
TV · as Alexander 'Alex' Combe · 3 eps
Merlin
TV · as Anhora · 1 ep
The Waiting Room
Movie · as Roger
Johnny and the Bomb
TV · as Tom Maxwell · 3 eps
Lighthouse Hill
Movie · as Alfred
Life Begins
TV · as Eric Thornhill · 20 eps
The Statement
Movie · as Commissaire Vionnet
Eroica
Movie · as Josef Haydn
The Lost Prince
TV · as Asquith · 2 eps
The Pianist
Movie · as Father
Station Jim
Movie · as Riorden Snr
The Martins
Movie · as Mr Heath
For My Baby
Movie · as Rudi Wittfogel
The Sins
TV · as Uncle Irwin Green · 7 eps
Longitude
TV · as Admiral Wagner · 1 ep
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
Movie · as Father
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
TV · as General Bulstrode · 2 eps
Stiff Upper Lips
Movie · as Hudson Junior
How Do You Want Me?
TV · 12 eps
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
Movie · as Mike's Dad
Limited Edition
Movie · as John Rathbone
The Grand
TV · as Edward Lawrence · 1 ep
A Mind to Murder
Movie · as Professor Etherege
The Miracle of Medjugorje
Movie · as Monsignor
Sparrow
Movie · as Father Nunzio
The Voyeur
Movie · as Nino Rolfe
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval
TV · as Alcuin · 3 eps
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Professor Coram / Sergius · 1 ep
An Exchange of Fire
TV · as Pavel Rhele · 2 eps
Cthulhu Mansion
Movie · as Chandu
The Other Side
Movie · as Arthur Conan Doyle
Stalin
Movie · as Sergei
Heartbeat
TV · as Howard Franklin · 1 ep
Mountain of Diamonds
Movie · as Garrick
Prime Suspect
TV · as Arnold Tennison · 4 eps
The Burning Shore
TV · as Garrick · 4 eps
Mountain of Diamonds
TV · as Garrick · 4 eps
King of the Wind
Movie · as Edward Coke
The Return of the Musketeers
Movie · as Porthos
Casanova
Movie · as Razetta
Erebus: The Aftermath
TV · as Justice Peter Mahon · 4 eps
Lovejoy
TV · as Harold Plumb · 1 ep
Lifeforce
Movie · as Dr. Hans Fallada
In the Secret State
Movie · as Frank Strange
Nineteen Nineteen
Movie · as Sigmund Freud (voice)
The Making Of Lifeforce
Movie · as Self
Screen Two
TV · as Frank Strange · 1 ep
Arch of Triumph
Movie · as Col. Boris Morosov
Sakharov
Movie · as Kravtsov
A Christmas Carol
Movie · as Jacob Marley
Royal Variety Performance 1984
Movie
Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Professor Coram / Sergius · 1 ep
The Key
Movie · as Nino Rolfe
The Ploughman's Lunch
Movie · as Matthew Fox
The Return of the Soldier
Movie · as William Grey
Blackadder
TV · as The Witchsmeller Pursuivant · 1 ep
The Spanish Civil War
TV · as Self - Narrator · 6 eps
Enigma
Movie · as Canarsky
Mona
Movie · as Captain Manson
Wogan
TV · as Self · 1 ep
All for Love
TV · as Captain Manson · 1 ep
Dear Brutus
Movie · as Dearth
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
Movie · as Shahriar
Ring of Darkness
Movie · as Paul
Murder by Decree
Movie · as Inspector Lestrade
Tales of the Unexpected
TV · as Arthur Pearson · 1 ep
The Wild Geese
Movie · as Fr. Geoghagen
The Thief of Baghdad
Movie · as Abu Bakar
Betzi
Movie · as Napoleon
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Movie · as Peppino
Count Dracula
Movie · as Abraham van Helsing
Count Dracula
TV · as Professor Van Helsing · 2 eps
Another Bouquet
TV · 9 eps
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
TV · as Peter Manson · 7 eps
Laurence Olivier Presents
TV · as Peppino · 1 ep
84 Charing Cross Road
Movie · as Frank Doel
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
Movie · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
The Four Musketeers
Movie · as Porthos
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
Movie · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
Shaft in Africa
Movie · as Vincent Amafi
The Three Musketeers
Movie · as Porthos / O'Reilly
Van der Valk and the Rich
Movie · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Movie · as Adolf Hitler
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
Movie · as Sancho Panza
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
Movie · as George Dabernon
Sitting Target
Movie · as Marty Gold
Danny Jones
Movie
The Merchant of Venice
Movie · as Shylock
Gumshoe
Movie · as William Ginley
Assault
Movie · as Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
Casanova
TV · as Giovanni Jacopo Casanova · 6 eps
Cromwell
Movie · as John Carter
The Molly Maguires
Movie · as Davies
The Lie
Movie · as Andrew Firth
The Body
Movie · as Narrator
Play for Today
TV · as Dearth · 2 eps
Blood of the Lamb
Movie · as Albert
The Piano Tuner
Movie · as Wilfred Tilley
Julius Caesar
Movie · as Marcus Brutus
This Happy Breed
Movie · as Frank Gibbons
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
TV · as Wilfred Tilley, Adolf Hitler · 1 ep
Inspector Clouseau
Movie · as Supt. Weaver
Twisted Nerve
Movie · as Henry Durnley
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Movie · as Igor Bounin
Robbery
Movie · as Robinson
The Jokers
Movie · as Harrassed Man
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Movie · as Chaplain
Much Ado About Nothing
Movie · as Dogberry
The Spare Tyres
Movie · as Council foreman
Les Misérables
TV · as Jean Valjean · 10 eps
The Deadly Bees
Movie · as H.W. Manfred
The Sandwich Man
Movie · as Second Fish Porter
NET Playhouse
TV · as Marcus Brutus · 1 ep
The Wild Affair
Movie · as Drunk
Othello
Movie · as Iago
A Study in Terror
Movie · as Inspector Lestrade
BBC Play of the Month
TV · as Marcus Brutus, Shylock, Sancho Panza, Voltaire · 1 ep
Thirty-Minute Theatre
TV · as The Man · 1 ep
Hot Enough for June
Movie · as British Embassy Porter
The Comedy Man
Movie · as Prout
Theatre 625
TV · as Dr Dee · 1 ep
The Wednesday Play
TV · as Albert · 1 ep
Doctor in Distress
Movie · as Corsetiere
The Informers
Movie · as Leon Sale
The Longest Day
Movie · as Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
The Hard Knock
Movie · as Franco Angelo
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Movie · as Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
Life for Ruth
Movie · as Teddy's Father
Private Potter
Movie · as Capt. Patterson
Z-Cars
TV · 1 ep
Studio 4
TV · as Fernand Destayac · 1 ep
The Younger Generation
TV · as Ross Mayer, George Tremaine · 1 ep
Drama 61-67
TV · as Albert Hope · 1 ep
You Can't Win
TV · as George Lander · 1 ep
Target Luna
TV · as Conway Henderson · 6 eps
Armchair Theatre
TV · as Franco Angelo, Bosun, Patrick Kelly, David Field · 1 ep
Sunday Night Theatre
TV · as Louis · 1 ep