John Woodvine facts for kids

John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is a talented English actor. He has performed in over 70 plays and a similar number of TV shows and movies. He has been acting for a very long time, starting in 1952!

Early Life and Training

John Woodvine was born in South Shields, England. His parents were Rose and John Woodvine. He went to school at Lord Williams's School in Thame, Oxfordshire. After school, he trained to be an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He finished his training in 1953, ready to start his acting career.

A Career on Stage and Screen

John Woodvine has had a very busy career in acting. He worked with the famous Old Vic theatre company in the 1950s. He also spent many years with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which is one of the most important theatre companies in the world.

Famous Theatre Roles

At the RSC, John Woodvine played many important characters. In 1976, he was Banquo in a famous production of Macbeth. He acted alongside well-known actors like Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. This play was even recorded for television later!

In 1980, he starred as Ralph Nickleby in the RSC's big show, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Ralph Nickleby was the main bad guy in that story. He also played Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the RSC.

Playing Police Officers and More on TV

John Woodvine often played police officers in his early TV roles. He was a regular character, Det. Insp. Witty, in the British drama series Z-Cars from 1968 to 1969. He also appeared in other police shows like Softly, Softly and New Scotland Yard.

He appeared in many other popular TV shows too. He was in When the Boat Comes In in 1975 and played the Marshal in a Doctor Who story called The Armageddon Factor in 1979. Later, he was Sir Malachi Jellicoe in The New Statesman. He even played Neville, the father of Frank Gallagher, in the show Shameless. In 2016, he appeared in the Netflix series The Crown as the Archbishop of York.

Memorable Film Appearances

John Woodvine has also been in several movies. One of his most famous film roles was Dr. J. S. Hirsch in the 1981 movie An American Werewolf in London. He later played this role again for a radio version of the film. He also appeared in the 1972 film Young Winston and Persuasion in 1995. In 2010, he was in the movie Burke & Hare.

Personal Life

John Woodvine is married to actress Lynn Farleigh. His daughter, Mary Woodvine, is also an actress. In 2012, John Woodvine had a health scare when he collapsed during a play performance. Luckily, he made a full recovery and was able to continue his acting career.

Selected Roles

John Woodvine has played many different characters throughout his career. Here are some of them:

• Harry Y. Esterbrook in Inherit the Wind, 1960
• Long John Silver in Treasure Island, 1961
• The title role in Macbeth, 1964
• Jackie in Close the Coalhouse Door, 1968
• Claudius in Hamlet, 1971
• Duke of Cornwall in King Lear, 1976
• Banquo in Macbeth, 1976
• Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1979
• Ralph Nickleby in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1980
• Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, 1991
• Prospero in The Tempest, 1992
• King Philip II of Spain in Don Carlos, 2000
• The Player King in Hamlet, 2008

Filmography Highlights

• Scotland Yard (film series) (1961) – John Powers
• The Walking Stick (1970) – Bertie Irons
• The Devils (1971) – Trincant
• Young Winston (1972) – Howard
• An American Werewolf in London (1981) – Dr J. S. Hirsch
• Knights of God (1987) – Prior Mordrin
• Danny, the Champion of the World (1989) – Tallon
• Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1992) – Thomas Earnshaw
• Dragonworld (1994) – Lester MacIntyre
• Persuasion (1995) – Admiral Croft
• Midsomer Murders (2001) – Sir Harry Chatwyn
• Vanity Fair (2004) – Lord Bareacres
• Miss Potter (2006) – Sir Nigel
• Burke & Hare (2010) – Lord Provost
• Vera (2014) – Alan Kenworthy
• The Crown (2016) – the Archbishop of York
• Enys Men (2022) – The Preacher

Narration Work

John Woodvine has also lent his voice to several projects, including:

• Greatest goals : the World Cup from Charlton to Maradona (1987)
• History of tyne and wear metro- The way ahead
• All our Working Lives BBC (1984)