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.

Early Life and Training

John Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, England. His parents were Rose and John Woodvine. He went to 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.

A Long Acting Career

John Woodvine has had a very long and successful career in acting. He has worked in theatre, television, and films.

Working in Theatre

Woodvine started his theatre career with the Old Vic company in the 1950s. He later joined the famous Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

In 1976, he played Banquo in a well-known RSC production of Macbeth. He acted alongside famous actors like Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. This play was even recorded for television! In 1980, he starred as Ralph Nickleby, the main bad guy, in the RSC's big show The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

He has played many different characters on stage. For example, he was Long John Silver in Treasure Island and the main character in Macbeth at the Mermaid Theatre. He also played Claudius in Hamlet and Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Roles on Television

John Woodvine often played police officers on TV. He was Det. Insp. Witty in Z-Cars from 1968 to 1969. He also appeared in Softly, Softly and New Scotland Yard. He even played a village policeman, Constable Tedder, in a BBC show based on Arthur Ransome's books.

He appeared in many other popular TV shows. These include:

• The Marshal in the Doctor Who episode The Armageddon Factor (1979).
• Chief Superintendent Ross in Edge of Darkness.
• Neville, Frank Gallagher's father, in Shameless.
• Norman, PC Tony Stamp's father, in The Bill.
• Joe Jacobs in Emmerdale (2008).
• Alan Hoyle in Coronation Street (2010).
• The Archbishop of York in the Netflix series The Crown (2016).

Film Appearances

Woodvine has also acted in several movies. He is well-known for his role as Dr. J. S. Hirsch in the 1981 horror-comedy film An American Werewolf in London. He even played this role again for a radio version of the movie!

Other film roles include:

• Howard in the Oscar-nominated film Young Winston (1972).
• Trincant in The Devils (1971).
• Lester MacIntyre in Dragonworld (1994).
• Admiral Croft in Persuasion (1995).
• Sir Nigel in Miss Potter (2006).
• The Preacher in Enys Men (2022).

He has also lent his voice to radio plays, like "Prospero" in The Tempest for BBC Radio 3.

Personal Life

John Woodvine is married to actress Lynn Farleigh. His daughter, Mary Woodvine, is also an actress. In 2012, he became unwell during a play performance but made a full recovery.