Maurice Roëves facts for kids

Maurice Roëves was a Scottish actor. He was born on March 19, 1937, and passed away on July 14, 2020. He acted in over 120 movies and TV shows. He worked in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He was known for playing strong characters. These included tough guys, bad guys, or brave soldiers. He often appeared on BBC shows. His first big role was in the 1967 movie Ulysses.

Early Life and Education

Maurice Roëves was born in Sunderland, England. His parents were Rhoda and Percival Roëves. When he was six, his family moved to Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up there. He left Hyndland Secondary School early to help his dad.

He also served in the army for a time. This was called National Service. He was a mechanic for tanks in the Royal Scots Greys. After the army, he went to a drama school. This was the College of Dramatic Art. It is now called the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He was very good at acting there. He even won a special Gold Medal for his acting skills!

Acting Career Highlights

Maurice Roëves started his acting career on stage. He performed at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in the 1960s. One of his early plays was The Merchant of Venice.

Movies and Films

Roëves quickly moved into film roles. His first important movie part was in Ulysses (1967). He played the main character, Stephen Dedalus. He also appeared in the musical film Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).

He acted in many other well-known films. These include The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was also in The Last of the Mohicans (1992). Another famous movie was Judge Dredd (1995). His final movie role was in Macbeth (2015). In this film, he played the character Menteith.

Television Roles

Maurice Roëves also had a busy career in television. His first TV role was in Scobie in September (1969). He then appeared in a short thriller series called The Scobie Man (1972).

He was in many popular TV shows. These include The Sweeney (1975) and Danger UXB (1979). Science fiction fans might remember him from Doctor Who. He was in the episode The Caves of Androzani (1984). He also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993).

Roëves played Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield. This was in the TV film Hillsborough (1996). In 2006, he played Sir Matt Busby in Surviving Disasters. This was a BBC show about the Munich air disaster. He also starred as Robert Henderson in the BBC Scotland drama River City.

Later Life and Passing

In 2014, Maurice Roëves shared that he had moved. He lived in Nottinghamshire, England, with his wife, Vanessa Rawlings-Jackson. They also spent part of each year in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the United States.

Maurice Roëves passed away on July 14, 2020. He was 83 years old. He had been unwell for some time before his death.

Partial Filmography