Kenneth Cranham
Scottish born actor Kenneth Cranham is one of the most recognisable character actors in Britain. Having trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA, Cranham first came to prominence as Noah Claypole in the 1968 Carol Reed musical Oliver! In the late '70s, Cranham memorably played Sapper Salt in Euston Films' Danger UXB, before taking the title role in the popular postwar set period comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. His most famous film role from around this time was Dr. Philip Channard in Hellraiser II. In more recent years he has starred in the HBO series Rome, as well as the films Hot Fuzz, Layer Cake, Valkyrie, Made in Dagenham, Maleficent and Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool. Among many stage credits are West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, An Inspector Calls (both transferring to Broadway), The Ruffian on the Stair, The Birthday Party and Gaslight (at the Old Vic). For his role as Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2016, Cranham won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Andre in Florian Zeller's The Father. The play originated at the Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio in the Autumn of 2014, before touring the country and transferring to the West End in the Summer of 2015, and returning to the Duke of York's Theatre in Spring 2016. The play received an unprecedented five star review from every leading national press publication, and Cranham's performance was described as "the performance of his life" His first wife was actress Diana Quick. He has two daughters: Nancy Cranham with actress Charlotte Cornwell, and Kathleen Cranham with his second wife, actress Fiona Victory, whom he met on the set of Shine on Harvey Moon.
Known For
Credits
- 2021 · Finding Alice as Gerry
- 2019 · Mr. Jones as Lloyd George
- 2019 · Official Secrets as Judge Hyam
- 2019 · Hatton Garden as Brian Reader
- 2019 · The Spanish Princess as John Morton
- 2019 · Born a King as Lord Curzon
- 2018 · Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desires as Leopold Czihaczek
- 2017 · Bancroft as Charlie Haverstock
- 2017 · Joe Orton Laid Bare as Himself
- 2017 · Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool as Joe Turner
- 2017 · Dark Ditties Presents: The Offer as The Host
- 2017 · The White Princess as John Morton
- 2016 · Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories as
- 2016 · War and Peace as Uncle Mikhail
- 2015 · Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II as Self
- 2014 · Maleficent as King Henry
- 2014 · 37 Days as John Burns
- 2014 · Inside No. 9 as Rupert
- 2014 · The Legend of Hercules as Lucius
- 2013 · Closed Circuit as Cameron Fischer
- 2013 · Flying Blind as Victor
- 2013 · In the Flesh as Vicar Oddie
- 2012 · Panto! as Jerry
- 2012 · Suspension of Disbelief as Bullock
- 2011 · Death in Paradise as Father John
- 2011 · Graffiti Wars as Narrator (Voice)
- 2011 · National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard as Firs
- 2011 · The Night Watch as Horace Mundy
- 2010 · Made in Dagenham as Monty Taylor
- 2010 · Harold Pinter: A Celebration as Self
- 2009 · Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen as MJ O'Loughlin
- 2009 · Moving On as Mike
- 2009 · The Addictions of Sin: WH Auden in His Own Words as W H Auden
- 2008 · Valkyrie as Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
- 2008 · Merlin as Aulfric
- 2008 · Tess of the D'Urbervilles as Mr Clare
- 2007 · Heroes and Villains as
- 2007 · Heroes & Villains: Napoleon as General Carteaux
- 2007 · Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea as Captain Turner
- 2007 · Hot Fuzz as James Reaper
- 2007 · Lilies as
- 2007 · Lilies as Health Inspector
- 2006 · A Good Year as Sir Nigel
- 2006 · The Line of Beauty as Sir Maurice Tipper
- 2006 · Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare as Narrator
- 2006 · The Lavender List as Harold Wilson
- 2005 · Rome as Gnaeus Pompey Magnus
- 2004 · Layer Cake as Jimmy Price
- 2004 · Trauma as DC Jackson
- 2004 · Hannibal: The Man Who Hated Rome as Narrator
- 2004 · The Genius of Mozart as Leopold Mozart
- 2004 · Hustle as Francis Owen
- 2004 · Man Dancin' as D.I. Walter 'Pancho' Villers
- 2004 · New Tricks as
- 2003 · Sparkling Cyanide as George Barton
- 2003 · Blackball as Chairman Collins
- 2003 · Murder Investigation Team as Ray Morgan
- 2003 · Killing Hitler as Brigadier Sir Stewart Menzies
- 2003 · Pollyanna as Mr. Pendleton
- 2002 · Two Men Went To War as Sgt. Peter King
- 2002 · Believe Nothing as DI Aldiss
- 2002 · Dickens as
- 2002 · Night Flight as Ted Atwell
- 2002 · The Voynich Mystery as Narrator
- 2001 · Women Talking Dirty as George
- 2000 · Sins as Gilbert
- 2000 · Without Motive as DCS Derek Henderson
- 2000 · Shiner as Gibson
- 2000 · Born Romantic as Barney
- 2000 · The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades as Colonel Schmidt
- 2000 · Gangster No. 1 as Tommy
- 2000 · The Most Fertile Man in Ireland as Da
- 2000 · Lady Audley's Secret as Sir Michael Audley
- 2000 · Kevin & Perry Go Large as Vicar
- 1999 · The Murder of Stephen Lawrence as Michael Mansfield QC
- 1999 · The Last Yellow as Len
- 1998 · Vigo as The Producer
- 1998 · RPM as Biggerman
- 1998 · Our Mutual Friend as
- 1997 · The Boxer as Matt MaGuire
- 1997 · Midnight Man as Brig. Charles Ferguson
- 1997 · Midsomer Murders as Jude Langham
- 1996 · The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as Reverend Millward
- 1996 · Deep in the Heart as Robert Flaherty
- 1996 · On Dangerous Ground as Brig. Charles Ferguson
- 1996 · Dalziel & Pascoe as Tommy Collingwood
- 1996 · Bed of Roses as Simon
- 1995 · Kavanagh Q.C. as Roy Lawrence
- 1994 · Requiem Apache as Tony
- 1993 · The Vision Thing as Dick Naughton
- 1993 · Royal Celebration as Douglas
- 1993 · Tale of a Vampire as Edgar
- 1992 · Monkey Boy as Hennessey
- 1992 · A Little Bit of Lippy as Reggie Titherington
- 1992 · Between the Lines as
- 1992 · Heartbeat as Charlie Wallace
- 1992 · The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as Colonel Schmidt
- 1991 · Murder Most Horrid as Inspector Salford
- 1991 · Under Suspicion as Frank Vance
- 1991 · Prospero's Books as Sebastian
- 1991 · Chimera as Hennessey
- 1990 · Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit as Pastor Finch
- 1989 · Rules of Engagement as Martin Goodman
- 1989 · A Master of the Marionettes as Teddy
- 1989 · Just Another Secret as Brosch
- 1988 · Hellbound: Hellraiser II as Dr. Philip Channard / Channard Cenobite
- 1988 · The Black and Blue Lamp as
- 1988 · Stealing Heaven as Vice Chancellor Suger
- 1988 · Chocolat as Boothby
- 1988 · The Party as Joe Shawcross
- 1988 · Normal Service as Peter
- 1988 · The Play on One as Joe Shawcross
- 1988 · The Play on One as Peter
- 1987 · The Birthday Party as Stanley Webber
- 1987 · Inspector Morse as Cedric Downes
- 1987 · Making Waves as Joe Nash
- 1986 · A Sort of Innocence as
- 1986 · Casualty as James Lawrence
- 1986 · Lovejoy as Litvak
- 1986 · Dead Man's Folly as Insp. Bland
- 1985 · Lady Windermere's Fan as Lord Darlington
- 1985 · The Dumb Waiter as Gus
- 1983 · Natural World as
- 1983 · Reilly: Ace of Spies as Lenin
- 1982 · The Bell as Nick Fawley
- 1982 · Shine on Harvey Moon as
- 1981 · Bergerac as Gascoigne
- 1981 · Brideshead Revisited as Sergeant Block
- 1981 · The Caretaker as Aston
- 1981 · The Sin Bin as Alan Grieves
- 1980 · The Merchant of Venice as Gratiano
- 1980 · 'Tis Pity She's a Whore as Giovanni
- 1980 · Thérèse Raquin as Camille Raquin
- 1980 · Donkeys' Years as Bill Taylor
- 1979 · Minder as Walter
- 1979 · Danger UXB as Sapper Salt
- 1979 · Danger UXB as L / Corporal Salt
- 1978 · BBC Television Shakespeare as
- 1978 · Butterflies Don't Count as Tom
- 1978 · Enemy at the Door as Jack Foster
- 1977 · Joseph Andrews as The Wicked Squire
- 1976 · Robin and Marian as Jack's Apprentice
- 1974 · Vampira as Paddy
- 1974 · The Changeling as Antonio
- 1973 · Achilles Heel as Gordon
- 1972 · Crown Court as John Tucker
- 1972 · Van der Valk as Dirk Boutsen
- 1972 · Brother Sun, Sister Moon as Paolo
- 1971 · Budgie as
- 1970 · Play for Today as Alan Grieves
- 1970 · From a Bird's Eye View as Tim O'Donovan
- 1970 · Fragment of Fear as Joe
- 1970 · All the Way Up as Tom Midway
- 1969 · Sling Your Hook as Roland
- 1969 · Otley as Kid
- 1968 · Oliver! as Noah Claypole
- 1967 · Death of a Private as Young intellectual