Frank Finlay
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
Play for Today
1970
Series
Play for Today
Dearth
1970
Series
The Wednesday Play
Albert
1964
Series
Wogan
Self
1982
Series
Heartbeat
Howard Franklin
1992
Series
Merlin
Anhora
2008
Series
Z-Cars
1962
Series
Screen Two
Frank Strange
1985
Series
Sherlock Holmes
Professor Coram / Sergius
1984
Series
BBC Play of the Month
Marcus Brutus
1965
Series
BBC Play of the Month
Shylock
1965
Series
BBC Play of the Month
Sancho Panza
1965
Series
BBC Play of the Month
Voltaire
1965
Series
Tales of the Unexpected
Arthur Pearson
1979
Series
Thirty-Minute Theatre
The Man
1965
Series
Theatre 625
Dr Dee
1964
Series
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Wilfred Tilley
1969
Series
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Adolf Hitler
1969
Series
Blackadder
The Witchsmeller Pursuivant
1983
Series
Sunday Night Theatre
Louis
1950
Film
The Pianist
Father
2002
Series
Prime Suspect
Arnold Tennison
1991
Series
Lovejoy
Harold Plumb
1986
Drama 61-67
Albert Hope
1961
Film
The Voyeur
Nino Rolfe
1994
Series
NET Playhouse
Marcus Brutus
1966
Film
The Key
Nino Rolfe
1983
Film
The Longest Day
Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
1962
Film
Lifeforce
Dr. Hans Fallada
1985
Studio 4
Fernand Destayac
1962
Series
The Spanish Civil War
Self - Narrator
1983
Film
The Three Musketeers
Porthos / O'Reilly
1973
Series
Johnny and the Bomb
Tom Maxwell
2006
Series
The Grand
Edward Lawrence
1997
Series
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
General Bulstrode
1999
Film
The Wild Geese
Fr. Geoghagen
1978
Series
Laurence Olivier Presents
Peppino
1976
Series
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Professor Coram / Sergius
1994
Series
Longitude
Admiral Wagner
2000
Target Luna
Conway Henderson
1960
Series
Life Begins
Eric Thornhill
2004
Film
Inspector Clouseau
Supt. Weaver
1968
Series
The Sins
Uncle Irwin Green
2000
Film
The Four Musketeers
Porthos
1974
Series
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval
Alcuin
1994
Series
Count Dracula
Professor Van Helsing
1977
Film
A Christmas Carol
Jacob Marley
1984
Series
Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
Alexander 'Alex' Combe
2008
The Younger Generation
Ross Mayer
1961
The Younger Generation
George Tremaine
1961
Series
The Lost Prince
Asquith
2003
Series
How Do You Want Me?
1998
Series
Armchair Theatre
Franco Angelo
1956
Series
Armchair Theatre
Bosun
1956
Series
Armchair Theatre
Patrick Kelly
1956
Series
Armchair Theatre
David Field
1956
Film
The Molly Maguires
Davies
1970
Film
Nothing Like a Dame
Self (archive footage)
2018
Film
Murder by Decree
Inspector Lestrade
1979
Film
The Miracle of Medjugorje
Monsignor
1995
Series
The Burning Shore
Garrick
1991
Film
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Igor Bounin
1968
Film
Fifty Shades of Erotica
(archive footage)
2015
Series
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
Peter Manson
1976
Film
A Study in Terror
Inspector Lestrade
1965
Film
Shaft in Africa
Vincent Amafi
1973
Series
Mountain of Diamonds
Garrick
1991
Film
The Return of the Musketeers
Porthos
1989
Film
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
1962
Film
The Statement
Commissaire Vionnet
2003
Film
Twisted Nerve
Henry Durnley
1968
Film
Hot Enough for June
British Embassy Porter
1964
Film
Cromwell
John Carter
1970
Film
Mountain of Diamonds
Garrick
1991
Film
The Thief of Baghdad
Abu Bakar
1978
Film
Robbery
Robinson
1967
Film
Count Dracula
Abraham van Helsing
1977
You Can't Win
George Lander
1961
Film
Enigma
Canarsky
1982
Film
Stalin
Sergei
1992
Film
The Deadly Bees
H.W. Manfred
1966
Film
King of the Wind
Edward Coke
1990
Film
Ring of Darkness
Paul
1979
Series
Les Misérables
Jean Valjean
1967
Series
Casanova
Giovanni Jacopo Casanova
1971
Film
Arch of Triumph
Col. Boris Morosov
1984
Series
Erebus: The Aftermath
Justice Peter Mahon
1987
Film
Casanova
Razetta
1987
Series
Another Bouquet
1977
Film
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Chaplain
1967
Film
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
Father
1999
Film
Julius Caesar
Brutus
1969
Betzi
Napoleon
1978
Film
Doctor in Distress
Corsetiere
1963
Film
Mona
Captain Manson
1982
Film
Stiff Upper Lips
Hudson Junior
1998
Film
Sitting Target
Marty Gold
1972
Film
The Return of the Soldier
William Grey
1983
Film
The Jokers
Harrassed Man
1967
Film
Sparrow
Father Nunzio
1994
An Exchange of Fire
Pavel Rhele
1993
Dear Brutus
Dearth
1981
Film
A Mind to Murder
Professor Etherege
1995
Film
Much Ado About Nothing
Dogberry
1967
Film
The Merchant of Venice
Shylock
1972
Film
Gumshoe
William Ginley
1971
Film
Cthulhu Mansion
Chandu
1992
Film
Othello
Iago
1965
Film
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
George Dabernon
1972
Film
Assault
Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
1971
Film
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
Sancho Panza
1973
Film
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
1973
Film
Van der Valk and the Rich
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1973
Film
Royal Variety Performance 1984
1984
Film
In the Secret State
Frank Strange
1985
Film
The Wild Affair
Drunk
1965
Film
Sakharov
Kravtsov
1984
Film
Station Jim
Riorden Snr
2001
The Making Of Lifeforce
Self
1985
Danny Jones
1972
Film
Life for Ruth
Teddy's Father
1962
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
Mike's Dad
1997
Film
The Ploughman's Lunch
Matthew Fox
1983
Film
Nineteen Nineteen
Sigmund Freud (voice)
1985
Film
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1974
Film
For My Baby
Rudi Wittfogel
2000
Film
The Sandwich Man
Second Fish Porter
1966
Film
The Informers
Leon Sale
1963
Film
Lighthouse Hill
Alfred
2004
Film
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1975
Film
84 Charing Cross Road
Frank Doel
1975
Film
The Martins
Mr Heath
2001
Film
Private Potter
Capt. Patterson
1962
Film
The Comedy Man
Prout
1964
Film
Eroica
Josef Haydn
2003
Film
The Waiting Room
Roger
2007
Film
Limited Edition
John Rathbone
1997
Film
The Lie
Andrew Firth
1970
Film
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
Shahriar
1981
Blood of the Lamb
Albert
1969
Film
The Body
Narrator
1970
Film
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Peppino
1978
The Hard Knock
Franco Angelo
1962
This Happy Breed
Frank Gibbons
1969
The Other Side
Arthur Conan Doyle
1992
The Spare Tyres
Council foreman
1967
The Piano Tuner
Wilfred Tilley
1969