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Kenneth Cranham

Born 1944-12-12
📍 Dunfermline - Scotland - UK

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.

Filmography 163

Finding Alice
as Gerry
2021
Trying
as Barry
2020
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
2019
Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desires
as Leopold Czihaczek
2018
Bancroft
as Charlie Haverstock
2017
Joe Orton Laid Bare
as Himself
2017
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
as Joe Turner
2017
Strike
as Dennis Creed
2017
Dark Ditties Presents: The Offer
as The Host
2017
The White Princess
as John Morton
2017
Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories
2016
War and Peace
as Uncle Mikhail
2016
Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II
as Self
2015
Maleficent
as King Henry
2014
37 Days
as John Burns
2014
Inside No. 9
as Rupert
2014
The Legend of Hercules
as Lucius
2014
Closed Circuit
as Cameron Fischer
2013
Flying Blind
as Victor
2013
In the Flesh
as Vicar Oddie
2013
Panto!
as Jerry
2012
Suspension of Disbelief
as Bullock
2012
Death in Paradise
as Father John
2011
Graffiti Wars
as Narrator (Voice)
2011
National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard
as Firs
2011
5 Days of War
as Michael Stilton
2011
The Night Watch
as Horace Mundy
2011
Made in Dagenham
as Monty Taylor
2010
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
as Self
2010
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen
as MJ O'Loughlin
2009
Moving On
as Mike
2009
Valkyrie
as Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
2008
Merlin
as Aulfric
2008
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
as Mr Clare
2008
Heroes & Villains: Napoleon
as General Carteaux
2007
Heroes and Villains
2007
The Man from Montevideo
as Gary Solway
2007
Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea
as Captain Turner
2007
Hot Fuzz
as James Reaper
2007
Lilies
2007
Lilies
as Health Inspector
2007
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 Chatterley Affair
as Older Keith
2006
Rome
as Gnaeus Pompey Magnus
2005
Mangal Pandey - The Rising
as Mr. Kent
2005
Agatha Christie's Marple
as Rex Fortescue
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
New Tricks
2004
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
2003
Two Men Went To War
as Sgt. Peter King
2002
Believe Nothing
as DI Aldiss
2002
Dickens
as John Forster
2002
The Voynich Mystery
as Narrator
2002
Women Talking Dirty
as George
2001
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
2000
The Murder of Stephen Lawrence
as Michael Mansfield QC
1999
Vigo
as The Producer
1998
RPM
as Biggerman
1998
Our Mutual Friend
as Silas Wegg
1998
The Boxer
as Matt MaGuire
1997
Midnight Man
as Brigadier Charles Ferguson
1997
Midsomer Murders
as Jude Langham
1997
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
as Reverend Michael Millward
1996
Deep in the Heart
as Robert Flaherty
1996
On Dangerous Ground
as Brigadier Charles Ferguson
1996
Dalziel & Pascoe
as Tommy Collingwood
1996
Bed of Roses
as Simon
1996
Kavanagh Q.C.
as Roy Lawrence
1995
Requiem Apache
as Tony
1994
The Vision Thing
as Dick Naughton
1993
Royal Celebration
as Douglas
1993
Tale of a Vampire
as Edgar
1993
Monkey Boy
as Hennessey
1992
A Little Bit of Lippy
as Reggie Titherington
1992
Between the Lines
as DCI Stubbs
1992
Heartbeat
as Charlie Wallace
1992
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
as Colonel Schmidt
1992
Murder Most Horrid
as Insp Salford
1991
Under Suspicion
as Frank Vance
1991
Prospero's Books
as Sebastian
1991
Chimera
as Hennessey
1991
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
as Pastor Finch
1990
Rules of Engagement
as Martin Goodman
1989
A Master of the Marionettes
as Teddy
1989
Just Another Secret
as Brosch
1989
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
as Dr. Philip Channard / Channard Cenobite
1988
The Black and Blue Lamp
as Supt. Cherry
1988
Stealing Heaven
as Vice Chancellor Suger
1988
Chocolat
as Jonathan 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
1988
The Birthday Party
as Stanley Webber
1987
Inspector Morse
as Cedric Downes
1987
Making Waves
as Joe Nash
1987
Casualty
as James Lawrence
1986
Lovejoy
as Litvak
1986
Dead Man's Folly
as Insp. Bland
1986
Lady Windermere's Fan
as Lord Darlington
1985
Theatre Night
as Stanley
1985
The Dumb Waiter
as Gus
1985
Natural World
1983
Reilly: Ace of Spies
as Lenin
1983
A Genius Like Us: A Portrait of Joe Orton
as Self
1982
Shine on Harvey Moon
as Harvey Moon
1982
Brideshead Revisited
as Sergeant Block
1981
The Caretaker
as Aston
1981
The Sin Bin
as Alan Grieves
1981
The Merchant of Venice
as Gratiano
1980
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
as Giovanni
1980
Cribb
as Francis Mostyn-Smith
1980
Therese Raquin
as Camille Raquin
1980
Minder
as Walter
1979
Danger UXB
as Sapper Salt
1979
Danger UXB
as L / Corporal Salt
1979
Butterflies Don't Count
as Tom
1978
Strangers
as Willie Bruce
1978
Strangers
as DCI Jim Lennard
1978
Enemy at the Door
as Jack Foster
1978
Joseph Andrews
as The Wicked Squire
1977
Robin and Marian
as Jack's Apprentice
1976
Vampira
as Paddy
1974
The Changeling
as Antonio
1974
Achilles Heel
as Gordon
1973
Crown Court
as John Tucker
1972
Van der Valk
as Dirk Boutsen
1972
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
as Paolo
1972
Budgie
as Inky Ballantine
1971
Up Pompeii
as Christian
1971
Play for Today
as Alan Grieves
1970
Play for Today
as Tom
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
1970
Sling Your Hook
as Roland
1969
Otley
as Kid
1969
Oliver!
as Noah Claypole
1968
Death of a Private
as Young intellectual
1967
ITV Playhouse
as Private Seaton
1967
BBC Play of the Month
as Antonio
1965
Coronation Street
as Roy
1960