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1-50 of 231
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jim was born in London, the son of Jane O. (Martin) and Peter J. S. Sturgess. He was raised in Surrey. First and foremost his interest was music. However, he began to develop a secret passion for acting, at age 8, when he auditioned for local theatre to get out of class. Whilst music appeared cool, he felt being in school plays wasn't. So he stuck with small parts, despite a yearning to be in the lead role. At age 15, he joined a band and they began lying about their ages to play gigs in pubs. At school, he received mostly low grades with the exception of music and drama.
For college, he moved to Salford because there was a lot of good music coming out of the Manchester scene. In the hopes of joining a new band, he undertook a Higher National Diploma in Media Performance at Salford University. It was here that he met people that were really interested in filmmaking, and it suddenly felt like a possible career move. He began making short films with his friends and as well as doing theater. He wrote and performed a one-man show, which led an actor in the audience to suggest Jim to his agent. The agent signed him without even meeting him.
Jim moved back to London in 2000, where he joined the band 'Saint Faith'. He had moved to Manchester to join a band, and instead fell into acting. He moved back to London for acting, and ended up joining a band. He took small roles on television to fund his life as a musician.
Problems began in the band in 2006, and Jim heard of an audition for the musical film Across the Universe (2007). He won the leading male role of Jude. He followed this film with The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. His breakthrough role came with Dexter in One Day (2011), based on the bestselling book by David Nicholls. Before his audition, Jim hadn't read the book.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Lesley-Anne Down was born on March 17, 1954 and raised in London, England. With the help of her father, she began modeling at age 10, acting in commercials, and winning several beauty contests. By the time she was 15, Down had completed four films and was voted "Britain's Most Beautiful Teenager". Lesley-Anne first gained international popularity as Georgina Worsley in the British series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971), which became a hit on PBS in the United States. She has starred in films, including The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), A Little Night Music (1977), The Betsy (1978), The Great Train Robbery (1978), Hanover Street (1979), Rough Cut (1980) and Sphinx (1981). She starred in the television movies The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982), Arch of Triumph (1984), Indiscreet (1988), and in the miniseries The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) and North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985).
Lesley-Anne appeared for six episodes as Stephanie Rogers in the prime-time television series Dallas (1978), on the CBS Network. Her previous daytime experience included roles as Olivia Richards in Sunset Beach (1997) and Lady Sheraton in Days of Our Lives (1965). She also made guest appearances on the television series The Nanny (1993) and Diagnosis Murder (1993). On stage, she has appeared in "Hamlet" and a musical version of "Great Expectations". As for her career, Lesley-Anne has earned Golden Globe Award nominations, German Bravo Awards, the British Best Actress Award, the Rose D'or Best Soap Opera Actress Award and the covers of numerous publications throughout the world, including Life Magazine. She was awarded the 2006 TV Soap Golden Boomerang Award for the most Popular Supporting Female for her role as Jackie Marone Knight on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987).
Lesley-Anne Down met her husband, cinematographer Don E. FauntLeRoy, while filming North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985). They live in Malibu, California with their son, George-Edward FauntLeRoy. She also has a son, Jackson Friedkin, from her earlier marriage to director William Friedkin and two stepchildren, Season FauntLeRoy and Juliana FauntLeRoy, from Don's previous marriage. When she's not on the set, Down prefers to spend her free time with her children and animals. She has an extensive collection of Victorian children's books, which she has collected since age 15.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julia Sawalha was born in London. She has received due honor for her acting talents. Starring as Lynda Day in Press Gang winning the BAFTA award for Best Drama series. She played the role of Saffy in [Absolutely Fabulous 1992-2016], for which she won the RTS award for Best Actress, Lydia Bennett in the miniseries of [Pride and Prejudice BBC] and the role of Dorcas Lane in the BBC costume drama Lark Rise To Candleford, for which she was nominated Best Actress for the RTS Awards. She created and voiced the character Ginger in Aardman's Oscar nominated feature film Chicken Run, which is the highest grossing stop-motion animated film in history. She has completed two projects for mainstream TV due to be broadcast in 2024.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jack Whitehall was a child actor in various television dramas, but decided to pursue stand-up comedy after leaving school. He was a finalist in the So You Think You're Funny talent hunt at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, and was nominated for best newcomer at this year's Chortle Awards. In December 2012 he was awarded the title King of Comedy by the British Comedy Awards, perhaps his most prestigious award yet.- Camille Coduri was born on 18 April 1965 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for 4.3.2.1. (2010), A Prayer for the Dying (1987) and King Ralph (1991). She has been married to Christopher Fulford since April 1992. They have two children.
- "Jade Harrison" Isabella Jade Ndagire Fane is a British actor of dual heritage. She is half Ugandan and half English. Born in Wandsworth, South London but spent considerable time abroad in Portugal and in Wales. She is best known for her work in Wedding Season as DCI Danielle Metts for Disney+, The Stranger for Netflix and Foundation for Apple TV.
- Actor
- Producer
Nathan was brought up in Wandsworth, London, He studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama, which he graduated from in 2006. He made his professional stage debut playing a number of roles in 'Brixton Stories' at the Lyric, Hammersmith and has also appeared on stage in 'The History Boys' at the National Theatre and, in 2012, in the revival of 'Pitchfork Disney', in the role of a man who eats cockroaches for a living. To television viewers he will be known as Curtis in E4's Misfits (2009), about a group of youngsters who have gained supernatural powers following a freak storm - in Curtis's case the ability to go back in time and see the future.- Actress
- Writer
Emily Head was born in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for The Inbetweeners (2011), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and The Inbetweeners (2008).- A statuesque and striking actress with vaguely reptilian aspects, at once sinister and alluring; a smile never more than a whisker away from a sneer and a commanding, imperious presence suggesting innate superiority. Difficult to cast, Patricia Laffan seemed destined to portray the villainous or the eccentric. The daughter of Irish rubber planter Arthur Charles Laffan (1870-1948) and London-born Elvira Alice née Vitali (1896-1979), Patricia was schooled at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni in London and trained in dramatic arts at the prestigious Douglas-Webber School. She emerged on stage in 1937 and made her screen debut by 1945. In between a cluster of nondescript or uncredited roles, we remember her for two indelible cinematic performances: first, as that sumptuously decadent, scheming, malicious Empress Poppaea in MGM's epic blockbuster Quo Vadis (1951) -- sardonic and disdainful in her delivery, at times running close to overshadowing even the great Peter Ustinov in his most famous role as Nero. One of her lavish outfits included a 14 carat gold dress designed by Herschel McCoy. A contemporary BBC interview with Laffan also recounts an incident during the making of Quo Vadis. In this, the actress, while reclining on a divan next to a couple of cheetahs at the end of a love scene with Robert Taylor, was set upon by one of the not so tame cats but managed to escape with a torn dress (the gold one ?) -- "on the other hand, the lions in the arena scene were so bored that they went to sleep in the shade instead of looking hungrily at the Christians".
Laffan's other fondly remembered showing on screen was in the campy Devil Girl from Mars (1954), a typically low-budget Danziger Brothers attempt at emulating the success of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Justifiably derided at the time (for such valid reasons as inane writing, lacklustre direction and props acutely reminiscent of kitchen appliances), it has become a surprising cult touchstone for sci-fi aficionados. Why? Certainly because of the picture's sole meritorious component: Patricia Laffan as the Martian invader Nyah, exotically made up, outfitted in PVC jumpsuit, miniskirt, Darth Vader-style cape and skullcap and making the most of her scenes, delivering her lines with practised cold, languid authority.
Sadly underused, there were to be few other roles of note for this commanding actress in the wake of 'Devil Girl', except, perhaps, for an integral bit in the enjoyable psychological thriller 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956). Subsequent TV appearances saw her mostly confined to conventional aristocratic ladies in period or crime dramas. Patricia Laffan retired from the screen in 1965, apparently to a quiet life in Chelsea, London, where she may have pursued her passions for fast cars, story-writing and breeding bull terriers. - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Isabella Blake-Thomas is an accomplished producer, actor, and writer. Having been in the industry for over 15 years, she has her name to projects such as; Disney Plus' "Secret Society of Second Born Royals", Pluto's "Just Swipe", Amazon Prime's "Maybe I'm Fine", and most recently, Karma's a B*tch which she wrote, starred in, and produced. The cast includes Candy Man's Tony Todd, Species' Natasha Henstridge, High School Musical: The Series' Matt Cornett, and Disney's Zombies' Pearce Joza and Terry Hu. Her company Mother Daughter Entertainment was founded by her and her mother in 2016. She is producing and in development on a true story with Brookwell McNamara Entertainment, with an academy award winning writer attached. She's also an ambassador for mental health awareness for Awareness Ties.
The Official Ambassador of Suicide Awareness with Awareness Ties, Isabella hopes to shed more light on the prevalent issue of suicide and help put a stop to it. Along with her mother Elizabeth, Isabella is a founding member of their production company Mother & Daughter Entertainment, where together they focus on "Making Content That Matters", creating projects that start a conversation and spark change.- Savannah Steyn was born in April 1996 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Crawl (2019), House of the Dragon (2022) and 5lbs of Pressure (2024).
- Jessica Impiazzi was born on 9 March 1989 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for C.B. Strike (2017), Keep Calm & Carry On (2022) and Override (2021). She was previously married to Denny Solomona.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
There are very few character actors from the 1930s, '40s or '50s who rose to the rank of stardom. Only a rare man or woman reached the level of renown and admiration, and had enough audience appeal, to be the first name in a cast's billing, a name that got marquee posting. Charles Coburn comes to mind, but there aren't many others. However, one who made it was Edmund Gwenn.
Gwenn was born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, on September 26, 1877. He was the oldest boy in the family, which at that time meant he was the only one who really mattered. His father was a British civil servant, and he groomed Edmund to take a position of power in the Empire. However, early on, the boy had a mind of his own. For a while, his inclination was to go to sea, but that ended when one of his forebear's in the Queen's Navy was court-martialed for exceeding his "wine bill". In addition to that, Edmund had poor eyesight and perhaps most importantly, he was his mother's darling, and she kept having visions of shipwrecks and desert island strandings. As for the civil service, to the boy it seemed like a "continent of unexplored boredom".
He attended St. Olaf's College and would attend King's College in London as well. Surprisingly, he excelled at rugby and amateur boxing. Meanwhile, he developed a strong inclination to the stage, partly because of his admiration for the great English actor, Henry Irving. A major roadblock to that ambition, however, was his father, who, at that time, was stationed in Ireland. When Edmund broke the news to his father that he had chosen acting as a career, there followed "a scene without parallel in Victorian melodrama." His father called the theatre "that sink of iniquity." He predicted that, if Edmund went into theatre, he would end up in the gutter, and then literally "showed him the door." Years later his father would admit he had been wrong, but that didn't help the young man during an all-night crossing from Dublin to England during which he had time to reflect. He was penniless. His experience consisted of a few performances in amateur productions, and he knew that if he failed, there was no going back home.
However, in 1895, at the age of eighteen, he made his first appearance on the English stage with a group of amateurs just turned professional, playing two roles, "Dodo Twinkle" and "Damper", in "Rogue and Vagabond". For a long time afterward, he refused to go on stage without a false beard or some other disguise, fearing someone would recognize him and tell his father (it's a bit ironic, by the way, that Edmund's younger brother Arthur would also become an actor using the name of Arthur Chesney). During the next few years, roles were hard to come by but, by 1899, he made his first appearance on the West End in London in "A Jealous Mistake". This was followed by ten years in the hinterlands acting with stock and touring companies, gradually working his way up from small parts to juicier roles. While with Edmund Tearle's Repertory Company, which toured the provinces, he played a different role each night. It was excellent training, in that he acted in everything from William Shakespeare to old melodrama.
About this time, he married Minnie Terry, niece of the more famous actress Ellen Terry, a marriage that evidently was short-lived. Most sources list it as beginning and ending in 1901, perhaps only for a matter of days or even hours. From that point, Gwenn would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life. He seems to have preferred not going into any details about the marriage and divorce, and Minnie Terry, who outlived Gwenn, apparently never mentioned what happened, at least not publicly. That same year, however, he went to Australia and acted there for three years, not returning to London until 1904. There, he took a small part in "In the Hospital", which led to his receiving a postcard from George Bernard Shaw, offering him a leading role as "Straker", the Cockney chauffeur, in "Man and Superman". Gwenn accepted (by this time he was Edmund Gwenn) and the play was a success. Shaw became a sort of professional godfather for him. He appeared in "John Bull's Island", "Major Barbara", "You Never Can Tell", "Captain Brassbound's Conversion" and "The Devil's Disciple", all by Shaw. He spent three years in Shaw's company, years which he called "the happiest I've ever had in the theatre".
From 1908 until 1915, he performed in new plays by noted playwrights of the time, including John Masefield's "The Campden Wonder", 'John Galsworthy''s "Justice" and "The Skin Game", J.M. Barrie's "What Every Woman Knows" and "The Twelve Pound Look", as well as Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" and Harley Granville-Barker's "The Voysey Inheritance". By this time, World War I had started and Gwenn, despite his poor eyesight, was conscripted into the British Army. Most of his time during "The Great War" was spent drawing supplies up to the front lines, while under fire. He was so successful at this task that, after a year as a private, he received a steady stream of promotions until eventually becoming a captain.
After the War, he returned to the stage and, in 1921, made his first appearance in the US in "A Voice from the Minaret" and "Fedora". He would return to America in 1928 to replace his friend, Dennis Eadie, who had died while in rehearsal for "The House of Arrows", but for most of this time, he was in England doing more stage roles and two dozen British films.
His first appearance on screen was in a British short, The Real Thing at Last (1916) in 1916, while he was still in the army. His next film roles were in Shaw's How He Lied to Her Husband (1931) and J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1933). He was also in Unmarried (1920) in 1920 and a silent version of "The Skin Game" (The Skin Game (1921)) as "Hornblower", a role he would reprise in 1931 for a talking version (The Skin Game (1931)) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. From then on, Gwenn was to work steadily until the end of his life. He appeared in English stage plays and films, eventually doing more and more on Broadway and in Hollywood. For example, he played the amiable counterfeiter in "Laburnum Grove" in 1933 (later to become the film Laburnum Grove (1936) in which he would star) and then with the entire British company brought it to New York. He was also a huge success in "The Wookey" in 1942, playing a Cockney tugboat captain. That same year, he appeared as "Chebutykin" in Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters", with Katharine Cornell, Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson. In such illustrious company, Gwenn was hailed by critics as "magnificent" and "superlatively good".
In 1935, RKO summoned him to Hollywood to portray Katharine Hepburn's father in Sylvia Scarlett (1935). From then on, he was much in demand, appearing in Anthony Adverse (1936), All American Chump (1936), Parnell (1937), and A Yank at Oxford (1938). In 1940, he was the delightful "Mr. Bennet" in Pride and Prejudice (1940), then made a 180-degree turn by playing a folksy assassin in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). The year 1941 brought Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), One Night in Lisbon (1941), The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Scotland Yard (1941). Then came Charley's Aunt (1941), in which he romanced Jack Benny, masquerading as a woman. Other important films included A Yank at Eton (1942), The Meanest Man in the World (1943), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and Between Two Worlds (1944).
In 1945, he played villain "Albert Richard Kingby" in Dangerous Partners (1945). There is a peculiar scene in this film, which makes one wonder what director Edward L. Cahn was thinking. James Craig and Signe Hasso, the hero and heroine, are being held by the villainous Gwenn in a room, when Gwenn comes in to interrogate them. In the midst of this, the 33-year-old, 6'2" Craig punches the 68-year-old, 5'5" Gwenn in the belly and then forces the doubled-over Gwenn to release them. Admittedly, Craig and Hasso must escape, and Gwenn's character is pretty evil, but knocking the wind out of the old man makes Craig seem like a bully and far less sympathetic.
After "Dangerous Partners", Gwenn was in Bewitched (1945), She Went to the Races (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Undercurrent (1946), Life with Father (1947), Green Dolphin Street (1947) and Apartment for Peggy (1948). In Thunder in the Valley (1947), he played one of his most unlikable characters, a father who beats his son, smashes his violin and shoots his dog.
Then in 1947, he struck it rich. Twentieth Century-Fox was planning Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It had offered the role of "Kris Kringle" to Gwenn's cousin, the well-known character actor Cecil Kellaway, but he had turned it down with the observation that "Americans don't like whimsy". Fox then offered it to Gwenn, who pounced on it. His performance was to earn him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor (at age 71) and, because it is rerun every Christmas season, he would become for many their all-time favorite screen Santa. Accepting the award, Gwenn said, "Now I know there is a Santa Claus". He beat out some stiff competition: Charles Bickford (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Thomas Gomez (Ride the Pink Horse (1947)), Robert Ryan (Crossfire (1947)) and Richard Widmark (Kiss of Death (1947)). As soon as he got the part, Gwenn went to work turning himself into Santa Claus. Though rotund, Gwenn didn't feel he was rotund enough to look like the jolly old elf most people expected after having read Clement Moore's "The Night before Christmas", in which Santa "had a broad face and a little round belly / That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly." He could of course wear padding, but he resisted that as too artificial. So he put on almost 30 pounds for the role, a fair amount for a man of his short stature, and added nearly five inches to his waistline. The problem was that after the film was finished, Gwenn found it hard to lose the extra weight. "I've been stocky all my adult life," he said, "but now I must accept the fact that I'm fat." As was his nature, he didn't get upset, and instead was able to laugh about it. Six years later, when playing an elderly professor in The Student Prince (1954), he had a scene in which he entered the Prince's chamber, struggling with the buttons of a ceremonial uniform. The line he was given was, "I'm too old to wear a uniform," but Gwenn suggested a change which stayed in the finished film, "I'm too old and fat to wear a uniform."
Gwenn had lost his hair early on, and had no more concern about it than he did about his portliness. In a fair number of films, such as Pride and Prejudice (1940), he appears bald, but he also played many roles with a toupee if he felt that worked better for the character. He would select a hairpiece that helped achieve the look he was after for the role. As regards the rest of his appearance, Gwenn is commonly listed as 5'6" tall, which may have been accurate when he was a younger man, but by the time he was a Hollywood regular he appears to be at least two inches shorter. Plagued by weak eyesight since his youth, Gwenn wore a pince-nez for a while, and then glasses, off-screen and sometimes on. Though he enjoyed fine clothes, he does not seem to have been in the least bit vain about any physical shortcomings he may have had. He looked a bit like a benign clergyman, perhaps of the Anglican faith, an image enhanced by his soft, almost soothing voice. He once said he was "always short and stocky, and not a particularly handsome thing. I could never play romantic leads." After "Miracle on 34th Street," however, Gwenn was a star and constantly in demand, especially when the role called for a kindly eccentric.
Gwenn remained a British subject all his life. When he first moved to Hollywood, he lived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. His home in London had been reduced to rubble during the bombings by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Only the fireplace survived. What Gwenn regretted most was the loss of the memorabilia he had collected of the famous actor Henry Irving. Eventually Gwenn bought a house at 617 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills, which he was to share with his secretary and "confidential man", Ernest C. Bach, and later with former Olympic athlete Rodney Soher.
The year 1950 brought a pair of interesting films. In Louisa (1950) he and Charles Coburn were romantic rivals for the hand of Spring Byington. In one scene Gwenn socks Coburn in the jaw, though Coburn later bests him in arm wrestling. Gwenn wins Byington's hand in the end. He was also delightful in Mister 880 (1950) as a kindly counterfeiter. Gwenn received his second Oscar nomination for his performance, though this time he lost out to George Sanders in All About Eve (1950) He did, however, win the Golden Globe Award.
In 1952 he appeared in Sally and Saint Anne (1952) as Grandpa Patrick Ryan, affecting an Irish brogue for the role. He played football coach Pop Doyle, teamed up with a chimpanzee, in Bonzo Goes to College (1952). "The Student Prince" followed in 1954, as did the science-fiction classic Them! (1954). This film raises an interesting observation. The year before, Cecil Kellaway had appeared in another sci-fi classic, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). Watch the two films together and you'll see that the two cousins are playing essentially the same role, that of an elderly scientist with a lovely daughter who is able to provide the hero, and the audience, with some scholarly background on the dangers they face. The two actors could easily have switched roles. "Them!" is noteworthy, too, in that it was a particularly physically painful part for Gwenn. By this time he was 77 and suffering from advanced arthritis. Several scenes in the movie were filmed in the desert, where the temperature often reached 110 degrees. The costumer had outfitted him in a wool suit for some of the early scenes. Joan Weldon, who played his daughter, has noted that Gwenn was in great discomfort and almost certainly could not have continued without the help of his valet, Ernest.
The next year Gwenn was in It's a Dog's Life (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955). His film work has some interesting patterns. "Dog's Life" was at least the third time Gwenn made a film centered on a dog. He had already co-starred with Pal as Lassie in Lassie Come Home (1943) and Challenge to Lassie (1949). "Harry" was Gwenn's fourth picture directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the others being "The Skin Game", Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) and "Foreign Correspondent". Gwenn's last feature film was The Rocket from Calabuch (1956), shot in Spain and released in 1958, when he was 81. As for TV, his most memorable role may have been as a snowman that comes to life in a Christmas night telecast on The Ford Television Theatre (1952) from a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Heart of Gold".
Gwenn's final days were spent at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. Having endured terrible arthritis for many years, he had suffered a stroke, and then contracted pneumonia, from which he died at age 81 on September 6, 1959. His body was cremated, and his ashes were originally stored in a private vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. In March 2023, Gwenn's misplaced urn was found in the vault by Hollywood Graveyard creator Arthur Dark and researcher Jessical Wahl. Dark and Wahl created a GoFundMe campaign to fund moving Gwenn's urn to a publicly accessible location and, on December 3, 2023, Gwenn's urn was reinurned in the Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Gwenn had appointed Rodney Soher as the executor of his will, in which he had left Minnie Terry one-third of his estate, his sister Elsie Kellaway a third, and Ernest Bach a third, in addition to his clothes, shoes, linens, ties and luggage. However, for some reason, while he was spending his last days at the Motion Picture Home, Gwenn signed a codicil to his will, in which he said he had given Bach the lump sum of $5000, and that was all he was to receive. After Gwenn's death, Bach challenged the codicil, claiming that Gwenn was not of sound mind while in the Home and that some unnamed person--possibly referring to Soher--had unduly influenced Gwenn to change his will. The outcome is not known. There is a story that has been around for years that shortly before he died a visitor observed, "It must be hard [to die]", to which Gwenn replied, "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard". The story and the wording vary somewhat from teller to teller. Gwenn may indeed have said it, but he may have been repeating someone else. The quotation has also been ascribed to several earlier wits, including his mentor George Bernard Shaw and the famous actor Edward Keane. Gwenn's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be found at 1751 Vine Street.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
This droll, urbane, dry-witted gent was born Nigel Dennis Patrick Wemyss-Gorman in London on May 2, 1912. Coming from a family of actors, his parents were actors Charles Wemyss and Dorothy Turner.
Nigel made his stage debut in the 1932 play "The Life Machine" and continued on the stock and repertory stage with "Night of the Garter" (1933), "Daddy Long Legs" (1933), "Half a Crown" (1934), "Ringmaster" (1935), "Roulette (1935), "The Lady of La Paz" (1936), Mademoiselle (1936), "Tony Draws a Horse" (1939) and "Children to Bless You." (1939). During that period, he had a strong hit with the play "George and Margaret" (1937) at the Wyndham's Theatre. These plays established his reputation in stylish plays.
The actor turned to films with an appearance in the crime whodunnit Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard (1940) starring veteran Mary Clare as the famed female detective. WWII interrupted his career, however, and he entered military duty, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in the infantry. He revived his career on the stage following his war service with a number of productions including "Tomorrow's Child" (1946), "Fools Rush In" (1947), "These Mortals" (as Zeus) (1948) and "Champagne for Delilah" (1949).
Nigel also regained his footing in post-war films with featured roles in Spring in Park Lane (1948) and Uneasy Terms (1948). He then moved into top supports as doubting debonairs and high ranking officials while bolstering such stars as Carole Landis in the crime drama The Silk Noose (1948); John Mills in the war film Operation Disaster (1950); James Mason and Ava Gardner in the drama Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951); Michael Redgrave in The Browning Version (1951) and Ralph Richardson in The Sound Barrier (1952). He also played several leads in such films as The Jack of Diamonds (1949), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Passionate Sentry (1952), Forbidden Cargo (1954), How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957) (also directed), All for Mary (1955), Sapphire (1959) and Johnny Nobody (1961).
Never abandoning the theatre, Nigel played the title role in "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1955) and starred in "The Egg" (1957). He also directed the plays "Not in the Book" (1958), Settled Out of Court" (1960), The Geese Are Getting Fat" (1960) and "Past Imperfect" (1964). Of special interest, he directed and starred in well-received productions of "The Pleasure of His Company" (1959) and "Present Laughter" (1965).
On TV, Nigel starred in the British series Zero One (1962), which was briefly syndicated in the U.S. He occasionally found some support movie roles in the 1960's and 1970's with The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), Battle of Britain (1969), The Virgin Soldiers (1969), The Executioner (1970), The Great Waltz (1972) and The MacKintosh Man (1973). In later years he would be spotted in the plays "Blithe Spirit," "A Suite in Two Keys," "Night Must Fall" and "Avanti!"
Long married (from 1951) to Irish-born actress Beatrice Campbell, who appeared with him in the film dramas Silent Dust (1949) and Wicked Wife (1953). She passed away in 1979 and Nigel joined her a couple of years later in London of lung cancer on September 21, 1981 .- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Andrew V. McLaglen was born on 28 July 1920 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was a director and assistant director, known for The Wild Geese (1978), Hellfighters (1968) and Fools' Parade (1971). He was married to Sheila Anne Corbett, Sarah (Sally) Greenwood Pierce, Veda Ann Borg and Maria Margaret 'Peggy' Harrison. He died on 30 August 2014 in Friday Harbor, Washington, USA.- Yootha Joyce was born on 20 August 1927 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Having a Wild Weekend (1965), Man About the House (1973) and George and Mildred (1980). She was married to Glynn Edwards. She died on 24 August 1980 in Westminster, London, England, UK.
- Costume Designer
- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Londoner, Sandy, studied at St Martins School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design where she specialised in theatre design, She started her professional career in fringe with the National Theatre working on numerous productions including Orders of Obedience and Rococo, She went on to design sets and costumes for productions of Lumiere and Son, Bright Side and Culture Vulture, As a student and one of the leading lights of the international theatre scene she most admired was Lindsay Kemp, the gifted director, designer and performer, On impulse she spoke to him on the phone and said how much she wanted to work with him, After seeing samples of her work he asked her to join him in Milan as costume designer for his theatre company, During her 3 year spell with him she worked on Nijinsky which was a study of the start and madness of the great Russian dancer, She also designed the costumes for The Big Parade, a tragic- comic homage to the silent screen, and the stage and screen versions of A Midsummer Nights Dream, In 1985 she rapidly established herself in the world of video working on many pop promos with director Derek Jarman and with him on his film Caravaggio, and Zenith's For Queen and Country- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Nigella Lawson was born on 6 January 1960 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is a writer and producer, known for Modern Family (2009), Nigella Express (2007) and Nigella's Amsterdam Christmas (2023). She was previously married to Charles Saatchi and John Diamond.- Actress
- Producer
Nadia Sawalha was born on 18 November 1964 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for 99-1 (1994), EastEnders (1985) and Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996). She has been married to Mark Adderley since 2 June 2002. They have two children. She was previously married to Justin Mildwater.- Gillian Dobb was born as Gillian Doreen Wells on May 8, 1929 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, best known for her role as "Agatha Chumley" in Magnum, P.I. (1980) and Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985). In 1952, she moved to Australia where she began working with the Canberra Repertory Society as a prompter. Her work took her to Washington, D.C. until 1975 when she moved to Labrador, Canada. In 1959 she met and married an American serviceman from New Jersey who was later stationed in Hawaii. They moved to Honolulu but divorced in 1977. Dobb later worked as a legal secretary as well as acting work with the Honolulu Community Theatre and the Hawaii Performing Arts Company. She died on March 31, 2001 in Lancaster, New York from undisclosed causes.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Nish Kumar was born on 26 August 1985 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Kumars (2014), Sky Comedy Christmas Shorts (2015) and And Mrs.- Jessica Plummer was born on 16 September 1992 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Girl Before (2021), How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017) and Wizards vs. Aliens (2012).
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Luc Roeg was born on 26 January 1962 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is a producer and assistant director, known for Walkabout (1971), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Archive (2020).- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Alun Lewis was born in 1949 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Birds of a Feather (1989), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Eustace and Hilda (1977). He was previously married to Annette Ekblom.- Raphaël Coleman was born on 30 September 1994 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Nanny McPhee (2005), The Fourth Kind (2009) and It's Alive (2009). He died on 6 February 2020 in England, UK.
- Maggie McCarthy was born in 1945 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Attack the Block (2011), Leap Year (2010) and Cassandra's Dream (2007).
- A star in the UK from her four series as WPC Vicky Hagen on the award-winning police drama "The Bill", Samantha Robson completed her first US film A Year and a Day (2005) opposite Fairuza Balk, Sean Gullette and Joshua Leonard. She is also a series regular on the Cartoon Network's "Toonami".
Additionally, Samantha produced Tim Robbins's new controversial hit play "Embedded". After a successful Los Angeles première the play moved to the Public Theatre in New York for an extended and sold out run and has returned from a successful run at the Riverside Studios in London, where she was also Assistant Director.
Samantha Robson is a classically trained actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared at the Royal National Theatre alongside world-renowned playwright Harold Pinter in a collection of his work.
Her stage credits include Olivia in "Twelfth Night" (RSC), Mariana in "Measure for Measure" (RSC), Sovieg and Aase in "Peer Gynt" (RSC), Zillah in "Cain" (RSC), Burlington Bertie in "Music Hall" (RSC), Suzanna in "A Brand From The Burning" (RSC), Stella Kirby in "Eden End" (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Tamora in "Titus Andronicus" (Hornsey Theatre), Laurey in "Oklahoma!" (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre), Ismene and Eurydice in "Antigone" (Bristol Old Vic).
Other work includes "The Trial of Sir Walter Raleigh" with Michael York for the BBC, "Breaking the Code" and "The Living Room" for LA TheatreWorks, and a number one tour in England playing the lead of Cyrenne in "Rattle Of A Simple Man", directed by Patrick Sandford.
In addition to "The Bill", her television credits include a starring turn in the BBC's "Murder in Mind", and work as a presenter on Channel 4's "The Big Breakfast". a Samantha is a member of Tim Robbins' Actors Gang and BAFTA LA. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Eleanor Gecks was born in 1989 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Alice in Wonderland (2010), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) and The Anomaly (2014).- James Kenney was born on 20 July 1930 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), The Love Match (1955) and H.M. Tennent Globe Theatre (1956). He died on 13 January 1987 in Surbiton, Surrey, England, UK.
- Peter Vaughan-Clarke was born on 16 June 1957 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Tomorrow People (1973), It Could Happen to You (1976) and Both Ends Meet (1972). He died in August 2023 in the UK.
- Actor
- Production Manager
Antony Carrick was born on 16 February 1932 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK. He is an actor and production manager, known for The Living Daylights (1987), What a Girl Wants (2003) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981).- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
- Writer
Desmond Davis was born on 24 May 1926 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Time Lost and Time Remembered (1966), Girl with Green Eyes (1964) and Clash of the Titans (1981). He was married to Shirley Smith. He died on 3 July 2021.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Julian Gilbey was born on 1 May 1975 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for A Lonely Place to Die (2011), Rollin' with the Nines (2006) and ABCs of Death 2 (2014).- Dawn Perllman was born in 1947 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Omen (1976), Pareidolia (2023) and Thriller (1973).
- Sèverine Howell-Meri was born on 21 May 1998 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Hanna (2019), The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022) and The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021).
- Actor
- Producer
- Executive
David Thwaites was born in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Halloween (2018), Black Swan (2010) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012).- Ben Bruce, born Benjamin Paul Bruce is a musician/actor from London, England. Ben is the founder, guitarist and primary songwriter in the rock band Asking Alexandria. After the release of Asking Alexandrias 2009 Debut album, Stand Up and Scream, he was catapulted into the forefront of the rock world. Asking Alexandria have gained themselves multiple gold singles throughout their career and it was this success within the music industry that lead Ben to start acting. Aside from playing himself in a large number of music videos and short films, Ben gained his first movie role co-starring in the rock and roll Thriller American Satan.
- Barbara Smith was born in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for EastEnders (1985), Call the Midwife (2012) and Casualty (1986).
- Barbara Everest was born on 9 June 1883 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Gaslight (1944), The Phantom Fiend (1932) and The Uninvited (1944). She died on 9 February 1968 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, UK.
- Sheila Dunn was born on 11 April 1940 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Doctor Who (1963), R3 (1964) and The Fast Kill (1972). She was married to Douglas Camfield. She died on 3 March 2004 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Michael Carreras was born on 21 December 1927 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Horror of Dracula (1958), The Lost Continent (1968) and What a Crazy World (1963). He died on 19 April 1994 in Chelsea, London, England, UK.- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Peter Brayham was born on 12 July 1936 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for From Russia with Love (1963), Time Bandits (1981) and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). He was married to Dani Biernat and Pauline Dowdney. He died on 7 December 2006 in England, UK.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Reed was born on 7 July 1929 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer, known for Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972). He died on 15 December 2022 in the UK.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Nigel Willoughby was born on 9 May 1950 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is a cinematographer, known for Pearl Harbor (2001), Downton Abbey (2010) and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001).- Kenneth Kove was born on 30 April 1892 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Organizer (1963), The Great Game (1930) and Thark (1948). He died in December 1984 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Arthur Howell was born on 5 January 1920 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Krull (1983) and An American Werewolf in London (1981). He was married to June Palmer. He died in August 2003 in Braintree, Essex, England, UK.- Femi Ogunbanjo was born on 8 October 1978 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Sahara (2005) and A United Kingdom (2016).
- Actor
- Writer
Arthur Chesney was born on 21 November 1881 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Fanny Hawthorne (1927), Sorrell and Son (1933) and Colonel Blood (1934). He was married to Estelle Winwood. He died on 27 August 1949 in London, England, UK.- Ysobel Gonzalez was born in 1970 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Wallander (2008), Big Bad World (1999) and Shadowlands (1993).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Kyle Stanger was born on 7 January 1997 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005), Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005) and Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2011).