Frank Finlay
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.
TV Shows(40)
Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
Alexander 'Alex' Combe
2008
Merlin
Anhora
2008
Johnny and the Bomb
Tom Maxwell
2006
Life Begins
Eric Thornhill
2004
The Lost Prince
Asquith
2003
The Sins
Uncle Irwin Green
2000
Longitude
Admiral Wagner
2000
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
General Bulstrode
1999
How Do You Want Me?
1998
The Grand
Edward Lawrence
1997
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval
Alcuin
1994
An Exchange of Fire
Pavel Rhele
1993
Heartbeat
Howard Franklin
1992
Mountain of Diamonds
Garrick
1991
Prime Suspect
Arnold Tennison
1991
The Burning Shore
Garrick
1991
Erebus: The Aftermath
Justice Peter Mahon
1987
Lovejoy
Harold Plumb
1986
Sherlock Holmes
Professor Coram / Sergius
1984
Blackadder
The Witchsmeller Pursuivant
1983
The Spanish Civil War
Self - Narrator
1983
Wogan
Self
1982
Tales of the Unexpected
Arthur Pearson
1979
Count Dracula
Professor Van Helsing
1977
Another Bouquet
1977
Laurence Olivier Presents
Peppino
1976
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
Peter Manson
1976
Casanova
Giovanni Jacopo Casanova
1971
Play for Today
1970
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Wilfred Tilley
1969
Les Misérables
Jean Valjean
1967
BBC Play of the Month
Marcus Brutus
1965
Theatre 625
Dr Dee
1964
Studio 4
Fernand Destayac
1962
Z-Cars
1962
The Younger Generation
Ross Mayer
1961
Drama 61-67
Albert Hope
1961
Target Luna
Conway Henderson
1960
Armchair Theatre
Franco Angelo
1956
Sunday Night Theatre
Louis
1950
Movies(92)
Nothing Like a Dame
Self (archive footage)
2018
Fifty Shades of Erotica
(archive footage)
2015
The Waiting Room
Roger
2007
Lighthouse Hill
Alfred
2004
The Statement
Commissaire Vionnet
2003
Eroica
Josef Haydn
2003
The Pianist
Father
2002
Station Jim
Riorden Snr
2001
The Martins
Mr Heath
2001
For My Baby
Rudi Wittfogel
2000
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
Father
1999
Stiff Upper Lips
Hudson Junior
1998
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
Mike's Dad
1997
Limited Edition
John Rathbone
1997
Virgin Mary
Monsignor
1995
A Mind to Murder
Professor Etherege
1995
Sparrow
Father Nunzio
1994
The Voyeur
Nino Rolfe
1994
Stalin
Sergei
1992
The Other Side
Arthur Conan Doyle
1992
Cthulhu Mansion
Chandu
1992
Mountain of Diamonds
Garrick
1991
King of the Wind
Edward Coke
1990
The Return of the Musketeers
Porthos
1989
Casanova
Razetta
1987
Nineteen Nineteen
Sigmund Freud (voice)
1985
Lifeforce
Dr. Hans Fallada
1985
In the Secret State
Frank Strange
1985
The Making Of Lifeforce
Self
1985
Arch of Triumph
Col. Boris Morosov
1984
Royal Variety Performance 1984
1984
A Christmas Carol
Jacob Marley
1984
Sakharov
Kravtsov
1984
The Key
Nino Rolfe
1983
The Ploughman's Lunch
Matthew Fox
1983
The Return of the Soldier
William Grey
1983
Enigma
Canarsky
1982
Mona
Captain Manson
1982
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
Shahriar
1981
Dear Brutus
Dearth
1981
Ring of Darkness
Paul
1979
Murder by Decree
Inspector Lestrade
1979
Betzi
Napoleon
1978
The Wild Geese
Fr. Geoghagen
1978
The Thief of Baghdad
Abu Bakar
1978
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Peppino
1978
Count Dracula
Abraham van Helsing
1977
84 Charing Cross Road
Frank Doel
1975
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1975
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1974
The Four Musketeers
Porthos
1974
Van der Valk and the Rich
Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
1973
The Three Musketeers
Porthos / O'Reilly
1973
Shaft in Africa
Vincent Amafi
1973
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
1973
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
Sancho Panza
1973
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
George Dabernon
1972
Sitting Target
Marty Gold
1972
Danny Jones
1972
The Merchant of Venice
Shylock
1972
Gumshoe
William Ginley
1971
Assault
Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
1971
The Lie
Andrew Firth
1970
The Body
Narrator
1970
Cromwell
John Carter
1970
The Molly Maguires
Davies
1970
Blood of the Lamb
Albert
1969
Julius Caesar
Brutus
1969
The Piano Tuner
Wilfred Tilley
1969
Twisted Nerve
Henry Durnley
1968
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Igor Bounin
1968
Inspector Clouseau
Supt. Weaver
1968
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Chaplain
1967
Robbery
Robinson
1967
The Jokers
Harrassed Man
1967
Much Ado About Nothing
Dogberry
1967
The Spare Tyres
Council foreman
1967
The Deadly Bees
H.W. Manfred
1966
The Sandwich Man
Second Fish Porter
1966
Othello
Iago
1965
The Wild Affair
Drunk
1965
A Study in Terror
Inspector Lestrade
1965
Olivier Talks About Othello
(archive footage)
1965
The Comedy Man
Prout
1964
Hot Enough for June
British Embassy Porter
1964
The Informers
Leon Sale
1963
Doctor in Distress
Corsetiere
1963
The Longest Day
Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
1962
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
1962
Life for Ruth
Teddy's Father
1962
The Hard Knock
Franco Angelo
1962
Private Potter
Capt. Patterson
1962