Frank Finlay
Born: Farnworth, nr. Bolton, Lancashire.
Birthday: 6th August 1926.
Educated: St Gregory the Great, Farnworth and Bolton Technical College.
Trained: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London.
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 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.
Past productions
- The Woman in Black
- The Handyman
- The Handyman
- Arthur Kipps, The Woman in Black, Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company and PW Productions
- Dr Austin Sloper, The Heiress, Churchill Theatre Company, Sethawk Ltd, and Windsor Theatre Company
- Sir Lewis Messenger, A Slight Hangover, Barry Brown and Lee Menzies and Nick Salmon for Grangewood Productions Ltd
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- Sir David Metcalfe Q.C., Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- William Bligh, Mutiny!
- Lopakhin, The Cherry Orchard, Duncan C Weldon with Paul Gregg and Lionel Becker for Triumph Apollo Productions and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
- Antonio Salieri, Amadeus
- T/O Salieri, Amadeus, National Theatre
- Domenico Soriano (Replacement), Filumena
- Henry VIII, Kings and Clowns
- Josef Frank, Weapons of Happiness, National Theatre
- Ben Prosser, Watch It Come Down, National Theatre
- Freddy Malone, Plunder, National Theatre
- Tribute to The Lady
- Peppino, Saturday Sunday Monday
- Sloman, The Party, National Theatre
- Peppino, Saturday Sunday Monday, National Theatre
- Bernard, After Haggerty, Eddie Kulukundis, Knightsbridge Theatrical Productions Ltd, and Royal Shakespeare Company
- Bernard, After Haggerty, Royal Shakespeare Company
- Savel Prokofyevich Dikov, The Storm, National Theatre
- Joxer Daly, Juno and the Paycock, National Theatre
- Cook, Mother Courage and her Children, National Theatre
- Dogberry, Much Ado About Nothing, National Theatre
- Giles Corey, The Crucible, National Theatre
- Willie Mossop, Hobson’s Choice, National Theatre
- Iago, Othello, National Theatre
- Chaplain de Stogumber, Saint Joan
- Cocledemoy, The Dutch Courtesan, National Theatre
- First Gravedigger, Hamlet, National Theatre
- Chaplain de Stogumber, Saint Joan, National Theatre
- LABOUR Alderman Butterthwaite, The Workhouse Donkey, National Theatre
- Corporal Hill, Chips With Everything, The English Stage Company
- Mr Cape, The Happy Haven, English Stage Company
- Private Attercliffe, Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, English Stage Company
- Marco, A View from the Bridge, Windsor Repertory Company
- Sir Joseph Vandenhoven, A Touch of the Sun, Belgrade Theatre Company
- The Bishop of Lax, See How They Run, Belgrade Theatre Company
- Professor Jones, Out of the Frying Pan, Belgrade Theatre Company
- Roo, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Belgrade Theatre Company
- Harry Kahn, Chicken Soup with Barley, Belgrade Theatre Company
- General St. Pe, The Waltz of the Toreadors, Belgrade Theatre Company
- Peter Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, Saint Joan, Belgrade Theatre Company
- The General, Romanoff and Juliet, Belgrade Theatre Company
- Mr. Pinnock, the retiring Vicar of Canbury, The Telescope, Guildford Theatre Company
- Arnold Baker, Strictly Business, Lawrence-Williamson Repertory Players
- Dr. Leadley, Avril, Lawrence-Williamson Repertory Players
- Date of birth:
- Died:
- Website
Tools
If you have a photograph of this person, please sign in to upload it, or add it to Flickr and tag it with .
Photo credits
- Frank Finlay, Other public domain