Ronald Pickup

Ronald Pickup

1940-06-07 – 2021-02-25 (age 80) Chester, England, UK
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Biography

Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.

His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert and also appeared in The Day of the Jackal. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and in 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, in 1988 in the BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988 TV Serial) as the voice of Aslan, and in 1990 he starred in the short lived sit-com, Not with a Bang. More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse. He is also a regular character in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne.

Pickup gave a highly acclaimed performance as a decayed Russian aristocrat in the BBC series Fortunes of War, based on a work by Olivia Manning. He also provided the voice for Aslan in the BBC's adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia and starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly.

He is also an accomplished stage actor. He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 1997 for his performance in Amy's View.

Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani. In 2005, he had a supporting role in the family-based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby.

Between March and August 2009, he starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias' production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Simon Callow (Pozzo). The tour opened in Malvern before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand.

In February 2010 he also appeared as 'Pegleg' in the BBC's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Ronald Pickup, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Known For

Lolita
Lolita

1997

as Young Humbert's Father

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour

2017

as Neville Chamberlain

Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again

1983

as Elliott

The Day of the Jackal
The Day of the Jackal

1973

as The Forger

The Mission
The Mission

1986

as Hontar

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

2012

as Norman Cousins

Zulu Dawn
Zulu Dawn

1979

as Lt. Harford

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe

1982

as Prince John

The Fourth Protocol
The Fourth Protocol

1987

as Wynne-Evans

A Dry White Season
Dark Floors
Dark Floors

2008

as Tobias

Jekyll & Hyde
Jekyll & Hyde

1990

as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire

The Thirty Nine Steps
The Thirty Nine Steps

1978

as Bayliss

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Supernova
Supernova

2005

as Dr. Malcolm Handey

Evilenko
Evilenko

2004

as Aron Richter

🎦
Henry IV

1995

as Henry IV

The Happy Prince
The Happy Prince

2018

as Judge