Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Biography
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.
Known For
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
124
Gender
Male
Birthday
1926-08-06 (98 years old)
Place of Birth
Farnworth, Lancashire, England, UK
Acting

2018

Nothing Like a Dame as Self (archive footage)

2015

Fifty Shades of Erotica as Not available

2008

Merlin as Anhora

2008

Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons as Alexander 'Alex' Combe

2007

The Waiting Room as Roger

2006

Johnny and the Bomb as Tom Maxwell

2004

Life Begins as Eric Thornhill

2004

Lighthouse Hill as Alfred

2003

The Lost Prince as Asquith

2003

The Statement as Commissaire Vionnet

2003

Eroica as Josef Haydn

2002

The Pianist as Father

2001

Station Jim as Riorden Snr

2001

The Martins as Mr Heath

2000

Sins as Uncle Irwin Green

2000

For My Baby as Rudi Wittfogel

1999

The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns as General Bulstrode

1998

How Do You Want Me? as Not available

1998

Stiff Upper Lips as Hudson Junior

1997

Limited Edition as John Rathbone

1995

Virgin Mary as Monsignor

1995

A Mind to Murder as Professor Etherege

1994

The Voyeur as Nino Rolfe

1994

Sparrow as Father Nunzio

1993

An Exchange of Fire as Pavel Rhele

1992

Heartbeat as Howard Franklin

1992

Stalin as Sergei

1992

Cthulhu Mansion as Chandu

1992

The Other Side as Arthur Conan Doyle

1991

Prime Suspect as Arnold Tennison

1991

The Burning Shore as Garrick

1991

Mountain of Diamonds as Garrick

1990

King of the Wind as Edward Coke

1987

Erebus: The Aftermath as Justice Peter Mahon

1987

Casanova as Razetta

1986

Lovejoy as Harold Plumb

1985

Lifeforce as Dr. Hans Fallada

1985

In the Secret State as Frank Strange

1985

Nineteen Nineteen as Sigmund Freud (voice)

1984

Sherlock Holmes as Professor Coram / Sergius

1984

A Christmas Carol as Jacob Marley

1984

Arch of Triumph as Col. Boris Morosov

1984

Sakharov as Kravtsov

1983

Blackadder as The Witchsmeller Pursuivant

1983

The Key as Nino Rolfe

1983

The Ploughman's Lunch as Matthew Fox

1983

The Return of the Soldier as William Grey

1983

The Spanish Civil War as Narrator

1982

Wogan as Self

1982

Enigma as Canarsky

1982

Mona as Captain Manson

1981

Dear Brutus as Dearth

1979

Tales of the Unexpected as Arthur Pearson

1979

Murder by Decree as Inspector Lestrade

1979

Ring of Darkness as Paul

1978

The Wild Geese as Fr. Geoghagen

1978

The Thief of Baghdad as Abu Bakar

1978

Saturday, Sunday, Monday as Peppino

1978

Betzi as Napoleon

1977

Count Dracula as Professor Van Helsing

1977

Another Bouquet as Not available

1977

Count Dracula as Abraham van Helsing

1976

Bouquet of Barbed Wire as Peter Manson

1975

Van der Valk and the Scapegoat as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk

1975

84 Charing Cross Road as Frank Doel

1974

The Four Musketeers as Porthos

1974

Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk

1973

The Three Musketeers as Porthos / O'Reilly

1973

Shaft in Africa as Vincent Amafi

1973

The Death of Adolf Hitler as Adolf Hitler

1973

Van der Valk and the Rich as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk

1973

The Adventures Of Don Quixote as Sancho Panza

1972

Sitting Target as Marty Gold

1972

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand as George Dabernon

1972

Danny Jones as Not available

1972

The Merchant of Venice as Shylock

1971

Casanova as Casanova

1971

Assault as Det. Chief Supt. Velyan

1971

Gumshoe as William Ginley

1970

Play for Today as Not available

1970

Play for Today as Dearth

1970

Cromwell as John Carter

1970

The Molly Maguires as Davies

1970

The Body as Narrator

1970

The Lie as Andrew Firth

1969

Blood of the Lamb as Albert

1969

The Piano Tuner as Wilfred Tilley

1969

Julius Caesar as Brutus

1968

Inspector Clouseau as Supt. Weaver

1968

The Shoes of the Fisherman as Igor Bounin

1968

Twisted Nerve as Henry Durnley

1967

Les Misérables as Jean Valjean

1967

Robbery as Robinson

1967

The Jokers as Harrassed Man

1967

Much Ado About Nothing as Dogberry

1967

The Spare Tyres as Council foreman

1966

The Deadly Bees as H.W. Manfred

1966

The Sandwich Man as Second Fish Porter

1965

BBC Play of the Month as Marcus Brutus

1965

BBC Play of the Month as Sancho Panza

1965

BBC Play of the Month as Voltaire

1965

A Study in Terror as Inspector Lestrade

1965

Othello as Iago

1965

The Wild Affair as Drunk

1965

Olivier Talks About Othello as (archive footage)

1964

Hot Enough for June as British Embassy Porter

1964

The Comedy Man as Prout

1963

The Informers as Leon Sale

1963

Doctor in Distress as Corsetiere

1962

Z-Cars as Not available

1962

Studio Four as Fernand Destayac

1962

The Longest Day as Pvt. Coke (uncredited)

1962

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner as Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)

1962

Life for Ruth as Teddy's Father

1962

Private Potter as Capt. Patterson

1962

The Hard Knock as Franco Angelo

1960

Target Luna as Conway Henderson
Crew