Ronald Pickup
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.
Known For
All Movies (84)
- Schadenfreude2025 · as The Gambler
- End of Term2021 · as Damian Self
- The Happy Prince2018 · as Judge
- Darkest Hour2017 · as Neville Chamberlain
- Stealing Silver2017 · as Udo
- The Time of Their Lives2017 · as Frank
- The Have-Nots2016 · as Bentham
- The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel2015 · as Norman Cousins
- A Little Place Off the Edgware Road2014 · as Bearded Man
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel2012 · as Norman Cousins
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time2010 · as King Sharaman
- Theatreland2009 · as Self
- Dark Floors2008 · as Tobias
- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey2007 · as William McDowell
- The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby2005 · as Cecil Johnson
- Supernova2005 · as Dr. Malcolm Handey
- A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper2005 · as Monsieur Moitessier
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish2005 · as Monsieur Moitessier
- Cherished2005 · as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea2004 · as Monsieur Moitessier (uncredited)
- Evilenko2004 · as Aron Richter
- Benefit to Mankind2004 · as Professor Quentin Tapscott
- Secret Passage2004 · as Da Monte
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story2003 · as Monsieur Moitessier
- Breathtaking2000 · as Dr. Maclaren
- Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil1999 · as Don Massaredo
- Lolita1997 · as Young Humbert's Father
- Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis1997 · as Percy Stone
- Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told1996 · as Narrator
- Der Blinde1996 · as Dr. Bartnik
- A Very Open Prison1995 · as Brian Silcott
- Henry IV1995 · as Henry IV
- Milner1994 · as Jocelyn Fry
- Message for Posterity1994 · as Richard Browning
- In The Cold Light Of Day1994 · as Morris
- Bethune: The Making of a Hero1993 · as Alan Coleman
- My Friend Walter1992 · as Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Golden Years1992
- Absolute Hell1991 · as Siegfried Shrager
- A Murder of Quality1991 · as Felix D'Arcy
- Journey of Honor1991 · as Capt. Crawford
- The War That Never Ends1991 · as Diodotus
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair1990 · as Aslan (voice)
- Jekyll & Hyde1990 · as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader1989 · as Aslan (voice)
- A Dry White Season1989 · as Louw
- Danny the Champion of the World1989 · as Captain Lancaster
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe1988 · as Aslan (voice)
- Testimony1988 · as Marshall Tukhachevsky
- The Hound of the Baskervilles1988 · as Barrymore
- Chekhov in Yalta1988 · as Konstantin Stanislavski
- The Fourth Protocol1987 · as Wynne-Evans
- Ladies' Night1986 · as James Tripp
- The Mission1986 · as Hontar
- Eleni1985 · as Spiro
- Camille1984 · as Jean
- Pope John Paul II1984 · as Jan Tyranowski
- Puccini1984 · as Giulio Ricordi
- Waters of the Moon1983 · as Julius Winterhalter
- The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura1983 · as George Orwell
- Never Say Never Again1983 · as Elliott
- The Letter1982 · as Howard Joyce
- Ivanhoe1982 · as Prince John
- Verdi1982 · as Giuseppe Verdi
- Nijinsky1980 · as Igor Stravinsky
- In England's Green and Pleasant Land1979 · as Norman Reynolds
- Zulu Dawn1979 · as Lt. Harford
- Henry VIII1979 · as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
- The Thirty Nine Steps1978 · as Bayliss
- For Tea on Sunday1978 · as Ian
- Ghost Trio1977
- ...but the clouds...1977
- Joseph Andrews1977 · as Mr. Wilson
- The Philanthropist1975 · as Philip
- King Lear1975 · as Edgar
- Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill1974 · as Lord Randolph Churchill
- Mahler1974 · as Nick
- All Good Men1974
- The Day of the Jackal1973 · as The Forger
- Long Day's Journey Into Night1973 · as Edmund Tyrone
- Three Sisters1970 · as Baron Tusenbach
- Romeo and Juliet1967 · as Mercutio
- Much Ado About Nothing1967 · as Don Pedro
- Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror1964 · as Physician
All TV Shows (67)
- The Crown2016 · as Archbishop of Canterbury
- Atlantis2013 · as Orpheus
- Pramface2012
- Vera2011 · as Mr. Kipford
- Downton Abbey2010 · as Sir Michael Reresby
- Lark Rise to Candleford2008
- Lewis2007 · as Fr Moreno Mancini
- Feather Boy2004 · as Ernest Sorrel
- The Worst Week of My Life2004 · as Fraser
- Hustle2004 · as Harry Holmes
- Sea of Souls2004 · as Alex Galt
- New Tricks2004 · as Sir Wilfred Felspar
- Cambridge Spies2003 · as Colonel Winter
- Foyle's War2002 · as Sir Giles Messinger
- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries2002 · as Sir Stuart Stinhurst
- The Jury2002 · as Jeffrey Livingstone
- Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes2001 · as Sir John Starr
- Waking the Dead2001 · as Charles Sutton
- Hornblower1998 · as Don Massaredo
- Midsomer Murders1997 · as Rupert Smythe-Webster
- Midsomer Murders1997 · as Ernest Balliol
- Ivanhoe1997 · as Waldemar Fitzurse
- Dalziel and Pascoe1996 · as Walter Wulfstan
- Silent Witness1996
- Hetty Wainthropp Investigates1996 · as Lester Rose
- Black Hearts in Battersea1995 · as Duke Of Battersea
- Scarlett1994 · as Whitlock
- The Riff Raff Element1994 · as Roger Tundish
- The Rector's Wife1994 · as Daniel Byrne
- A Time to Dance1992 · as Andrew Powell
- Performance1991 · as King Henry IV
- Performance1991 · as Siegfried Shrager
- Performance1991 · as Richard Browning
- Not with a Bang1990 · as Brian Appleyard
- El C.I.D.1990 · as Jack
- Behaving Badly1989
- The Chronicles of Narnia1988 · as Aslan (voice)
- Fortunes of War1987 · as Prince Yakimov
- The Ruth Rendell Mysteries1987 · as Chief Inspector Moore
- Inspector Morse1987 · as Ian Matthews
- Unnatural Causes1986 · as James Tripp
- Casualty1986 · as Martin / Reginald Freeborn
- Matlock1986 · as Sir Alec Moore
- Lovejoy1986 · as Edwin Felt
- Moving1985
- Screen Two1985 · as Brian Silcott
- Sherlock Holmes1984 · as Barrymore
- Albert Einstein1984 · as Albert Einstein
- Verdi1982 · as Giuseppe Verdi
- Bergerac1981 · as Sir Antony Villiers
- The BBC Television Shakespeare1978 · as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
- BBC2 Play of the Week1977 · as Ian
- BBC2 Play of the Week1977 · as Norman Reynolds
- Romance1977 · as Rory Balneath
- The Lively Arts1976 · as Self
- The Fight Against Slavery1975 · as William Pitt
- Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill1974 · as Randolph Churchill
- Father Brown1974 · as Kalon
- Play for Today1970 · as Richard Massingham
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre1969 · as Edmund Tyrone
- ITV Playhouse1967 · as Graham
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Mercutio
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Ariel
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Brother Martin Ladvenu
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Edgar
- Doctor Who1963 · as Physician
- Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Jean






