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
All Movies (93)
- Nothing Like a Dame2018 · as Self (archive footage)
- Fifty Shades of Erotica2015 · as (archive footage)
- The Waiting Room2007 · as Roger
- Lighthouse Hill2004 · as Alfred
- The Statement2003 · as Commissaire Vionnet
- Eroica2003 · as Josef Haydn
- The Pianist2002 · as Father
- Station Jim2001 · as Riorden Snr
- The Martins2001 · as Mr Heath
- For My Baby2000 · as Rudi Wittfogel
- Dreaming of Joseph Lees1999 · as Father
- Stiff Upper Lips1998 · as Hudson Junior
- Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)1997 · as Mike's Dad
- Limited Edition1997 · as John Rathbone
- Virgin Mary1995 · as Monsignor
- A Mind to Murder1995 · as Professor Etherege
- Sparrow1994 · as Father Nunzio
- The Voyeur1994 · as Nino Rolfe
- Stalin1992 · as Sergei
- The Other Side1992 · as Arthur Conan Doyle
- Cthulhu Mansion1992 · as Chandu
- Mountain of Diamonds1991 · as Garrick
- King of the Wind1990 · as Edward Coke
- The Return of the Musketeers1989 · as Porthos
- Casanova1987 · as Razetta
- Nineteen Nineteen1985 · as Sigmund Freud (voice)
- Lifeforce1985 · as Dr. Hans Fallada
- In the Secret State1985 · as Frank Strange
- The Making Of Lifeforce1985 · as Self
- Arch of Triumph1984 · as Col. Boris Morosov
- Royal Variety Performance 19841984
- A Christmas Carol1984 · as Jacob Marley
- Sakharov1984 · as Kravtsov
- The Key1983 · as Nino Rolfe
- The Ploughman's Lunch1983 · as Matthew Fox
- The Return of the Soldier1983 · as William Grey
- Enigma1982 · as Canarsky
- Mona1982 · as Captain Manson
- Tales from the Thousand and One Nights1981 · as Shahriar
- Dear Brutus1981 · as Dearth
- Ring of Darkness1979 · as Paul
- Murder by Decree1979 · as Inspector Lestrade
- Betzi1978 · as Napoleon
- The Wild Geese1978 · as Fr. Geoghagen
- The Thief of Baghdad1978 · as Abu Bakar
- Saturday, Sunday, Monday1978 · as Peppino
- Count Dracula1977 · as Abraham van Helsing
- 84 Charing Cross Road1975 · as Frank Doel
- Van der Valk and the Scapegoat1975 · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
- Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter1974 · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
- The Four Musketeers1974 · as Porthos
- Van der Valk and the Rich1973 · as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
- The Three Musketeers1973 · as Porthos / O'Reilly
- Shaft in Africa1973 · as Vincent Amafi
- The Death of Adolf Hitler1973 · as Adolf Hitler
- The Adventures Of Don Quixote1973 · as Sancho Panza
- Neither the Sea Nor the Sand1972 · as George Dabernon
- Sitting Target1972 · as Marty Gold
- Danny Jones1972
- The Merchant of Venice1972 · as Shylock
- Gumshoe1971 · as William Ginley
- Assault1971 · as Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
- The Lie1970 · as Andrew Firth
- The Body1970 · as Narrator
- Cromwell1970 · as John Carter
- The Molly Maguires1970 · as Davies
- Blood of the Lamb1969 · as Albert
- Julius Caesar1969 · as Brutus
- The Piano Tuner1969 · as Wilfred Tilley
- This Happy Breed1969 · as Frank Gibbons
- Twisted Nerve1968 · as Henry Durnley
- The Shoes of the Fisherman1968 · as Igor Bounin
- Inspector Clouseau1968 · as Supt. Weaver
- I'll Never Forget What's'isname1967 · as Chaplain
- Robbery1967 · as Robinson
- The Jokers1967 · as Harrassed Man
- Much Ado About Nothing1967 · as Dogberry
- The Spare Tyres1967 · as Council foreman
- The Deadly Bees1966 · as H.W. Manfred
- The Sandwich Man1966 · as Second Fish Porter
- Othello1965 · as Iago
- The Wild Affair1965 · as Drunk
- A Study in Terror1965 · as Inspector Lestrade
- Olivier Talks About Othello1965 · as (archive footage)
- The Comedy Man1964 · as Prout
- Hot Enough for June1964 · as British Embassy Porter
- The Informers1963 · as Leon Sale
- Doctor in Distress1963 · as Corsetiere
- The Longest Day1962 · as Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
- The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner1962 · as Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
- Life for Ruth1962 · as Teddy's Father
- The Hard Knock1962 · as Franco Angelo
- Private Potter1962 · as Capt. Patterson
All TV Shows (56)
- Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons2008 · as Alexander 'Alex' Combe
- Merlin2008 · as Anhora
- Johnny and the Bomb2006 · as Tom Maxwell
- Life Begins2004 · as Eric Thornhill
- The Lost Prince2003 · as Asquith
- The Sins2000 · as Uncle Irwin Green
- Longitude2000 · as Admiral Wagner
- The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns1999 · as General Bulstrode
- How Do You Want Me?1998
- The Grand1997 · as Edward Lawrence
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes1994 · as Professor Coram / Sergius
- Charlemagne, le prince à cheval1994 · as Alcuin
- An Exchange of Fire1993 · as Pavel Rhele
- Heartbeat1992 · as Howard Franklin
- Mountain of Diamonds1991 · as Garrick
- Prime Suspect1991 · as Arnold Tennison
- The Burning Shore1991 · as Garrick
- Erebus: The Aftermath1987 · as Justice Peter Mahon
- Lovejoy1986 · as Harold Plumb
- Screen Two1985 · as Frank Strange
- Sherlock Holmes1984 · as Professor Coram / Sergius
- Blackadder1983 · as The Witchsmeller Pursuivant
- The Spanish Civil War1983 · as Self - Narrator
- All for Love1982 · as Captain Manson
- Wogan1982 · as Self
- Tales of the Unexpected1979 · as Arthur Pearson
- Count Dracula1977 · as Professor Van Helsing
- Another Bouquet1977
- Laurence Olivier Presents1976 · as Peppino
- Bouquet of Barbed Wire1976 · as Peter Manson
- Casanova1971 · as Giovanni Jacopo Casanova
- Play for Today1970
- Play for Today1970 · as Dearth
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre1969 · as Wilfred Tilley
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre1969 · as Adolf Hitler
- Les Misérables1967 · as Jean Valjean
- NET Playhouse1966 · as Marcus Brutus
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Marcus Brutus
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Shylock
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Sancho Panza
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Voltaire
- Thirty-Minute Theatre1965 · as The Man
- The Wednesday Play1964 · as Albert
- Theatre 6251964 · as Dr Dee
- Studio 41962 · as Fernand Destayac
- Z-Cars1962
- You Can't Win1961 · as George Lander
- The Younger Generation1961 · as Ross Mayer
- The Younger Generation1961 · as George Tremaine
- Drama 61-671961 · as Albert Hope
- Target Luna1960 · as Conway Henderson
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as Franco Angelo
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as Bosun
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as Patrick Kelly
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as David Field
- Sunday Night Theatre1950 · as Louis






