Nicholas Woodeson
Born: 1949-11-30 in England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Nicholas Woodeson (born November 30, 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor, and Drama Desk and Olivier award nominee. Woodeson was born in Sudan and lived in the Middle East as a boy. He started performing at prep school in Sussex, and Marlborough College. He read English at the University of Sussex, and became involved in student drama productions, where he met Michael Attenborough, Jim Carter, and Andy de la Tour. He took part in the 1970 National Student Drama Festival. Next was a season in rep at the Lyceum Theatre, Crewe, after deciding not to pursue an academic career. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1972–74). His first work after drama school was a season at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (1974–75), in a company that included Jonathan Pryce (artistic director), Julie Walters, Pete Postlethwaite and Bill Nighy. He has worked in regional theatre in the UK and US, at the Hampstead Theatre Club, the Young Vic and the Almeida Theatre in London and at the Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway). He joined the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1982 and worked with them for seven years. On Broadway his work includes Straker in Man and Superman (1978), Piaf (1981), Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls (1995), and Burleigh in Mary Stuart (2009). In 2011, he played Mr Prince in the National Theatre revival of Odets' Rocket to the Moon. He has appeared in the West End in Funny Peculiar (1976), in Good (1982) (also Broadway), as Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls (2009), as Bonesy in Jumpers (2003) (also Broadway), as Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (2012), and as Harold Wilson in The Audience (2015). He has been in two productions of Pinter's 'The Birthday Party', playing McCann at the National Theatre in 1994, and Goldberg in the Lyric Hammersmith's 50th centenary production in 2008, and two productions of Pinter's The Homecoming, playing Lenny in the 25th Anniversary West End revival in 1991, and Max at the RSC in 2011. In 2017, following the death of Tim Pigott-Smith, he took over the role of Willy Loman in the Royal & Derngate theatre's tour of Death of a Salesman, for which he was nominated for a UK Theatre Award as Best Actor in a Leading Role. Woodeson's first film work was a role in Heaven's Gate, released in 1980. By chance, he spent more time on location in Montana than any other actor in the film. He has also appeared in, among others, The Russia House (1990), The Pelican Brief (1993), Shooting Fish (1997), The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) Titanic Town (1998), The Avengers (1998), Mad Cows (1999), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Dreaming of Joseph Lees (1999), Amazing Grace (2006), Hannah Arendt (2012), the James Bond film Skyfall (2012), Mr. Turner (2014), The Danish Girl (2015), Race (2016), Disobedience (2017), The Death of Stalin (2017) and The Hustle (2019).
Filmography
2025
- Death by Lightning as Loeffler
- Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare as Steven
2023
- Beyond Paradise as Father Brian
- A Paris Proposal as Jacques
2022
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as Diarmid
2021
- Firebird as Polkovnik Kuznetsov
2020
- Quiz as Nicholas Hilliard QC
2019
- The Hustle as Albert
- On the Beaches as Albert Einstein
2018
- Disobedience as Rabbi Goldfarb
- Beirut as Herzerg
2017
- Taboo as Robert Thoyt
- Paddington 2 as Insurance Company CEO
- The Death of Stalin as Boris Bresnavich, Conductor #2
2016
- Race as Fred Rubien
- The Living and the Dead as Reverend Matthew Denning
- Ramona & The Chair as Priest
- Delicious as Allen Billington
- The Limehouse Golem as Toby Dosett
2015
- The Danish Girl as Dr. Buson
- The Eichmann Show as Yaakov Jonilowicz
2014
- Mapp and Lucia as Algernon Wyse
- Mr. Turner as Gentleman Critic
2013
- The Escape Artist as George Balfour QC
- It's Kevin as Various
2012
- John Carter as Dalton
- Skyfall as Doctor Hall
- Ripper Street as Dr. William Corcoran
- Hannah Arendt as William Shawn
- Loving Miss Hatto as Erich
- Secret State as Lord Justice Holbeck
2011
- Hysteria as Dr. Richardson
- Friday Night Dinner as Rabbi
2010
- Borgen as Alexander Grozin
2009
- Pope Joan as Arighis
- Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 as Michael Warren
- Red Riding
2008
- Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story as Harman Grisewood
- Poppy Shakespeare as Professor
2006
- Amazing Grace as Harrison
- Eleventh Hour
2005
- Rome as Posca
2004
- Shameless as Isaac
- New Tricks as Viktor Proust
- Christine as Gerald Leyman
2002
- Foyle's War as Josef Novak
- One of the Hollywood Ten as Bill
- Helen West as Brian Redwood
2001
- Waking the Dead as Reese Dickson, Solicitor
- Conspiracy as Otto Hofmann
1999
- Topsy-Turvy as Mr. Seymour
- Great Expectations as Wemmick
- Mad Cows as Detective Slynne
- Dreaming of Joseph Lees as Mr. Dian
- Great Expectations as Wemmick
1998
- The Avengers as Dr. Darling
- Titanic Town as Jeremy Immonger
1997
- Shooting Fish as Mr Collyns
- The Man Who Knew Too Little as Sergei
- The Woman In White as Asylum Proprietor
1996
- Silent Witness as Derek Galton
1994
- Pie in the Sky as Maurice Plummer
- Men of the Month as Keith
1993
- Cracker as Hennessy
- Hedda Gabler as Jorgen Tesman
- The Pelican Brief as Stump
- Mr. Wroe's Virgins as Brother Moses
- The Blackheath Poisonings as Bertie Williams
- Bonjour la Classe
- Maria's Child as Roland
1992
- Bad Girl as Geoff Harris
- The Blackheath Poisonings as Bertie Williams
- A Fatal Inversion as Inspector Winder
1991
- Performance as Jorgen Tesman
- My Kingdom for a Horse as Robin 'Jacko' Jackman
- For the Greater Good as Michael Parke-Walsh, MP
- The Wolvis Family
1990
- The Chief as Milverton
- The Russia House as Niki Landau
- Max and Helen as Martin Greenbaum
1989
- Agatha Christie's Poirot as Detective Sergeant Hoskins
- Blackeyes as Stilk
1986
- Casualty as Jack Clayton
1984
- Miami Vice as Artie Cross
- Piaf as Emil / Jacko
1982
- The Hound of the Baskervilles as Sir Henry Baskerville
1980
- Heaven's Gate as Small man
- A Rumor of War as Cpl. Kazmarak