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
2026
- Savage House as Mr. Brimsby
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
- Will as Phillip Henslowe
2016
- Delicious as Allen Billington
- The Living and the Dead as Reverend Matthew Denning
- Race as Fred Rubien
- The Limehouse Golem as Toby Dosett
- Ramona & The Chair as Priest
2015
- The Danish Girl as Dr. Buson
- The Eichmann Show as Yaakov Jonilowicz
2014
- Mr. Turner as Gentleman Critic
- Mapp and Lucia as Algernon Wyse
2013
- The Escape Artist as George Balfour QC
- It's Kevin as Various
2012
- Ripper Street as Dr. William Corcoran
- Skyfall as Doctor Hall
- John Carter as Dalton
- Secret State as Lord Justice Holbeck
- Hannah Arendt as William Shawn
- Loving Miss Hatto as Erich
2011
- Silk as Professor Stephen Nyman
- Friday Night Dinner as Rabbi
- Hysteria as Dr. Richardson
2010
- Borgen as Alexander Grozin
2009
- Red Riding
- Pope Joan as Arighis
- Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 as Michael Warren
2008
- Poppy Shakespeare as Professor
- Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story as Harman Grisewood
2006
- Eleventh Hour
- Amazing Grace as Harrison
2005
- Rome as Posca
2004
- Shameless as Isaac
- New Tricks as Viktor Proust
- Christine as Gerald Leyman
2002
- Foyle's War as Josef Novak
- Helen West as Brian Redwood
- One of the Hollywood Ten as Bill
2001
- Waking the Dead as Reese Dickson, Solicitor
- Conspiracy as Otto Hofmann
1999
- Topsy-Turvy as Mr. Seymour
- Great Expectations as Wemmick
- Great Expectations as Wemmick
- Mad Cows as Detective Slynne
- Dreaming of Joseph Lees as Mr. Dian
1998
- The Avengers as Dr. Darling
- Titanic Town as Jeremy Immonger
1997
- The Man Who Knew Too Little as Sergei
- Shooting Fish as Mr Collyns
- 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
- The Pelican Brief as Stump
- The Blackheath Poisonings as Bertie Williams
- Mr. Wroe's Virgins as Brother Moses
- Bonjour la Classe
- Maria's Child as Roland
- Hedda Gabler as Jorgen Tesman
1992
- A Touch of Frost as Anton Caldwell
- A Fatal Inversion as Inspector Winder
- The Blackheath Poisonings as Bertie Williams
- Bad Girl as Geoff Harris
1991
- Performance as Jorgen Tesman
- For the Greater Good as Michael Parke-Walsh MP
- The Wolvis Family
- My Kingdom for a Horse as Robin 'Jacko' Jackman
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