Ronald Pickup
Born: 1940-06-07 in Chester, England, UK
Died: 2021-02-25
Known For: Acting
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.
Filmography
2025
- Schadenfreude as The Gambler
2021
- End of Term as Damian Self
2018
- The Happy Prince as Judge
2017
- Darkest Hour as Neville Chamberlain
- Stealing Silver as Udo
- The Time of Their Lives as Frank
2016
- The Crown as Archbishop of Canterbury
- The Have-Nots as Bentham
2015
- The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Norman Cousins
2014
- A Little Place Off the Edgware Road as Bearded Man
2013
- Atlantis as Orpheus
2012
- Pramface
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Norman Cousins
2011
- Vera as Mr. Kipford
2010
- Downton Abbey as Sir Michael Reresby
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as King Sharaman
2009
- Theatreland as Self
2008
- Lark Rise to Candleford
- Dark Floors as Tobias
2007
- Lewis as Fr Moreno Mancini
- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey as William McDowell
2005
- The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby as Cecil Johnson
- Supernova as Dr. Malcolm Handey
- Cherished as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
- A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper as Monsieur Moitessier
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish as Monsieur Moitessier
2004
- Hustle as Harry Holmes
- New Tricks as Sir Wilfred Felspar
- Sea of Souls as Alex Galt
- The Worst Week of My Life as Fraser
- Evilenko as Aron Richter
- Feather Boy as Ernest Sorrel
- Secret Passage as Da Monte
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea as Monsieur Moitessier (uncredited)
- Benefit to Mankind as Professor Quentin Tapscott
2003
- Cambridge Spies as Colonel Winter
- The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story as Monsieur Moitessier
2002
- Foyle's War as Sir Giles Messinger
- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as Sir Stuart Stinhurst
- The Jury as Jeffrey Livingstone
2001
- Waking the Dead as Charles Sutton
- Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes as Sir John Starr
2000
- Breathtaking as Dr. Maclaren
1999
- Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil as Don Massaredo
1998
- Hornblower as Don Massaredo
- The Untitled as Robert Kennings
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Rupert Smythe-Webster
- Lolita as Young Humbert's Father
- Ivanhoe as Waldemar Fitzurse
- Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis as Percy Stone
1996
- Silent Witness
- Dalziel and Pascoe as Walter Wulfstan
- Hetty Wainthropp Investigates as Lester Rose
- Der Blinde as Dr. Bartnik
- Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told as Narrator
1995
- Black Hearts in Battersea as Duke Of Battersea
- Henry IV as Henry IV
- A Very Open Prison as Brian Silcott
1994
- Scarlett as Whitlock
- The Riff Raff Element as Roger Tundish
- Milner as Jocelyn Fry
- The Rector's Wife as Daniel Byrne
- In The Cold Light Of Day as Morris
- Message for Posterity as Richard Browning
1993
- Bethune: The Making of a Hero as Alan Coleman
1992
- A Time to Dance as Andrew Powell
- My Friend Walter as Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Golden Years
1991
- Performance as King Henry IV
- Absolute Hell as Siegfried Shrager
- A Murder of Quality as Felix D'Arcy
- Journey of Honor as Capt. Crawford
- The War That Never Ends as Diodotus
1990
- El C.I.D. as Jack
- Jekyll & Hyde as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
- Not with a Bang as Brian Appleyard
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair as Aslan (voice)
1989
- A Dry White Season as Louw
- Behaving Badly
- Danny the Champion of the World as Captain Lancaster
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as Aslan (voice)
1988
- The Chronicles of Narnia as Aslan (voice)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles as Barrymore
- Chekhov in Yalta as Konstantin Stanislavski
- Testimony as Marshall Tukhachevsky
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe as Aslan (voice)
1987
- Inspector Morse as Ian Matthews
- The Ruth Rendell Mysteries as Chief Inspector Moore
- Fortunes of War as Prince Yakimov
- The Fourth Protocol as Wynne-Evans
1986
- Casualty as Martin / Reginald Freeborn
- Matlock as Sir Alec Moore
- Lovejoy as Edwin Felt
- Unnatural Causes as James Tripp
- The Mission as Hontar
- Ladies' Night as James Tripp
1985
- Screen Two as Brian Silcott
- Eleni as Spiro
- Moving
1984
- Sherlock Holmes as Barrymore
- Albert Einstein as Albert Einstein
- Sharing Time as Philip
- Camille as Jean
- Pope John Paul II as Jan Tyranowski
- Puccini as Giulio Ricordi
1983
- Never Say Never Again as Elliott
- Waters of the Moon as Julius Winterhalter
- The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura as George Orwell
1982
- Verdi as Giuseppe Verdi
- Ivanhoe as Prince John
- Verdi as Giuseppe Verdi
- The Letter as Howard Joyce
1981
- Bergerac as Sir Antony Villiers
1980
- Nijinsky as Igor Stravinsky
1979
- Zulu Dawn as Lt. Harford
- Henry VIII as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
- In England's Green and Pleasant Land as Norman Reynolds
1978
- The BBC Television Shakespeare as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
- The Thirty Nine Steps as Bayliss
- For Tea on Sunday as Ian
1977
- BBC2 Play of the Week as Ian
- Romance as Rory Balneath
- Joseph Andrews as Mr. Wilson
- ...but the clouds...
- Ghost Trio
1976
- The Lively Arts as Self
1975
- The Fight Against Slavery as William Pitt
- The Philanthropist as Philip
- King Lear as Edgar
1974
- Father Brown as Kalon
- Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill as Randolph Churchill
- Mahler as Nick
- Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill as Lord Randolph Churchill
- All Good Men
1973
- The Day of the Jackal as The Forger
- The Dragon's Opponent as Charles "Mad Jack" Howard
- Long Day's Journey Into Night as Edmund Tyrone
1970
- Play for Today as Richard Massingham
- Three Sisters as Baron Tusenbach
1969
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre as Edmund Tyrone
1967
- ITV Playhouse as Graham
- Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio
- Much Ado About Nothing as Don Pedro
1965
- BBC Play of the Month as Mercutio
1964
- Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror as Physician
1963
- Doctor Who as Physician
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Jean