Oliver Reed
Born: 1938-02-13 in Wimbledon, London, England, UK
Died: 1999-05-02
Known For: Acting
Biography
Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his notable films include The Trap (1966), playing Bill Sikes in the 1968 Best Picture Oscar winner Oliver! (a film directed by his uncle Carol Reed), Women in Love (1969), Hannibal Brooks (1969), The Devils (1971), portraying Athos in The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974); the lover and stepfather in Tommy (1975), Funny Bones (1995) and Gladiator (2000). For playing Antonius Proximo, the old, gruff gladiator trainer in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, in what was his final film, Reed was posthumously nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2000. At the peak of his career, in 1971, British exhibitors voted Reed fifth most popular star at the box office. The British Film Institute (BFI) stated that "partnerships with Michael Winner and Ken Russell in the mid-60s saw Reed become an emblematic Brit-flick icon", but from the mid-1970s his alcoholism began affecting his career, with the BFI adding "Reed had assumed Robert Newton's mantle as Britain's thirstiest thespian".
Filmography
2012
2003
- Celebrity Naked Ambition as Self (archive footage)
2002
- Living Famously as (archive footage)
- L'esattore (parodia de "Il gladiatore")
2000
- Gladiator as Proximo
- Orpheus & Eurydice as Narrator
- The Real Oliver Reed as Self (archive footage)
- Hellraisers as Self (archive footage)
1999
- Parting Shots as Jamie Campbell-Stewart
- Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' as Self (archive footage)
1998
- Jeremiah as General Safan
- The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo as Captain Cornelius Donovan
1996
- The Bruce as Bishop Wisharton
- Superbrain as Professor Norbert Marcus
1995
- Funny Bones as Dolly Hopkins
- Russian Roulette - Moscow 95
- Luise knackt den Jackpot as Matthias
1994
- The World of Hammer as Narrator
- The World of Hammer: Wicked Women as Narrator (voice)
- The World of Hammer: Vamp as Narrator (voice)
- The World of Hammer: Chiller as narrator
- The World of Hammer: Lands Before Time as Narrator
- The World of Hammer: Trials of War as Narrator
1993
- Return to Lonesome Dove as Gregor Dunnigan
1992
- Severed Ties as Dr. Hans Vaughan
1991
- The Pit and the Pendulum as Cardinal
- Prisoner of Honor as Gen. de Boisdeffre
- Alex Higgins: I'm No Angel as Self
1990
- Treasure Island as Billy Bones
- Hired to Kill as Michael Bartos
- A Ghost in Monte Carlo as The Rajah
- That's Action as General Turner (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Panama Sugar as Generale
1989
- The Return of the Musketeers as Athos
- The Revenger as Jack Fisher
- The House of Usher as Roderick Usher
1988
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as Vulcan
- Skeleton Coast as Captain Simpson
- The Lady and the Highwayman as Sir Phillip Gage
- Rage to Kill as General Turner
- Captive Rage as General Belmondo
- Blind Justice as Ian Ballinger
1987
- The Misfit Brigade as The General
- Dragonard as Captain Shanks
- Gor as Sarm
- The Best of Max Headroom as Self
- Master of Dragonard Hill as Captain Shanks
1985
- Christopher Columbus as Martin Pinzon
- The Max Headroom Show as Self
- Black Arrow as Sir Brackley
1983
- Masquerade as Peter Serkov / Wolfen
- Two of a Kind as Beasley
- Fanny Hill as Edward Widdlecome
- The Sting II as Lonnegan
- Spasms as Jason Kincaid
- Clash of Loyalties as Colonel Leachman
1981
- Lion of the Desert as General Rodolfo Graziani
- Venom as Dave Averconnelly
- Condorman as Krokov
1980
- Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype as Dr. Henry Heckyl/Mr. Hype
1979
- The Brood as Dr. Hal Raglan
- A Touch of the Sun as Captain Daniel Nelson
1978
- The Big Sleep as Eddie Mars
- Tomorrow Never Comes as Jim Wilson
- The Class Of Miss MacMichael as Terence Sutton
1977
- The Prince and the Pauper as Miles Hendon
- US Against the World as Self
- Ransom as Nick McCormick
1976
- The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday as Joe Knox
- Burnt Offerings as Ben Rolf
- The Sell Out as Gabriel Lee
1975
- Tommy as Frank
- Royal Flash as Otto von Bismarck
- Lisztomania as Princess Carolyn's Servant
1974
- And Then There Were None as Hugh Lombard
- The Four Musketeers as Athos
- Mahler as Train Conductor
- Blue Blood as Tom the butler
1973
- The Three Musketeers as Athos
- One Russian Summer as Palizyn
- Revolver as Vito Cipriani
- Dirty Weekend as Fabrizo
1972
- Sitting Target as Harry Lomart
- Z.P.G. as Russ
- The Triple Echo as Arthur, the Sergeant
1971
- Film '72 as Self
- The Devils as Father Urbain Grandier
- The Hunting Party as Frank Calder
1970
- The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun as Michael Caldwell
- Take a Girl Like You as Patrick Standish
1969
- Women in Love as Gerald Crich
- The Assassination Bureau as Ivan Dragomiloff
- Hannibal Brooks as Brooks
1968
- Oliver! as Bill Sikes
1967
- I'll Never Forget What's'isname as Andrew Quint
- The Jokers as David Tremayne
- The Shuttered Room as Ethan
- Dante's Inferno as Dante Gabriel Rossetti
1966
- The Trap as La Bete
1965
- The Party's Over as Moise
- The Brigand of Kandahar as Ali Kahn
- The Debussy Film as Claude Debussy
- Always on Sunday as Narrator (voice)
1964
- R3 as Dr. Richard Franklin
- The System as Tinker
1963
- The Scarlet Blade as Captain Sylvester
- Paranoiac as Simon Ashby
1962
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- The Saint as Joe Catelli
- Captain Clegg as Harry Cobtree
- The Damned as King
- The Pirates of Blood River as Pirate Brocaire
1961
- The Curse of the Werewolf as Leon Corledo
- The Rebel as Artist in Cafe
- His and Hers as Oliver Borlinski
- No Love for Johnnie as Man with Bucket on His Head (uncredited)
1960
- Hello London as Photographer (uncredited)
- The Angry Silence as Mick
- Beat Girl as Plaid Shirt
- The League of Gentlemen as Chorus Boy (uncredited)
- The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll as Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
- The Bulldog Breed as Teddy Boy in Cinema Fight (uncredited)
- Sword of Sherwood Forest as Lord Melton (uncredited)
- Life Is a Circus as Spectator at Sideshow (uncredited)
1959
- The Third Man as Pepi
- Knight Errant Limited as Benny Falconer
- Upstairs and Downstairs as Train Passenger (uncredited)
- The Captain's Table as Suntanning Passenger (uncredited)
1958
- The Square Peg as (uncredited)
1955
- Value for Money as Extra (uncredited)