Frank Finlay
Acting
138 titles
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.
Filmography
Nothing Like a Dame
2018
Fifty Shades of Erotica
2015
Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
2008
Merlin
2008
The Waiting Room
2007
Johnny and the Bomb
2006
Lighthouse Hill
2004
Life Begins
2004
The Statement
2003
Eroica
2003
The Lost Prince
2003
The Pianist
2002
Station Jim
2001
The Martins
2001
The Sins
2000
For My Baby
2000
Longitude
2000
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
1999
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
1999
Stiff Upper Lips
1998
How Do You Want Me?
1998
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
1997
The Grand
1997
Limited Edition
1997
Virgin Mary
1995
A Mind to Murder
1995
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval
1994
Sparrow
1994
The Voyeur
1994
An Exchange of Fire
1993
Stalin
1992
The Other Side
1992
Heartbeat
1992
Cthulhu Mansion
1992
Mountain of Diamonds
1991
Mountain of Diamonds
1991
Prime Suspect
1991
The Burning Shore
1991
King of the Wind
1990
The Return of the Musketeers
1989
Erebus: The Aftermath
1987
Casanova
1987
Lovejoy
1986
Nineteen Nineteen
1985
Lifeforce
1985
In the Secret State
1985
Screen Two
1985
The Making Of Lifeforce
1985
Arch of Triumph
1984
Royal Variety Performance 1984
1984
A Christmas Carol
1984
Sakharov
1984
Sherlock Holmes
1984
The Key
1983
Blackadder
1983
The Ploughman's Lunch
1983
The Spanish Civil War
1983
The Return of the Soldier
1983
Enigma
1982
Mona
1982
All for Love
1982
Wogan
1982
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
1981
Dear Brutus
1981
Ring of Darkness
1979
Tales of the Unexpected
1979
Murder by Decree
1979
Betzi
1978
The Wild Geese
1978
The Thief of Baghdad
1978
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
1978
Count Dracula
1977
Count Dracula
1977
Another Bouquet
1977
Laurence Olivier Presents
1976
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
1976
84 Charing Cross Road
1975
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
1975
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
1974
The Four Musketeers
1974
Van der Valk and the Rich
1973
The Three Musketeers
1973
Shaft in Africa
1973
The Death of Adolf Hitler
1973
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
1973
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
1972
Sitting Target
1972
Danny Jones
1972
The Merchant of Venice
1972
Gumshoe
1971
Casanova
1971
Assault
1971
The Lie
1970
Play for Today
1970
The Body
1970
Cromwell
1970
The Molly Maguires
1970
Blood of the Lamb
1969
Julius Caesar
1969
The Piano Tuner
1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
This Happy Breed
1969
Twisted Nerve
1968
The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968
Inspector Clouseau
1968
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
1967
Les Misérables
1967
Robbery
1967
The Jokers
1967
Much Ado About Nothing
1967
The Spare Tyres
1967
The Deadly Bees
1966
NET Playhouse
1966
The Sandwich Man
1966
Othello
1965
The Wild Affair
1965
BBC Play of the Month
1965
A Study in Terror
1965
Olivier Talks About Othello
1965
The Wednesday Play
1964
The Comedy Man
1964
Theatre 625
1964
Hot Enough for June
1964
The Informers
1963
Doctor in Distress
1963
The Longest Day
1962
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1962
Life for Ruth
1962
The Hard Knock
1962
Studio 4
1962
Z-Cars
1962
Private Potter
1962
You Can't Win
1961
The Younger Generation
1961
Drama 61-67
1961
Target Luna
1960
Armchair Theatre
1956
Sunday Night Theatre
1950