Hugh Quarshie
Encyclopedia
Early and Personal Life
Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina (née Philips, 1917–2004) and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three. He was educated at Bryanston School
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
(Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
), Dean Close School
Dean Close School
Dean Close School is a co-educational independent school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school is divided into pre-prep, preparatory and senior schools located on separate but adjacent sites outside Cheltenham town centre, occupying the largest private land area in the town...
(Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
), where he played the role of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
in an open air production in the Tuckwell theatre, and then read PPE at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. Quarshie considered becoming a journalist, but took up acting instead. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, and has appeared in many stage productions and television programs, including Behaving Badly
Behaving Badly (TV serial)
Behaving Badly is a 1989 British television serial directed by David Tucker. The teleplay by Catherine Heath and Moira Williams is based on Heath's novel of the same name. It was initially broadcast by Channel 4...
with Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
.
Career
Quarshie is known for playing the roles of Sunda Kastagir in HighlanderHighlander (film)
Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart. The film depicts the climax of an ages-old battle between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and...
Quarshie appeared in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
two-part episode "Daleks in Manhattan
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks
"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
" as Solomon, leader of the shantytown Hooverville
Hooverville
A 'Hooverville' was the popular name for shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after the President of the United States at the time, Herbert Hoover, because he allegedly let the nation slide into depression...
in April 2007. He also appeared at the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
fan event Star Wars Celebration in 1999.
He also appears in the hospital drama series Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
as Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
. He leads the cast of Michele Soavi
Michele Soavi
Michele Soavi, sometimes known as Michael Soavi is an Italian filmmaker.-Career:Michele Soavi was born in Milan. As a teenager, Soavi enrolled in creative arts classes and developed into a talented actor. He took acting lessons at Milan's Fersen Studios, but his greatest talent was working behind...
's The Church
The Church (film)
The Church is a 1989 Italian horror film written and produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi. The film stars Hugh Quarshie, Tomas Arana, Barbara Cupisti, Asia Argento, Feodor Chaliapin, Jr., and Giovanni Lombardo Radice...
as Father Gus and plays Aaron the Moor in the BBC Television Shakespeare
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
.
Quarshie has narrated a number of television programmes, including the 2006 documentatary Mega Falls of Iguacu about the Iguaçu Falls, and the 2009 TV adaptation of Small Island
Small Island (television drama)
Small Island is a two-part 2009 BBC One television drama adapted from the 2004 novel of the same title by Andrea Levy. The programme stars Naomie Harris and Ruth Wilson as joint respective female protagonists Hortense Roberts and Queenie Bligh, two women who struggle to fulfil their personal...
. In 2010, he narrated the BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife is a British glossy, all-colour, monthly magazine about wildlife, founded by BBC Worldwide and published through the BBC Magazines Bristol division, also trading as Bristol Magazines Ltd....
series Great Rift: Africa's wild heart. In September 2010, he appeared in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his Ghanaian and Dutch origins.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Scene (TV series) | 1 episode (Wide Games) | |
| 1979 | The Knowledge (TV movie) | Champion | |
| 1980 | Buccaneer (TV series) | Major Ndobi | 2 episodes |
| 1980 | The Dogs of War | Zangaron Officer | |
| 1981 | Wolcott (TV mini-series) | Dennis St George | |
| 1981 | The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs (TV movie) | Danny Young | |
| 1981 | A Midsummer Night's Dream (TV movie) | Philostrate | |
| 1983 | Rumpole of the Bailey | Jonathan Mazenze | 1 episode: Rumpole and the Golden Thread |
| 1983 | Angels (TV series) | Turi Mimi | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Sharma and Beyond (TV movie) | Man on Stairs | |
| 1985 | Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend | Kenge Obe | |
| 1985 | Titus Andronicus (TV movie) | Aaron | |
| 1985 | Smith & Jones (TV series) | 1 episode | |
| 1986 | Highlander | Sunda Kastagir | |
| 1988 | A Gentleman's Club (TV series) | Baba | 1 episode |
| 1989 | La chiesa | Father Gus | |
| 1989 | Behaving Badly (TV mini-series) | Daniel | |
| 1986 - 1989 | Screenplay (TV series) | Mike/Wallace | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Nightbreed | Detective Joyce | |
| 1991 | Chancer (TV series) | Kazeem | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Press Gang (TV series) | Inspector Hibbert | |
| 1992 | Surgical Spirit (TV series) | Fergus Debonaire | 1 episode |
| 1992 | Virtual Murder (TV series) | Dr. Mellor | |
| 1992 | The Tomorrow People (TV series) | Professor John Galt | All 6 episodes |
| 1993 | The Comic Strip Presents... (TV series) | Lieutenant Delaney | |
| 1993 | Red Dwarf (TV series) | Computer Voice | 1 episode: Emohawk: Polymorph II |
| 1994 | Horizon (TV series documentary) | Narrator | |
| 1994 | The Chief (TV series) | Vincent Pierce | 1 episode |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (TV movie) | Inspector Rhodes | |
| 1992-1994 | Medics (TV series) | Dr. Tom Carey | |
| 1994 | Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (TV series) | Cassius | |
| 1999 | Star Wars: The Phantom Menace | Captain Panaka |
Selected theatre performances
- FaustGoethe's FaustJohann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts: and . Although written as a closet drama, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages...
, MephistophelesMephistophelesMephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
(RSCRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, 1995) - Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (play)The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
, Mark AntonyMark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
(RSC, 1995)