Ian Bannen
Encyclopedia
Ian Bannen was a Scottish
character actor and occasional leading man.
, the son of Clare (née Galloway) and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army
after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College
, Leicestershire
. His first acting role came in a 1947 Dublin stage production of Armlet of Jade. He became a successful figure on the London stage, making a name for himself in the plays of both Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill
. He was an original member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
and appeared on Broadway
as well.
His film debut occurred in the early 1950s with a small role in Pool of London (1951), and he quickly rose to prominence, primarily in a wide range of supporting roles. During the early stages of his career he worked with the Boulting Brothers
on Private's Progress
and Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
. His performance as "Crow" in The Flight of the Phoenix
(1965) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
, making him the first Scottish actor to receive this honour; he also received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year - Actor
. That same year, he starred alongside Sean Connery
in the WW2 prison drama, The Hill
.
, Van der Valk and The Love Boat
. His notable television appearances include parts in Doctor Finlay
, Thriller
, and as a school teacher and ex-spy in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Director John Schlesinger
cast him as a replacement for Alan Bates
in the part of well-off homosexual doctor Daniel Hirsh in his controversial film Sunday Bloody Sunday
(1971), after Bates was deemed unavailable to shoot. According to screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt
, Bannen never felt comfortable with the part. The anxiety adversely affected his performance during the early filming. Schlesinger replaced Bannen with Peter Finch
, who received an Oscar nomination for the role.
Ian Bannen received a BAFTA Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his performance as suspected child molester Kenneth Baxter in The Offence
(1972). He also won acclaim for his roles as Brother Benedict in Lamb
(1986), Grandfather George in John Boorman
's Hope and Glory (1987) (for which he received a second "Best Supporting Actor" BAFTA nomination), the elder Robert de Brus in Braveheart
(1995), and as the touchingly crafty villager in Waking Ned Devine (1998).
In 1996, he was honored with the BAFTA
Lifetime Achievement Award.
. He was a passenger in a car driven by his wife, Marilyn Salisbury. He was 71 years old, and was survived by his wife, to whom he had been married since 1976. They had no children.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
character actor and occasional leading man.
Early life and career
Bannen was born in Airdrie, North LanarkshireAirdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, the son of Clare (née Galloway) and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College
Ratcliffe College
Ratcliffe College is an independent Catholic boarding and day school in Leicestershire, England. The College, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about six miles north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati in 1845 as a seminary. In 1847, the...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
. His first acting role came in a 1947 Dublin stage production of Armlet of Jade. He became a successful figure on the London stage, making a name for himself in the plays of both Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. He was an original 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 appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as well.
His film debut occurred in the early 1950s with a small role in Pool of London (1951), and he quickly rose to prominence, primarily in a wide range of supporting roles. During the early stages of his career he worked with the Boulting Brothers
John and Roy Boulting
John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting , known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:The twin brothers were born in Bray, Berkshire, England...
on Private's Progress
Private's Progress
Private's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.-Plot:...
and Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. is a 1959 British comedy film made by the Boulting Brothers.-Plot:...
. His performance as "Crow" in The Flight of the Phoenix
The Flight of the Phoenix
The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor. The plot involves the crash of a transport aircraft in the middle of a desert and the survivors' desperate attempt to save themselves...
(1965) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, making him the first Scottish actor to receive this honour; he also received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year - Actor
Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor
The Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor originated in 1948. Between 1954 and 1965, multiple winners were announced. The category was discontinued following the 1983 ceremonies.-Winners:*1948: Richard Widmark*1950: Richard Todd, Gene Nelson...
. That same year, he starred alongside Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
in the WW2 prison drama, The Hill
The Hill (film)
The Hill is a 1965 film directed by Sidney Lumet, set in a British army prison in North Africa in World War II. It stars Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Ossie Davis, Ian Hendry, Alfred Lynch, Roy Kinnear and Michael Redgrave.-Plot:...
.
Later career
Bannen turned down lead roles in Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, Van der Valk and The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
. His notable television appearances include parts in Doctor Finlay
Doctor Finlay
Doctor Finlay is a British television series based on A. J. Cronin's stories about the fictional hero, Dr. Finlay. It is a follow-up to Dr. Finlay's Casebook, the successful BBC series. It takes place in the 1940s after John Finlay returns from war service...
, Thriller
Thriller (UK TV series)
Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast...
, and as a school teacher and ex-spy in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Director John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
cast him as a replacement for Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
in the part of well-off homosexual doctor Daniel Hirsh in his controversial film Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday (film)
Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971), after Bates was deemed unavailable to shoot. According to screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt was an English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film critic....
, Bannen never felt comfortable with the part. The anxiety adversely affected his performance during the early filming. Schlesinger replaced Bannen with Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
, who received an Oscar nomination for the role.
Ian Bannen received a BAFTA Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his performance as suspected child molester Kenneth Baxter in The Offence
The Offence
The Offence is a 1972 drama film, based upon the acclaimed 1968 stage play This Story of Yours by John Hopkins, directed by Sidney Lumet under the working title Something Like the Truth. It stars Sean Connery as police detective Johnson, who kills Kenneth Baxter , a suspected child molester, while...
(1972). He also won acclaim for his roles as Brother Benedict in Lamb
Lamb (film)
Lamb is a 1985 English drama film, directed by Colin Gregg and starring Liam Neeson, Hugh O'Conor and Ian Bannen. The film is based on the novel by Bernard MacLaverty, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...
(1986), Grandfather George in John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
's Hope and Glory (1987) (for which he received a second "Best Supporting Actor" BAFTA nomination), the elder Robert de Brus in Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
(1995), and as the touchingly crafty villager in Waking Ned Devine (1998).
In 1996, he was honored with the BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Death
Bannen suffered massive injuries and was killed in a car accident in 1999 at Knockies Straight, near Loch NessLoch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
. He was a passenger in a car driven by his wife, Marilyn Salisbury. He was 71 years old, and was survived by his wife, to whom he had been married since 1976. They had no children.
Legacy
Coatbridge College, Lanarkshire presents The Ian Bannen Memorial Award to the best actor or actress in their classes every year.Partial filmography
- Pool of London (1951)
- Private's ProgressPrivate's ProgressPrivate's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.-Plot:...
(1956) - The Long ArmThe Long Arm (film)The Long Arm is a 1956 British crime film starring Jack Hawkins, directed by Charles Frend and produced by Michael Balcon. In the US it's known as The Third Key.-Plot:...
(1956) - The Birthday PresentThe Birthday PresentThe Birthday Present is a 1957 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson. It stars Tony Britton, a top toy salesmen returning from a business trip to Germany with a watch hidden inside a toy, intended as a birthday present for his wife Sylvia Syms. He is caught by customs, arrested, and sentenced...
(1957) - Yangtse IncidentYangtse Incident (1957 film)Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957) - Miracle in SohoMiracle in SohoMiracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance betweena local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.-Main cast:* John...
(1957) - Behind the MaskBehind the Mask (1958 film)Behind the Mask is a 1958 British drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Bannen and Lionel Jeffries. It portrays the life of a surgeon in a busy hospital.-Cast:...
(1958) - Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O. is a 1959 British comedy film made by the Boulting Brothers.-Plot:...
(1959) - SuspectSuspect (1960 film)Suspect is a 1960 British thriller film directed by Roy Boulting and John Boulting. It starred Tony Britton, Virginia Maskell, Ian Bannen, Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence...
(1960) - A French MistressA French MistressA French Mistress is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Cecil Parker, James Robertson Justice, Ian Bannen, Raymond Huntley, Irene Handl and Thorley Walters.-External links:* at Yahoo Canada movies...
(1960) - Mister MosesMister MosesMister Moses is an adventure film about a conman blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto...
(1965) - The HillThe Hill (film)The Hill is a 1965 film directed by Sidney Lumet, set in a British army prison in North Africa in World War II. It stars Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Ossie Davis, Ian Hendry, Alfred Lynch, Roy Kinnear and Michael Redgrave.-Plot:...
(1965) - Rotten to the Core (1965)
- Flight of the PhoenixThe Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film)The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1965 American film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor...
(1965) - PenelopePenelope (1966 film)Penelope is a 1966 comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Natalie Wood, Ian Bannen, Peter Falk, Jonathan Winters, and Dick Shawn.-Plot:Penelope Elcott is the wife of wealthy banker of James Elcott...
(1966) - The Sailor from GibraltarThe Sailor from GibraltarThe Sailor from Gibraltar is a 1967 British drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jeanne Moreau, Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Bannen, Orson Welles and John Hurt....
(1967) - Lock Up Your DaughtersLock Up Your Daughters (film)Lock Up Your Daughters is a 1969 film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name. It stars Christopher Plummer, Susannah York, and Ian Bannen, and lacks all the songs from the original stage production....
(1969) - Too Late the HeroToo Late the HeroToo Late the Hero is a 1970 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ken Takakura, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Lance Percival, Ronald Fraser, Harry Andrews and Percy Herbert.-Plot:...
(1970) - FrightFright (film)Fright is a 1971 British thriller film starring Susan George, Ian Bannen and Honor Blackman.-Plot:Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have...
(1971) - The DeserterThe Deserter (1971 film)The Deserter is a 1971 Italian-American Western film by Dino De Laurentis. It was directed by Burt Kennedy, known for his penchant in directing westerns, including The War Wagon , Support Your Local Sheriff! and The Train Robbers .Scripted in the style of The Dirty Dozen , and designed as a...
(1971) - DoomwatchDoomwatch (film)Doomwatch is a 1972 science fiction/thriller film directed by Peter Sasdy. The film is based on the BBC series Doomwatch...
(1972) - The OffenceThe OffenceThe Offence is a 1972 drama film, based upon the acclaimed 1968 stage play This Story of Yours by John Hopkins, directed by Sidney Lumet under the working title Something Like the Truth. It stars Sean Connery as police detective Johnson, who kills Kenneth Baxter , a suspected child molester, while...
(1972) - The Mackintosh ManThe Mackintosh ManThe Mackintosh Man is a 1973 British cold war spy thriller film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Dominique Sanda and Ian Bannen. It was produced by John Foreman and William Hill as associate producer from a screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild based on the...
(1973) - Il Viaggio (1974)
- IdentikitIdentikitIdentikit is a 1974 film directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi.Based on the novella The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark, it is a psychological drama starring Elizabeth Taylor, Ian Bannen and featuring Andy Warhol.-Cast:* Elizabeth Taylor as Lise* Ian Bannen as Bill* Guido Mannari as Carlo* Mona...
(1974) - The Gathering StormThe Gathering Storm (1974 film)The Gathering Storm is a 1974 American television biopic film, about Winston Churchill's life in the years just prior to, and at the start of, World War II, from 1936 to 1940....
(1974) - Bite the Bullet (1975)
- Sweeney!Sweeney! (1977 film)Sweeney! is a 1977 British thriller film made as a spin-off from the television show The Sweeney, which ran from 1974 and 1978. It was released on Region 2 DVD in 2007. A sequel Sweeney 2 was released the following year.- Plot :...
(1977) - Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- Inglorious Bastards (1977)
- The Watcher in the WoodsThe Watcher in the WoodsThe Watcher in the Woods is a 1980 American-British mystery and horror film from Buena Vista Distribution Company. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, it is a live action movie that, though predominantly a family oriented work, also contains elements of the mystery, thriller, horror,...
(1980) - Night CrossingNight CrossingNight Crossing is a 1982 Disney film starring John Hurt and Beau Bridges. The film is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on September 16, 1979 escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon during the days of the Berlin Wall when emigration to...
(1981) - Eye of the NeedleEye of the Needle (film)Eye of the Needle is a 1981 film directed by Richard Marquand, based on the novel of the same title by Ken Follett, and starring Donald Sutherland...
(1981) - GandhiGandhi (film)Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
(1982) - The Prodigal (1983)
- Gorky ParkGorky Park (film)Gorky Park is a 1983 film based on the novel Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. It was directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Dennis Potter ....
(1983) - Defence of the RealmDefence of the RealmDefence of the Realm is a 1985 political thriller directed by David Drury. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi and Denholm Elliott...
(1985) - Hope and Glory (1987)
- The Courier (1988)
- La Partita (1988)
- Ghost DadGhost DadAs part of the publicity for the movie, a Ghost Dad novelization written by Mel Cebulash was released the year of the film's debut.-Critical reaction:...
(1990) - Circles in a ForestCircles in a ForestCircles in a Forest is a 1990 South African drama film directed by Regardt van den Bergh and starring Ian Bannen, Brion James and Joe Stewardson. Saul Barnard befriends an elephant as a child, and later goes back to rescue it as a man. The film is adapted from a novel by Dalene Matthee.-Cast:* Ian...
(1990) - The TreatyThe TreatyThe Treaty is a 1991 Irish historical television film directed by Jonathan Lewis.The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921. It is almost all factually accurate, and it shows how negotiations actually worked...
(1991) - Damage (1992)
- A Pin for the ButterflyA Pin for the ButterflyA Pin for the Butterfly is a 1994 British-Czech drama film directed by Hannah Kodichek and starring Ian Bannen, Hugh Laurie and Florence Hoath. A young girl tries to come terms with growing up in Stalinist Czechoslovakia. It was screened at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Ian Bannen ... ...
(1994) - BraveheartBraveheartBraveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
(1995) - Waking NedWaking NedWaking Ned is a 1998 comedy film by English writer and director Kirk Jones. It stars Ian Bannen, David Kelly and Fionnula Flanagan. Kelly was nominated for a Screen Actors' Guild award for his role as Michael O'Sullivan. The film is set in Ireland but was filmed on location in the Isle of Man...
(1998) - To Walk with LionsTo Walk With LionsTo Walk with Lions is a 1999 film starring Richard Harris as George Adamson and John Michie as Tony Fitzjohn.Adamson spends the latter part of his life protecting the lions and other wildlife in the Kora National Reserve, Kenya...
(1999) - BestBest (film)Best is a 2000 British film portraying the football career of the Northern Irish soccer star George Best, particularly his years spent at Manchester United...
(2000) - The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (2000)