Nicholas Woodeson
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Woodeson is an English film and television actor.
and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
.
in 1980. He played Niki Landau in "The Russia House
"(1990), The Avengers (1998) and appeared in Topsy Turvy (1999). Woodeson's acting versatility has won him minor roles in many films, including Titanic Town
, The Pelican Brief
and The Man Who Knew Too Little
.
, and Miami Vice
.
He portrayed Harman Grisewood
, Assistant Director General of the BBC, in the 2008 TV programme Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
.
More recently, Woodeson played Posca, the personal slave, confidant, and aide-de-camp
of Julius Caesar
, in the HBO/BBC
television production of Rome
. In 2008 he appeared as a guest star in Foyle's War.
dramatic society Woodeson took part in the National Student Drama Festival
for 1975, before securing a place at RADA
. His first professional engagements were in repertory
at The Lyceum
, Crewe, taking small roles and as ASM. Subsequently he has appeared in the West End, in New York, with the Royal Shakespeare Company
("memorably" finding the humour in the name part in King John of 1988) and the Royal National Theatre
. In 1995 he replaced Kenneth Cranham
during the New York run of National Theatre's An Inspector Calls
and its subsequent transfer to the Wyndham's Theatre
, a role he reprised to critical acclaim in 2009 in the Novello Theatre
.
. They both appeared in the 1998 film Titanic Town
, though they were never in the same scene. They also appeared together in the Michael Apted film Amazing Grace, about the life and achievements of William Wilberforce. This time they did appear in scenes together, in particular those set in The Houses of Parliament, which were shot at Chatham Docks in Kent.
Education
Woodeson attended Marlborough CollegeMarlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
.
Film
Woodeson's first film work was a minor role in Heaven's GateHeaven's Gate (film)
Heaven's Gate is a 1980 American epic Western film based on the Johnson County War, a dispute between land barons and European immigrants in Wyoming in the 1890s...
in 1980. He played Niki Landau in "The Russia House
The Russia House
The Russia House is a novel by John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film based on the novel was released in 1990, starring Sean Connery and Michelle...
"(1990), The Avengers (1998) and appeared in Topsy Turvy (1999). Woodeson's acting versatility has won him minor roles in many films, including Titanic Town
Titanic Town (film)
Titanic Town is a 1998 film. Ciarán Hinds and Julie Walters play Aidan and Bernie McPhelimy, a mother and father caught in the Northern Ireland Troubles in Belfast . Bernie's close friend is killed in the crossfire and so she becomes involved in the peace process.-Their children:*Nuala O'Neill ......
, The Pelican Brief
The Pelican Brief (film)
The Pelican Brief is a 1993 legal crime thriller based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Julia Roberts in the role of young law student Darby Shaw and Denzel Washington as Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham...
and The Man Who Knew Too Little
The Man Who Knew Too Little
The Man Who Knew Too Little is a 1997 American comedy espionage film starring Bill Murray, directed by Jon Amiel, and written by Robert Farrar and Howard Franklin...
.
Television
Woodeson is a veteran television actor, appearing in a variety of roles. Woodeson played Sir Henry Baskerville in the 1982 BBC production of Hound of the Baskervilles and SS-Gruppenführer (Lieutenant General) Otto Hoffman in BBC/HBO production Conspiracy (2001), and guest starred on series such as Touch of Frost, EastEndersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, and Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
.
He portrayed Harman Grisewood
Harman Grisewood
Harman Joseph Gerard Grisewood was an English radio actor, radio and television executive, novelist and non-fiction writer. He acted as literary executor to the poet David Jones, a lifelong friend....
, Assistant Director General of the BBC, in the 2008 TV programme Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story
Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story is a 2008 BBC Television docudrama written by Amanda Coe, telling the life story of the British morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse...
.
More recently, Woodeson played Posca, the personal slave, confidant, and aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
of Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (character of Rome)
Gaius Julius Caesar is a historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Irish actor Ciarán Hinds...
, in the HBO/BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television production of Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
. In 2008 he appeared as a guest star in Foyle's War.
Theatre
As member of Sussex University'sUniversity of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
dramatic society Woodeson took part in the National Student Drama Festival
National Student Drama Festival
The National Student Drama Festival was founded in 1956 by the Sunday Times arts columnist - the festival's first artistic director - Kenneth Pearson, the Sunday Times theatre critic Harold Hobson, and NUS president Frank Copplestone. The Sunday Times Editor, H.V...
for 1975, before securing a place at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
. His first professional engagements were in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
at The Lyceum
Lyceum Theatre (Crewe)
The Lyceum Theatre is an Edwardian theatre in Heath Street, Crewe, Cheshire, England. It originated as a converted Roman Catholic Church in 1876. The church was replaced in 1887 by a purpose-built theatre, which burnt down in 1910. The theatre was rebuilt the following year, and was refurbished...
, Crewe, taking small roles and as ASM. Subsequently he has appeared in the West End, in New York, with 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...
("memorably" finding the humour in the name part in King John of 1988) and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. In 1995 he replaced Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham is a film, television and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr...
during the New York run of National Theatre's An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
and its subsequent transfer to the Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
, a role he reprised to critical acclaim in 2009 in the Novello Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
.
Trivia
Rome is the second time Woodeson has worked with Ciarán HindsCiarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
. They both appeared in the 1998 film Titanic Town
Titanic Town (film)
Titanic Town is a 1998 film. Ciarán Hinds and Julie Walters play Aidan and Bernie McPhelimy, a mother and father caught in the Northern Ireland Troubles in Belfast . Bernie's close friend is killed in the crossfire and so she becomes involved in the peace process.-Their children:*Nuala O'Neill ......
, though they were never in the same scene. They also appeared together in the Michael Apted film Amazing Grace, about the life and achievements of William Wilberforce. This time they did appear in scenes together, in particular those set in The Houses of Parliament, which were shot at Chatham Docks in Kent.