Richard Briers
Encyclopedia
Richard David Briers, CBE
(born 14 January 1934) is an English
actor
whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.
He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines
in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC
sitcom
The Good Life that he became a household name. In the 1980s he starred in Ever Decreasing Circles
, and from 2000 to 2002 came back to the spotlight with a leading role in Monarch of the Glen.
, Surrey
, England
, the son of Joseph Benjamin Briers and Morna Phyllis (née
Richardson). He is the second cousin of actor Terry-Thomas
. He spent his childhood in Raynes Park and Guildford
. His father drifted between jobs, while his mother dreamt of a career in showbiz, something she could not achieve for financial reasons. He attended Rokeby Prep School in Wimbledon
, and left at the age of 16 without any formal qualifications.
His first job was a clerical post with a London
cable manufacturer, and for a short time he went to evening class to qualify in electrical engineering, but soon left and became a filing clerk. At the age of 18, he was called up for two years National Service
in the RAF
, during which he was a filing clerk at RAF Northwood
, where he met future George and Mildred
actor Brian Murphy
. Murphy introduced Briers, who had been interested in acting since the age of 14, to the Dramatic Society at the Borough Polytechnic Institute, now London South Bank University
, where he performed in several productions. When he left the RAF he studied at RADA
, which he attended from 1954 to 1956. He won a scholarship with Liverpool Repertory Company, and he worked with them for 15 months, then moved to the Belgrade Theatre
in Coventry
for 6 months and then had his West End
debut.
It was while at Liverpool Rep that he met his future wife Ann Davies, who was acting as stage manager, and has acted on television since the 1960s. Soon after meeting, he borrowed £5 from his mother, bought an engagement ring and they were married within six months. They have two children, one of whom, Lucy
, is also an actress.
(1961–66) opposite Prunella Scales
. The following year Briers appeared in Brothers in Law
(from the book by Henry Cecil
) as callow barrister Roger Thursby. He was cast in this role by adaptors Frank Muir
and Denis Norden
, who had seen him in the West End. His other early appearances included Dixon of Dock Green
(1962), The Morecambe & Wise Show
, The Seven Faces of Jim
(1961) with Jimmy Edwards
, a production of Noël Coward
's Hay Fever
(1968) and the storyteller in several episodes of Jackanory
(1969).
Briers was cast in the lead role in The Good Life (1975–78), playing Tom Good, a draughtsman
who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency
. An enormously successful series, the last episode in 1978 was performed in front of the Queen
. In 1977, he starred with his The Good Life co-star Penelope Keith
in the televised version of Alan Ayckbourn
's trilogy The Norman Conquests
.
Briers was the original narrator and voice actor for the Enid Blyton series Noddy
.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he played roles in many programmes including Goodbye, Mr Kent (1982), All in Good Faith
(1985), Tales of the Unexpected
(1988), Mr. Bean
(1990) and Twelfth Night (1988) as Malvolio
. In 1987, he appeared in the Doctor Who
episode Paradise Towers
. From 1984 to 1989 he was the lead role of Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing Circles
, and in 1993 took the lead role of Godfrey Spry in the BBC comedy drama If You See God, Tell Him
. In 1995 he played the character Tony Fairfax in the BBC comedy 'Down to Earth' Tony Fairfax (Richard Briers) plays a cultural adviser to the President of a banana republic in Latin America. When the President is deposed by a military coup, Tony is sacked and deported back to England and ends up staying with his brother Chris (Christopher Blake) and his wife Molly (Kirsten Cooke).
and George Bernard Shaw
. In 1967, one of his earliest successes was playing alongside Michael Hordern
and Celia Johnson
in the London production of Alan Ayckbourn
's Relatively Speaking
. Briers was a member of Kenneth Branagh's
Renaissance Theatre Company
, taking on classical and Shakespearean
roles including Malvolio
in Twelfth Night and the title roles in King Lear
and Uncle Vanya
. Briers has also appeared in nine of Kenneth Branagh's films, such as Henry V
(as Bardolph, 1989), Much Ado About Nothing
(as Signor Leonato, 1993), and as Polonius
in Hamlet
(1996).
Briers is also a familiar voice actor
, with numerous commercials, including adverts for the Midland Bank
in which he was the voice of the company's Griffin symbol, and the animated children's series Roobarb
(1974), Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1976) and Bob the Builder
(2005) to his credit. He also provided the voice of Fiver in the animated film adaptation of Watership Down
(1978).Between 1984 and 1986 he made a series of commercials for the Ford Sierra
done in a sitcom style portraing the Sierra as "one of the family".
His work in radio
includes playing Bertie Wooster
in a series of adaptations of the Jeeves
novels by P. G. Wodehouse
, Dr. Simon Sparrow in BBC Radio 4
's adaptions of Richard Gordon's Doctor in the House and Doctor At Large (1968) (currently repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra), a retired thespian in a series of six plays with Stanley Baxter
Two Pipe Problems, and later the play Not Talking, commissioned for BBC Radio 3
by Mike Bartlett.
, Inspector Morse
, Midsomer Murders
(the episode "Death's Shadow
"), Doctors
, New Tricks, Kingdom
, and If You See God, Tell Him
. Richard Briers starred as Hector
in the first three series of Monarch of the Glen from 2000 to 2002, a role which saw him return to the limelight. He contributed "Sonnet 55
" to the 2002 compilation album
, When Love Speaks
, which features famous actors and musicians interpreting Shakespeare's sonnet
s and play excerpts. In 2005, he appeared alongside Kevin Whately
in Dad
, a TV Film made by BBC Wales
exploring issues of elder abuse
. In 2006, he made an appearance in an episode of Extras
, and portrayed the servant Adam in Kenneth Branagh's 2006 Shakespeare adaptation, As You Like It
. He made a cameo appearance as a dying recluse in the 2008 Torchwood
episode "A Day in the Death
".
Richard Briers was appointed OBE
in 1989, and CBE in 2003. As a result of Terry-Thomas's Parkinson's disease
, Briers became President of the Parkinson's Disease Society. Briers has helped launch a Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association
campaign.
Richard Briers is also a non-medical patron of the TOFS (Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula Support) charity, which supports children and the families of children born unable to swallow.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 14 January 1934) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.
He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines
Marriage Lines
Marriage Lines was a popular black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines...
in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the 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...
sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
The Good Life that he became a household name. In the 1980s he starred in Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles is a British situation comedy which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1989.It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and reunited them with Richard Briers, the star of their previous hit show, The Good Life. It was much less brash than most situation comedies,...
, and from 2000 to 2002 came back to the spotlight with a leading role in Monarch of the Glen.
Early life
Briers was born in Raynes ParkRaynes Park
Raynes Park is a suburb within the London Borough of Merton south-west London, centred around Raynes Park station and situated between Wimbledon and New Malden. It is 8.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross. The area is effectively divided into two by the Waterloo - Southampton mainline railway...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Joseph Benjamin Briers and Morna Phyllis (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Richardson). He is the second cousin of actor Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
. He spent his childhood in Raynes Park and Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
. His father drifted between jobs, while his mother dreamt of a career in showbiz, something she could not achieve for financial reasons. He attended Rokeby Prep School in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, and left at the age of 16 without any formal qualifications.
His first job was a clerical post with a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
cable manufacturer, and for a short time he went to evening class to qualify in electrical engineering, but soon left and became a filing clerk. At the age of 18, he was called up for two years National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, during which he was a filing clerk at RAF Northwood
Northwood Headquarters
Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood...
, where he met future George and Mildred
George and Mildred
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper...
actor Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy (actor)
Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
. Murphy introduced Briers, who had been interested in acting since the age of 14, to the Dramatic Society at the Borough Polytechnic Institute, now London South Bank University
London South Bank University
London South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...
, where he performed in several productions. When he left the RAF he studied at RADA
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...
, which he attended from 1954 to 1956. He won a scholarship with Liverpool Repertory Company, and he worked with them for 15 months, then moved to the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
for 6 months and then had his West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
debut.
It was while at Liverpool Rep that he met his future wife Ann Davies, who was acting as stage manager, and has acted on television since the 1960s. Soon after meeting, he borrowed £5 from his mother, bought an engagement ring and they were married within six months. They have two children, one of whom, Lucy
Lucy Briers
Lucy Briers is an English actress. She has received critical praise for her many film, television, and stage roles, including the premiere of Best Friends & Butterflies.-Personal life:...
, is also an actress.
Television career
In 1961, Briers gained the lead male role in Marriage LinesMarriage Lines
Marriage Lines was a popular black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines...
(1961–66) opposite Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
. The following year Briers appeared in Brothers in Law
Brothers in Law (TV series)
Brothers in Law is a British television series inspired by the 1955 comedy novel Brothers in Law by Henry Cecil Leon. It first aired on the BBC in thirteen half-hour episodes between 17 April and 10 July 1962 and followed the trials of an idealistic young lawyer entering the legal profession...
(from the book by Henry Cecil
Henry Cecil Leon
Henry Cecil Leon , who wrote under the pen-names Henry Cecil and Clifford Maxwell, was a judge and a writer of fiction about the British legal system. He was born near London in 1902 and was called to the Bar in 1923. Later in 1949 he was appointed a County Court Judge, a position he held until 1967...
) as callow barrister Roger Thursby. He was cast in this role by adaptors Frank Muir
Frank Muir
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC radio's Take It From Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio...
and Denis Norden
Denis Norden
Denis Mostyn Norden CBE is a former English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during World War II. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the successful BBC Radio comedy programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir...
, who had seen him in the West End. His other early appearances included Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
(1962), The Morecambe & Wise Show
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
, The Seven Faces of Jim
Faces of Jim
Faces of Jim was a black-and-white British comedy television series starring Jimmy Edwards, June Whitfield and Ronnie Barker, with each episode being an individual half-hour sitcom. The first series aired as The Seven Faces of Jim, the second as Six More Faces of Jim and the third series as More...
(1961) with Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!-Biography:...
, a production of Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Hay Fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
(1968) and the storyteller in several episodes of Jackanory
Jackanory
Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
(1969).
Briers was cast in the lead role in The Good Life (1975–78), playing Tom Good, a draughtsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency refers to the state of not requiring any outside aid, support, or interaction, for survival; it is therefore a type of personal or collective autonomy...
. An enormously successful series, the last episode in 1978 was performed in front of the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. In 1977, he starred with his The Good Life co-star Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
in the televised version of Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
's trilogy The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour...
.
Briers was the original narrator and voice actor for the Enid Blyton series Noddy
Noddy
Noddy is a character created by British children's author Enid Blyton, originally published between 1949 and 1963. Television shows based on the character have run on British television since 1955 and continue to appear to this day.-Noddy:...
.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he played roles in many programmes including Goodbye, Mr Kent (1982), All in Good Faith
All in Good Faith
All in Good Faith is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1985 to 1988. Starring Richard Briers, it was written by John Kane. All in Good Faith was made for the ITV network by Thames Television.-Cast:*Richard Briers - The Reverend Philip Lambe...
(1985), Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)
Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
(1988), Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
(1990) and Twelfth Night (1988) as Malvolio
Malvolio
Malvolio is the steward of Olivia's household in William Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will.-Style:Malvolio's ethical values are commonly used to define his appearance.In the play, Malvolio is defined as a "kind of" Puritan...
. In 1987, he 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...
episode Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1987.-Plot:...
. From 1984 to 1989 he was the lead role of Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles is a British situation comedy which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1989.It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and reunited them with Richard Briers, the star of their previous hit show, The Good Life. It was much less brash than most situation comedies,...
, and in 1993 took the lead role of Godfrey Spry in the BBC comedy drama If You See God, Tell Him
If You See God, Tell Him
If You See God, Tell Him is a black comedy television series starring Richard Briers, Adrian Edmondson, and Imelda Staunton. Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1993...
. In 1995 he played the character Tony Fairfax in the BBC comedy 'Down to Earth' Tony Fairfax (Richard Briers) plays a cultural adviser to the President of a banana republic in Latin America. When the President is deposed by a military coup, Tony is sacked and deported back to England and ends up staying with his brother Chris (Christopher Blake) and his wife Molly (Kirsten Cooke).
Other work
Briers has spent much of his career in theatre work, including appearances in plays by ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. In 1967, one of his earliest successes was playing alongside Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
and Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
in the London production of Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
's Relatively Speaking
Relatively Speaking (play)
Relatively Speaking is a 1965 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, originally titled Meet My Father. The London production of Relatively Speaking in 1967 at the Duke of York's Theatre helped to launch Richard Briers' career, and it also featured Michael Hordern and Celia Johnson.-Setting:The...
. Briers was a member of Kenneth Branagh's
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
Renaissance Theatre Company
Renaissance Theatre Company
The Renaissance Theatre Company was founded in 1987 by Kenneth Branagh and David Parfitt as a development of the work they had been doing periodically on the London 'Fringe', producing and appearing in lunchtime shows, leading up to Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet, at the Lyric...
, taking on classical and Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
roles including Malvolio
Malvolio
Malvolio is the steward of Olivia's household in William Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will.-Style:Malvolio's ethical values are commonly used to define his appearance.In the play, Malvolio is defined as a "kind of" Puritan...
in Twelfth Night and the title roles in King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
and Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
. Briers has also appeared in nine of Kenneth Branagh's films, such as Henry V
Henry V (1989 film)
Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
(as Bardolph, 1989), Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing (film)
Much Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
(as Signor Leonato, 1993), and as Polonius
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...
in Hamlet
Hamlet (1996 film)
Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
(1996).
Briers is also a familiar voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
, with numerous commercials, including adverts for the Midland Bank
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
in which he was the voice of the company's Griffin symbol, and the animated children's series Roobarb
Roobarb
Roobarb is a British animated television programme for children, originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news. Each cartoon, written by Grange Calveley and animated by Bob Godfrey, was about five minutes long. Thirty episodes were made, and the show was first shown on October 21, 1974...
(1974), Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1976) and Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
(2005) to his credit. He also provided the voice of Fiver in the animated film adaptation of Watership Down
Watership Down (film)
Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
(1978).Between 1984 and 1986 he made a series of commercials for the Ford Sierra
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
done in a sitcom style portraing the Sierra as "one of the family".
His work in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
includes playing Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
in a series of adaptations of the Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
novels by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, Dr. Simon Sparrow in BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's adaptions of Richard Gordon's Doctor in the House and Doctor At Large (1968) (currently repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra), a retired thespian in a series of six plays with Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
Two Pipe Problems, and later the play Not Talking, commissioned for BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
by Mike Bartlett.
Recent years
Since 1990, he has appeared in LovejoyLovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
, Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
(the episode "Death's Shadow
Death's Shadow
Death's Shadow is the first episode of the second season of Midsomer Murders and the sixth episode overall. It stars John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby and Daniel Casey as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy.-Summary:...
"), Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
, New Tricks, Kingdom
Kingdom (TV series)
Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal...
, and If You See God, Tell Him
If You See God, Tell Him
If You See God, Tell Him is a black comedy television series starring Richard Briers, Adrian Edmondson, and Imelda Staunton. Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1993...
. Richard Briers starred as Hector
Hector Naismith MacDonald
Hector Naismith MacDonald, Laird of Glenbogle MC, is a fictional character in the BBC TV series Monarch of the Glen. Hector is played by English actor Richard Briers.-Plot:...
in the first three series of Monarch of the Glen from 2000 to 2002, a role which saw him return to the limelight. He contributed "Sonnet 55
Sonnet 55
Sonnet 55 is one of the best and most critically acclaimed sonnets of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man....
" to the 2002 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, When Love Speaks
When Love Speaks
When Love Speaks is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April 2002.-Track listing:...
, which features famous actors and musicians interpreting Shakespeare's sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s and play excerpts. In 2005, he appeared alongside Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...
in Dad
Dad (TV film)
Dad is a 2005 British television film made by BBC Wales. It stars Richard Briers, Kevin Whately, Jean Heywood, Sinéad Cusack and Hannah Daniels. It is written by Lucy Gannon, produced by Hilary Bevan Jones and directed by Sarah Harding....
, a TV Film made by BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
exploring issues of elder abuse
Elder abuse
Elder abuse is a general term used to describe certain types of harm to older adults. Other terms commonly used include: "elder mistreatment," "senior abuse," "abuse in later life," "abuse of older adults," "abuse of older women," and "abuse of older men."...
. In 2006, he made an appearance in an episode of Extras
Extras (TV series)
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it...
, and portrayed the servant Adam in Kenneth Branagh's 2006 Shakespeare adaptation, As You Like It
As You Like It (2006 film)
As You Like It is a 2006 film directed by Kenneth Branagh. It is based on the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare. The play's setting is relocated from medieval France to a European colony in late 19th century Japan after the Meiji Restoration. It was shot at Shepperton Film Studios and on...
. He made a cameo appearance as a dying recluse in the 2008 Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode "A Day in the Death
A Day in the Death
"A Day in the Death" is the eighth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 27 February 2008...
".
Richard Briers was appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1989, and CBE in 2003. As a result of Terry-Thomas's Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, Briers became President of the Parkinson's Disease Society. Briers has helped launch a Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association
Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association
Sense is a national charity in the United Kingdom that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind.-History:Sense was founded in 1955 as a self-help and support group for the parents of children whose disabilities were neither recognised nor provided for, children born...
campaign.
Richard Briers is also a non-medical patron of the TOFS (Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula Support) charity, which supports children and the families of children born unable to swallow.
Selected filmography
- Girls at SeaGirls at Sea (1958 film)Girls At Sea is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Ronald Shiner as Marine Ogg and Warren Mitchell as Arthur. It was based on a play by Ian Hay...
(1958) - Bottoms UpBottoms Up (1960 film)Bottoms Up is a 1960 British comedy film.It stars Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series Whack-O!, playing a seedy headmaster.The plot involves Melvyn Hayes playing a Cockney youth who tries to impersonate an Indian prince.-Cast list:...
(1960) - The Girl on the BoatThe Girl on the Boat (film)The Girl on the Boat is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Henry Kaplan and starring Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers. It is based on The Girl on the Boat by P.G...
(1961) - Murder, She SaidMurder, She SaidMurder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
(1961) - A Matter of WHOA Matter of WHOA Matter of WHO is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Terry-Thomas as a World Health Organisation employee trying to trail the source of a deadly virus. It also featured Sonja Ziemann, Alex Nicol, Richard Briers, Honor Blackman and Carol White....
(1961) - Doctor in DistressDoctor in Distress (film)Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It was the fifth film in the Doctor Series...
(1963) - The BargeeThe BargeeThe Bargee is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, and starring Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker. The screenplay was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.-Plot:...
(1964) - FathomFathom (film)Fathom is a 1967 British spy comedy film directed by Leslie H. Martinson, starring Anthony Franciosa and Raquel Welch. Fathom Harvill is a dental assistant and an American skydiver touring Europe with a U.S. parachute team...
(1967) - All the Way UpAll the Way UpAll the Way Up is a 1970 British comedy film directed by James MacTaggart based on Semi-Detached, a 1962 play by Midlands dramatist David Turner. It stars Richard Briers, Warren Mitchell, Pat Heywood, Kenneth Cranham, Adrienne Posta and Elaine Taylor....
(1970) - Rookery NookRookery Nook (1970 film)Rookery Nook is a 1970 British comedy television film starring Richard Briers, Arthur Lowe and Irene Handl. It is based on the play Rookery Nook, one of the Aldwych Farces, by Ben Travers. It was first aired on the BBC on 19 September 1970.-Cast:...
(1970, TV film) - RentadickRentadickRentadick is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, involving the the attempts to protect a new experimental nerve gas....
(1972) - Watership DownWatership Down (film)Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
(1978) - A Chorus of DisapprovalA Chorus of DisapprovalA Chorus of Disapproval is a 1988 British film adapted from the Alan Ayckbourn play of the same title, directed by Michael Winner. Among the movie's cast are Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons, Richard Briers, and Alexandra Pigg....
(1989) - Henry VHenry V (1989 film)Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
(1989) - Peter's FriendsPeter's FriendsPeter's Friends is a 1992 British comedy-drama film written by Rita Rudner and her husband Martin Bergman, and directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh....
(1992) - Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing (film)Much Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
(1993) - A Midwinter's TaleA Midwinter's TaleA Midwinter's Tale is a 1995 romantic comedy written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Many of the roles in the film were written for specific actors....
(1995) - HamletHamlet (1996 film)Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
(1996) - Spice World (1997)
- Love's Labour's LostLove's Labour's Lost (2000 film)Love's Labour's Lost is a 2000 adaptation of the comic play of the same name by William Shakespeare, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. It was the first feature film to be made of this lesser-known comedy...
(2000) - Unconditional Love (2002)
- Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
(2003) - As You Like ItAs You Like It (2006 film)As You Like It is a 2006 film directed by Kenneth Branagh. It is based on the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare. The play's setting is relocated from medieval France to a European colony in late 19th century Japan after the Meiji Restoration. It was shot at Shepperton Film Studios and on...
(2006)
External links
- Richard Briers at the BBC Comedy Guide
- Richard Briers at BFI ScreenOnline