Ron Cook
Encyclopedia
Ron Cook is an English actor who has been active in the theatre
, film
and television
since the 1970s. He is from South Shields
, Co Durham, England
and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College
.
's play Our Country's Good
. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor
in 2000 for his role in Juno and the Paycock
at the Donmar Warehouse
. He also appeared in a new play by Conor McPherson
, The Seafarer
, at the Royal National Theatre
. In 2008-2009, he took part in the Donmar's West End season at Wyndham's Theatre
, playing Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Polonius
in Hamlet
. In 2011, he played The Fool in King Lear
starring Derek Jacobi at the Donmar and on an 8-week tour.
where he played "Sean the Irish bastard" (1983), Bergerac
(1988), Sharpe
(1994) and Doctor Who
: "The Idiot's Lantern
" (2006). He has also had major roles in more highbrow one-off productions and serials, including several instalments of the BBC's The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare
(1982–83), most notably as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III of England
in Jane Howell's repertory treatment of the Henry VI
plays and Richard III
. He appeared as one of the unnamed "mysterious men" haunting the imagination of Michael Gambon
's hospitalised writer in Dennis Potter
's acclaimed 1986 serial The Singing Detective
, and has featured in several costume dramas, including Stephen Poliakoff
's The Lost Prince
(2002, as David Lloyd George
), an adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles
(2002, as Barrymore), a TV adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl
, (2003 as Thomas Cromwell), Anthony Trollope
's adaptation He Knew He Was Right (2004, as Bozzel), and Russell T Davies's Casanova
(2005, as the prisoner in the cell next to Casanova's). In 2003, he played the part of captain's steward in the Hornblower
episode, Duty. In 2006, Cook appeared as Kenneth Williams
' agent Peter Eade
in the BBC biopic Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
. He also played the role of Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
in the BBC's Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
. In 2008, he played Mr Chivery in the TV serial Little Dorrit
, based on the novel by Charles Dickens. He has also appeared in the children's TV series Summerhill, as an inspector. He played the role of an orthodox Jewish Rabbi (Noach Marowski) in a 2008 edition of Silent Witness. He played the role of Hermann van Daan in the 2009 BBC Drama, The Diary of Anne Frank
, as well as the part of David Cockram in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes
, aired in the same year.
twice, in his 1994 guest appearance in Sharpe and again in the 2000 feature film Quills
. Other film roles have included parts in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
(1989, as Mews), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy
(1999, as Richard D'Oyly Carte
), Chocolat
(2000), Charlotte Gray
(2001), 24 Hour Party People
(2002, as Derek Ryder), Thunderbirds
(2004, as Parker) and Hot Fuzz
(2007, as George Merchant). Cook also appeared in Feeling Good, a short film written by Dexter Fletcher
and directed by Dalia Ibelhauptaite
.
Cook has also acted in radio drama
. In 2007 he played the part of confidence trickster Captain Wragge in a BBC Radio 4
adaption of the Wilkie Collins
novel No Name
. In July 2007, he played the part of Kris Kelvin, the protagonist psychologist on the BBC Radio 4
adaptation of Solaris
, Stanislaw Lem
's novel.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
since the 1970s. He is from South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
, Co Durham, 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...
and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance is a British drama school, offering university-level and professional vocational training for theatre and performance and the BA and MA degrees, based in Sidcup, Southeast London.-History:Founded in 1950, Rose Bruford "pioneered the first acting degree...
.
Stage appearances
On stage, he appeared in the original 1988 production of Timberlake WertenbakerTimberlake Wertenbaker
- Biography :Wertenbaker grew up in the Basque Country of France near Saint-Jean-de-Luz. She attended schools in Europe and the US before settling permanently in London...
's play Our Country's Good
Our Country's Good
Our Country's Good is a 1988 play written by British playwright, Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales, in the 1780s, who put on a production of The Recruiting...
. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor
Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
The Laurence Olivier Awards are a series of awards presented annually by The Society of London Theatre. They are presented in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre, most notably plays and musicals in the West End of London, an area commonly referred to as "Theatreland"...
in 2000 for his role in Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
. He also appeared in a new play by Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and director.-Life and career:McPherson was born in Dublin, . He was educated at University College Dublin, McPherson began writing his first plays there as a member of UCD Dramsoc, the college's dramatic society, and went on to found Fly By Night Theatre...
, The Seafarer
The Seafarer (play)
The Seafarer is a 2006 play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set on Christmas Eve in Baldoyle, a coastal suburb north of Dublin city. The play centers on James "Sharkey" Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin...
, at 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 2008-2009, he took part in the Donmar's West End season at 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...
, playing Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and 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
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. In 2011, he played The Fool 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...
starring Derek Jacobi at the Donmar and on an 8-week tour.
Television appearances
He has performed in a large number of television productions, including guest roles in episodes of series such as The Black AdderThe Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
where he played "Sean the Irish bastard" (1983), Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
(1988), Sharpe
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
(1994) and 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...
: "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
" (2006). He has also had major roles in more highbrow one-off productions and serials, including several instalments of the BBC's The Complete Dramatic Works of William 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:...
(1982–83), most notably as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III of England
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
in Jane Howell's repertory treatment of the Henry VI
Henry VI
Henry VI may refer to:* Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor .* Henry VI of Luxembourg, Count of Luxembourg, * Henry VI of England...
plays and Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
. He appeared as one of the unnamed "mysterious men" haunting the imagination of Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
's hospitalised writer in Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's acclaimed 1986 serial The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
, and has featured in several costume dramas, including Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
's The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...
(2002, as David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
), an adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
(2002, as Barrymore), a TV adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 film)
The Other Boleyn Girl is a 2003 BBC television film, adapted from Philippa Gregory's novel of the same name.-Production:This was a low production budget of £750,000. The drama was shot using modern camera techniques and the cast spent four weeks in workshops improvising the script with the director...
, (2003 as Thomas Cromwell), Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
's adaptation He Knew He Was Right (2004, as Bozzel), and Russell T Davies's Casanova
Casanova (2005 TV serial)
Casanova is a 2005 British television comedy drama serial, written by television scriptwriter Russell T Davies and directed by Sheree Folkson...
(2005, as the prisoner in the cell next to Casanova's). In 2003, he played the part of captain's steward in the Hornblower
Hornblower
Hornblower may refer to:In fiction:*Horatio Hornblower, a fictional officer of the British Royal Navy created by C.S. Forester*A family of hobbits in the works of J.R.R...
episode, Duty. In 2006, Cook appeared as Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
' agent Peter Eade
Peter Eade
Peter Eade was an English theatrical agent of the late 20th century. Among those he represented were Kenneth Williams, Ronnie Barker and Joan Sims....
in the BBC biopic Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! is a 2006 BBC Four television play starring Michael Sheen as the English comic actor Kenneth Williams, based on Williams' own diaries...
. He also played the role of Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
in the BBC's Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World is a 7-part British documentary/docudrama television miniseries that originally aired from to on BBC...
. In 2008, he played Mr Chivery in the TV serial Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....
, based on the novel by Charles Dickens. He has also appeared in the children's TV series Summerhill, as an inspector. He played the role of an orthodox Jewish Rabbi (Noach Marowski) in a 2008 edition of Silent Witness. He played the role of Hermann van Daan in the 2009 BBC Drama, The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank (TV serial)
The Diary of Anne Frank is a BBC adaptation, in association with France 2, of The Diary of a Young Girl, written by Deborah Moggach.It was shown from 5–9 January 2009 in five half-hour episodes. Representatives of the BBC have said that they "hope [that] this drama will bring Anne [Frank] alive to...
, as well as the part of David Cockram in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes
Whatever It Takes (2009 film)
Whatever it Takes is a 2009 British television drama film directed by Andy Hay and starring Shane Ritchie, Amy Beth Hayes, Eva Alexander, Gary Lucy and Ron Cook...
, aired in the same year.
Film appearances
He has played Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
twice, in his 1994 guest appearance in Sharpe and again in the 2000 feature film Quills
Quills
Quills is a 2000 period film directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the Obie award-winning play by Doug Wright, who also wrote the original screenplay. Inspired by the life and work of the Marquis de Sade, Quills re-imagines the last years of the Marquis' incarceration in the insane asylum at...
. Other film roles have included parts in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 romantic crime drama written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles...
(1989, as Mews), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy
Topsy-Turvy
Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 musical drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert...
(1999, as Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
), Chocolat
Chocolat
Chocolat is a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris. It tells the story of Vianne Rocher, a young mother, who arrives at a fictional insular French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk...
(2000), Charlotte Gray
Charlotte Gray (film)
Charlotte Gray is a 2001 British-Australian-German feature film directed by Gillian Armstrong, based on the novel of the same name by Sebastian Faulks...
(2001), 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
(2002, as Derek Ryder), Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
(2004, as Parker) and Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
(2007, as George Merchant). Cook also appeared in Feeling Good, a short film written by Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Guy Ritchie film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as television roles in such shows as the dramedy Hotel Babylon, the critically acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers and earlier in his career, the children's show...
and directed by Dalia Ibelhauptaite
Dalia Ibelhauptaite
Dalia Ibelhauptaite is a Lithuanian opera, theatre, and film director and playwright, whose work combines the traditions of Russian and Western Theatre.- Personal life :...
.
Cook has also acted in radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
. In 2007 he played the part of confidence trickster Captain Wragge in a 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...
adaption of the Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
novel No Name
No Name (novel)
No Name by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century novel revolving around the issue of illegitimacy. It was originally serialized in Charles Dickens's magazine All the Year Round before book publication.-Plot summary:...
. In July 2007, he played the part of Kris Kelvin, the protagonist psychologist on the 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...
adaptation of Solaris
Solaris (novel)
Solaris is a 1961 Polish science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. It is about the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species....
, Stanislaw Lem
Stanislaw Lem
Stanisław Lem was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. He was named a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has...
's novel.