W. Morgan Sheppard
Encyclopedia
William Morgan Sheppard (born 24 August 1932), sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor
.
Sheppard was born in London
to an Anglo-Irish
family but was educated in Ireland
. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company
. He appeared on Broadway
in 1966 with Marat/Sade
and later in 1975 with Sherlock Holmes
. He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
for The Homecoming
in 1995, at the Matrix Theatre. He is the father of actor Mark Sheppard
.
He appeared in several episodes of different series of Star Trek
, notably "The Schizoid Man" and "Bliss", as well as the feature films Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(as the warden of a Klingon
gulag
) and in Star Trek (as a member of the Vulcan High Council, but was uncredited). Outside of Star Trek he is probably best known for his roles as Blank Reg on Max Headroom
and Confederate General Isaac Trimble in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals
.
He has appeared in two roles on the science fiction series Babylon 5
(1994–1998), first as a 'Soul Hunter' in the episode of the same name and secondly as Narn war leader G'Sten, an uncle of main character G'kar, in the 'The Long Twilight Struggle'. He was also a runner-up for the role of Ambassador
G'Kar on the show, though the role eventually went to Andreas Katsulas
. He also played a computer hologram for an A.I.
program during the first and second season of seaQuest DSV
.
He was one of several Star Trek actors who voiced characters on the animated series Gargoyles
, including playing the father of Jonathan Frakes
' character David Xanatos
and as the Norse god Odin
.
He appeared in two notable episodes of MacGyver
, as the incarcerated
(and rather insane) serial killer "Dr. Zito" as well as appearing in the show Minder
in Series 1 episode "Come in T-64, Your Time Is Ticking Away".
He appeared in the 1978 TV-film The Nativity
. He starred alongside John Terry
in the 1980 fantasy film Hawk the Slayer
. He appeared in the 1992 comedy film There Goes the Neighborhood
. He narrated the introductions and mission briefings for the first three installments of the Medal of Honor
video game series.
He appeared in the 1988 comedy horror film Elvira, Mistress of the Dark as Elvira's Great-Uncle Vincent Talbot who was an evil warlock.
Sheppard was cast in the 1996 adventure game Zork Nemesis, playing the live-action role of Bishop Francois Malveaux, one of the four alchemists central to the plot of the game.
In 2000, he voiced the character Ignatius Cheese in the game Escape from Monkey Island
.
Sheppard played the role of Captain Archibald Witwicky in the 2007 live action film Transformers.
He voiced over for the character John Adams
in the Wii
game The Conduit
, and provided the voice of the keeper of the underworld in the television series Legend of the Seeker
throughout its second season.
Sheppard appeared in the TV show NCIS
, in episode 06.13 - "Broken Bird".
On August 4, 2010 Sheppard was announced as the voice actor for the video game Civilization 5.
Sheppard appeared on Season 4 of Mad Men
, Episode 10, playing the part of Lane Pryce's father.
On December 4, 2010 Sheppard appear on Hallmark Channel Original Movies
Farewell Mr. Kringle as Kris Kringle.
In December 2009, Sheppard voiced the part of Santa in Disney's Christmas Special Prep & Landing. Following that, he returned as the voice of Santa in the sequel Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa.
He appeared in the opening episode of series six of Doctor Who
, "The Impossible Astronaut
" playing the character Canton Everett Delaware III. He portrays an older version of Delaware while his son Mark Sheppard
portrays the younger version in the same episodes. He and his son are among the few actors to have appeared in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Sheppard was born in 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...
to an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
family but was educated in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He graduated from 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...
1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist 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...
. He 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...
in 1966 with Marat/Sade
Marat/Sade
The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade , almost invariably shortened to Marat/Sade, is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss...
and later in 1975 with Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
. He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....
for The Homecoming
The Homecoming
The Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival...
in 1995, at the Matrix Theatre. He is the father of actor Mark Sheppard
Mark Sheppard
Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician, born in London of an Irish-German background. He is often credited as "Mark A. Sheppard".-Personal life:Mark Sheppard is the son of actor W. Morgan Sheppard...
.
He appeared in several episodes of different series of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, notably "The Schizoid Man" and "Bliss", as well as the feature films Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(as the warden of a Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
) and in Star Trek (as a member of the Vulcan High Council, but was uncredited). Outside of Star Trek he is probably best known for his roles as Blank Reg on Max Headroom
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
and Confederate General Isaac Trimble in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
.
He has appeared in two roles on the science fiction series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
(1994–1998), first as a 'Soul Hunter' in the episode of the same name and secondly as Narn war leader G'Sten, an uncle of main character G'kar, in the 'The Long Twilight Struggle'. He was also a runner-up for the role of Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
G'Kar on the show, though the role eventually went to Andreas Katsulas
Andreas Katsulas
Andrew "Andreas" Katsulas was a Greek-American actor known for his roles as Ambassador G'Kar in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, as the one-armed villain Sykes in the film The Fugitive , and as the Romulan Commander Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation...
. He also played a computer hologram for an A.I.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
program during the first and second season of seaQuest DSV
SeaQuest DSV
seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...
.
He was one of several Star Trek actors who voiced characters on the animated series Gargoyles
Gargoyles (TV series)
Gargoyles is an American animated series created by Greg Weisman. It was produced by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and aired from October 24, 1994 to February 15, 1997. Gargoyles is known for its dark tone, complex story arcs and melodrama...
, including playing the father of Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
' character David Xanatos
David Xanatos
David Xanatos is one of the primary characters of the animated series Gargoyles. In the series, he is the founder, owner and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises and a member of the Illuminati...
and as the Norse god Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
.
He appeared in two notable episodes of MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
, as the incarcerated
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
(and rather insane) serial killer "Dr. Zito" as well as appearing in the show Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
in Series 1 episode "Come in T-64, Your Time Is Ticking Away".
He appeared in the 1978 TV-film The Nativity
The Nativity (television film)
The Nativity is a 98-minute long 1978 television film set around the Nativity of Jesus and based on the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the apocryphal gospels of Pseudo-Matthew and James, and in the Golden Legend. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, written by Morton S...
. He starred alongside John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
in the 1980 fantasy film Hawk the Slayer
Hawk the Slayer
Hawk the Slayer is a sword and sorcery movie directed by Terry Marcel and starring John Terry and Jack Palance. The protagonist is Hawk, a hero in the Dark Age, where the Evil ruled the world.-Plot summary :...
. He appeared in the 1992 comedy film There Goes the Neighborhood
There Goes the Neighborhood (film)
There Goes the Neighborhood, released as Paydirt in most foreign countries, is a 1992 comedy film. The film tells a story of a dying prisoner who whispers the location of his loot to the facility's psychologist Willis Embry who heads to the New Jersey suburbs to find it.-Synopsis:Prison...
. He narrated the introductions and mission briefings for the first three installments of the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor (series)
Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
video game series.
He appeared in the 1988 comedy horror film Elvira, Mistress of the Dark as Elvira's Great-Uncle Vincent Talbot who was an evil warlock.
Sheppard was cast in the 1996 adventure game Zork Nemesis, playing the live-action role of Bishop Francois Malveaux, one of the four alchemists central to the plot of the game.
In 2000, he voiced the character Ignatius Cheese in the game Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series....
.
Sheppard played the role of Captain Archibald Witwicky in the 2007 live action film Transformers.
He voiced over for the character John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
in the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game The Conduit
The Conduit
The Conduit is a first-person shooter video game developed by High Voltage Software for the Wii console. The Conduit was first revealed by the developer on the video game website IGN on April 17, 2008, and on October 29, 2008, the developer announced that Sega had signed on to be the game's...
, and provided the voice of the keeper of the underworld in the television series Legend of the Seeker
Legend of the Seeker
Legend of the Seeker is a television series based on The Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series, which was its first foray into broadcast syndication, with Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Joshua Donen, Ned Nalle and...
throughout its second season.
Sheppard appeared in the TV show NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
, in episode 06.13 - "Broken Bird".
On August 4, 2010 Sheppard was announced as the voice actor for the video game Civilization 5.
Sheppard appeared on Season 4 of Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, Episode 10, playing the part of Lane Pryce's father.
On December 4, 2010 Sheppard appear on Hallmark Channel Original Movies
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
Farewell Mr. Kringle as Kris Kringle.
In December 2009, Sheppard voiced the part of Santa in Disney's Christmas Special Prep & Landing. Following that, he returned as the voice of Santa in the sequel Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa.
He appeared in the opening episode of series six of 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 Impossible Astronaut
The Impossible Astronaut
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States...
" playing the character Canton Everett Delaware III. He portrays an older version of Delaware while his son Mark Sheppard
Mark Sheppard
Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician, born in London of an Irish-German background. He is often credited as "Mark A. Sheppard".-Personal life:Mark Sheppard is the son of actor W. Morgan Sheppard...
portrays the younger version in the same episodes. He and his son are among the few actors to have appeared in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises.