David Bradley (actor)
| David Bradley | |
|---|---|
 Bradley at the Harry Brown European film premiere in 2009 |
|
| Born | April 17, 1942 York, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1971–present |
David John Bradley (born 17 April 1942) is an English character actor. Most widely known for playing Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film franchise, he is also an established theatre actor with a career that includes a Laurence Olivier Award for a supporting role in a production of King Lear. Other acting credits include the BBC's critically acclaimed television series Our Friends in the North, the HBO series Game of Thrones, the films Hot Fuzz and Captain America: The First Avenger, and most recently an episode of Doctor Who and the critically acclaimed ITV series Broadchurch.
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Early life [edit]
Bradley was born in York, England. He became an actor in 1971, performing at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre.[1] He first appeared on television that year in the successful comedy Nearest and Dearest playing a police officer.
Career [edit]
He was awarded a Laurence Olivier Award in 1991 for his supporting actor role in King Lear at the Royal National Theatre. He has appeared in the Royal National Theatre's 1997 production of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, as well as productions of Pinter's The Caretaker at Sheffield Theatres and the Tricycle Theatre in London in 2006-07.
Bradley starred in the BBC comedy series Wild West playing the character of Jake. He played fictional Labour Member of Parliament Eddie Wells in the 1996 award-winning BBC Two serial Our Friends in the North. In 1996 he appeared as gangster Alf Black in Band Of Gold who had much involvement with Samantha Morton's character Tracy "Naomi" Richards. In 1998 he appeared in the BBC adaptations of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend as the miserly Sir Pitt Crawley and the villainous Rogue Riderhood, respectively. Other television appearances include the 2001 series, The Way We Live Now directed by David Yates, who would work with Bradley five years later on the Harry Potter films.
Bradley was also involved in the musical drama serial Blackpool on BBC One, the 2005 BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle, playing the part of the morose coach driver taking an unruly party of pupils on a daytrip to Salisbury Cathedral and the 2006 BBC drama Sweeney Todd, playing the father opposite Ray Winstone, and a small part in a 2006 episode of the series Taggart.
In 2006 he played a leading character, Tom, in an episode of Midsomer Murders, series 7 episode 1: The Green Man. He also appears as the electrolarynx-using gangster Stemroach in the BBC comedy series Ideal and as Electric in the BBC's Thieves Like Us, and in the BBC1 series True Dare Kiss. He starred in the theatre production Reckless alongside Robson Green, and in the film Lycanthropy, as the owner of the nightclub hosting a gang of werewolf-inspired criminals.
Bradley appeared in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and had a small role in the 2007 comedy film Hot Fuzz as a farmer that illegally hoards weapons. Bradley played Cohen the Barbarian[2] in a Sky One adaptation of The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
In 2008 appeared in the role of Spooner in No Man's Land by Harold Pinter in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, opposite Michael Gambon as Hirst, in a production directed by Rupert Goold, that later transferred to London's West End.
On 4 May 2009 Bradley appeared as an animal rights activist in the popular BBC drama Ashes to Ashes, and appeared again on television in BBC's The Street on 20 July 2009.
Bradley portrayed Will Somers, Henry VIII's court fool, in Episode No.3.5 of the Showtime series The Tudors (2009).
In 2010 he participated in the Mike Leigh film Another Year, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the London Film Critics Circle Awards.
In 2011 Bradley appeared in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels, as Lord Walder Frey.[3]
In the 2012 Doctor Who episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", Bradley plays Solomon, a ruthless buccaneer with a spaceship full of dinosaurs. He previously provided voice work for The Sarah Jane Adventures serial Death of the Doctor, starring Matt Smith's Doctor.[4]
On 17 July 2012 Bradley was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of Warwick.[5]
It was announced on 29 January 2013 that David Bradley has been cast as actor William Hartnell (the First Doctor) in An Adventure in Space and Time, a BBC docudrama about the creation of Doctor Who in 1963. The special is scheduled to air in the autumn of 2013 for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.
Personal life [edit]
He serves as the president of Second Thoughts Drama Group, which performs in and around Stratford-upon-Avon.[6]
David Bradley is a big fan of Aston Villa F.C..,[7] and York City FC.[8]
Filmography [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | A Family at War | Colin Woodcock | Television |
| 1995 | Criminal | Headmaster | Television |
| 1996 | In Your Dreams | Tutor | Television |
| 1996 | Hustling | Alf Black | Television |
| 1996 | Our Friends in the North | Eddie Wells | Television |
| 1997 | Reckless | Arnold Springer | Television mini-series |
| 1997 | The Moth | Dave Waters | Made-for-television film |
| 1998 | Our Mutual Friend | Rogue Riderhood | Television mini-series |
| 1998 | Tom's Midnight Garden | Abel | |
| 1998 | Left Luggage | Concierge | |
| 2000 | The King Is Alive | Henry | |
| 2001 | The Way We Live Now | Mr. Broune | Television mini-series |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Argus Filch | |
| 2001 | Gabriel and Me | Granddad | |
| 2001 | Blow Dry | Noah Thwaite | |
| 2002 | This Is Not a Love Song | Mr Bellamy | |
| 2002 | Nicholas Nickleby | Nigel Bray | |
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Argus Filch | |
| 2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Argus Filch | |
| 2004 | Exorcist: The Beginning | Father Gionetti | |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Argus Filch | |
| 2006 | Lycanthropy | Club Owner | |
| 2006 | Ideal | Stemroach | Television series |
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | Arthur Webley | |
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Argus Filch | |
| 2008 | I Know You Know | Mr. Fisher | |
| 2008 | The Daisy Chain | Sean Cryan | |
| 2008 | The Colour of Magic | Cohen the Barbarian | |
| 2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Argus Filch | |
| 2009 | Harry Brown | Leonard Attwell | |
| 2009 | The Tudors | Will Somers | Television series |
| 2010 | Another Year | Ronnie | |
| 2010 | The Holding | Cooper | |
| 2010 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Shansheeth (Voice.) | |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Argus Filch | |
| 2011 | Game of Thrones | Walder Frey | Television series Episode 1.9 - Baelor Episode 3.9 - The Rains of Castamere |
| 2011 | Waking the Dead | George Barlow | Television series |
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Tower Keeper | |
| 2012 | World Without End | Brother Joseph | TV miniseries |
| 2012 | Bad Education | Ennis | Television series |
| 2012-2013 | Prisoners' Wives | Francesca's Father | Television series |
| 2012 | Benidorm | Stan Garvey | Television Series |
| 2012 | Doctor Who | Solomon | Television Series |
| 2012 | Mount Pleasant | Charlie | Television Series |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | William Hartnell | Television docudrama |
| 2013 | Broadchurch | Jack Marshall | Television mini-series |
References [edit]
- ^ NATIONAL THEATRE: 1970s ROB WILTON THEATRICALIA. accessed 25 July 2011.
- ^ Roz Laws (15 June 2007). "Harry Potter and the Magical Midlanders". Sunday Mercury. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ George R.R. Martin (24 November 2010). "wedding guest". Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- ^ http://www.tardistime.com/other-series-7-stars-announced/
- ^ "Honorary Graduates 2012". warwick.ac.uk. 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ^ Second Thoughts Our President for several years now has been David Bradley.
- ^ "Harry Potter star Bradley: Villa Park is truly magical". Avfc.co.uk. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Potter star is potty over York City".
External links [edit]
- David Bradley at the Internet Movie Database
- Podcast interview with David Bradley on his career Interview with David Bradley on the occasion of receiving his Honorary Degree from the University of Warwick
