Paul Freeman (actor)
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Paul Freeman | |
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![]() Paul Freeman in 2016 | |
Born | |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1967–present |
Spouse | Maggie Scott (198?–present) |
Paul Freeman (born 18 January 1943) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as rival archaeologist René Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), evil wine baron Gustav Reibmann on season 4 of Falcon Crest (1984-85), supervillain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) and Reverend Shooter in Hot Fuzz (2007).
Personal life
Freeman was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, on 18 January 1943. He is married to Maggie Scott, who was his co-star in the 1981 film The Dogs of War. They have a daughter. Freeman was previously married to actress Judy Matheson.
Career
Freeman began his career in advertising and teaching, and landed small roles in the theatre, appearing in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet. He then went on to play starring roles in the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later co-founded his own theatre group, the Joint Stock Theatre Company, in 1974 together with director Max Stafford-Clark.
In 1977, he co-starred in The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It with John Cleese.[citation needed]
In 1978, he made his television début in the acclaimed serial Life of Shakespeare (1978). Freeman also acted in the ATV docudrama Death of a Princess, a controversial film about the execution of Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud of Saudi Arabia. In 1980 Freeman began his feature film career when he appeared in The Long Good Friday alongside Bob Hoskins and The Dogs of War (1981). In 1981, he starred in the TV show Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.
In the same year, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas chose Freeman to play French archaeologist René Belloq, the rakish arch rival to Dr. Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film was a springboard for Freeman in Hollywood and he continued to play the villain in Hollywood and his native Britain, using his uncanny talent for foreign accents. Armed with another accent, this time German, he played the conniving wine baron Gustav Riebmann in the fourth season of Falcon Crest, airing in 1984/85.
In 1988, he played Professor Moriarty in Without a Clue, starring Michael Caine as Sherlock Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Watson, and in 1995 was Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.[1]
Freeman guest-starred in hit shows such as Monarch of the Glen, ER, Falcon Crest and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also played in several mini-series, including Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989) and The Final Cut (1995). In 2004, Freeman played Angus, Bobby Jones' caddie, in Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius. During 2006 and 2007, he starred in the BBC legal drama New Street Law as the main protagonist, alongside John Hannah. Also in 2007, he played Rev. Philip Shooter of Sandford in Hot Fuzz, alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He is also featured in several 2007–09 Travelers Insurance television commercials.
Among his television work, Freeman appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders entitled "Down Among the Dead Men". He also appeared in the television crime drama Waking The Dead, in the episode "Straw Dog", and played Adam Kingsley in the BBC TV adaptation of Minette Walters' The Dark Room.
He recently received acclaim as George Aaranow in the 2008 London revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.
In 2012 he played Thomas Erpingham in the BBC adaption of William Shakespeare's Henry V from The Hollow Crown series.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Feelings | Paul Martin | |
1980 | The Long Good Friday | Colin | |
1980 | The Dogs of War | Derek | |
1980 | Death of a Princess | Christopher Ryder | Television film |
1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | René Belloq | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
1982 | An Unsuitable Job for a Woman | James Calendar | |
1982 | Who Dares Wins | Sir Richard | |
1982 | The Sender | Dr. Joseph Denman | |
1983 | Si elle dit oui... je ne dis pas non | Nick | |
1984 | Flight to Berlin | Nicholas | |
1985 | A.D. | Centurion Cornelius | TV miniseries |
1986 | Shanghai Surprise | Walter Faraday | |
1988 | Prisoner of Rio | Ronald Biggs | |
1988 | A World Apart | Kruger | |
1988 | Without a Clue | Professor Moriarty | |
1992 | Just Like a Woman | Miles Millichamp | |
1992 | Aces: Iron Eagle III | Klais | |
1993 | Piccolo Grande Amore | Otto Von Dix | |
1994 | Lie Down with Lions | Dubois | Television film |
1995 | Horseman on the Roof | Laurent de Theus | |
1995 | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie | Ivan Ooze | |
1996 | Squillo | Marco | |
1997 | Double Team | Goldsmythe | |
1997 | Bribery and Corruption | Julius Sorenson | |
1998 | Only Love | Dallesandro | Television film |
1999 | The Dark Room | Adam Kingsley | Television film |
1999 | The Devil's Arithmetic | Rabbi | Television film |
2001 | Morlang | Julius Morlang | Cairo International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
2002 | And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen | English customer | |
2002 | Haker | President of MIT | |
2003 | George and the Dragon | Sir Robert | |
2003 | Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War | Jenkins | |
2004 | When I'm 64 | Ray | Television film |
2006 | The Feast of the Goat | Agustin | |
2007 | Hot Fuzz | Rev. Philip Shooter | |
2009 | The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler | Monsignor Godlewski | Television film |
2009 | Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen | Sir Arthur Newsholme | Television film |
2010 | Centurion | Governor Agricola | |
2012 | A Fantastic Fear of Everything | Dr. Friedkin | |
2012 | Henry V | Thomas Erpingham | Television film |
2013 | Getaway | The Man |
Television
- 1967 – Champion House – Elwyn
- 1980 – Death of a Princess - Christopher Ryder
- 1987 – Yesterday's Dreams - Martin Daniels
- 1992 – The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "British East Africa, September 1909" – Frederick Selous
- 1995 – The Final Cut - 4 Episodes – Tom Makepeace
- 1998–2002 – ER – Dr. Charles Corday – 3 episodes
- 2000 - Inspector Morse - 1 Episode: "The Remorseful Day" - Frank Harrison
- 2002 – Monarch of the Glen - Andrew
- 2006 – Midsomer Murders - 1 Episode: "Down Among The Dead Men" - Sir John Waverly
- 2008 – Agatha Christie's Poirot - 1 Episode: "Appointment With Death" - Col. Carbury
- 2013 – The Bible – Samuel – 2 episodes
- 2015 – Da Vinci's Demons – The Architect
References
- ^ Gritten, David (28 June 1995). "Oberon to Ooze – It's All in a Day's Work". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
External links
- Paul Freeman at IMDb
- Use dmy dates from March 2012
- Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from September 2009
- 1943 births
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century English male actors
- English male film actors
- English male Shakespearean actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- Living people
- Male actors from Hertfordshire
- People from Barnet