David Bradley (English actor)

For the actor who starred in Kes, see Dai Bradley.

David Bradley
Bradley at the Harry Brown European film premiere in 2009
Born	David John Bradley (1942-04-17) 17 April 1942 York, England
Occupation(s)	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 and the films Hot Fuzz and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Life and career

Bradley was born in York, England. He became an actor in 1971, performing at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. He first appeared on television that year in the successful comedy Nearest and Dearest playing a police officer. 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 2006/2007.

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. He also in 1996 appeared as ganster 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 Rouge 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. Also in 2006 he played a leading character, Tom, in an episode of Midsomer Murders. He also appears as the character 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 also starred in the theatre production Reckless alongside Robson Green, and in the movie 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 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 #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 the 'Late' Lord Walder Frey.

He serves as the president of Second Thoughts Drama Group, which performs in and around Stratford-upon-Avon.

David Bradley is a massive fan of Aston Villa Football Club.

He's been cast in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who expected to air in 2012.Tardis Time News He previously provided voice work for a story of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Death of the Doctor starring Matt Smith's Doctor.

Filmography

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
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
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 Colour of Magic	Cohen the Barbarian
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	Argus Filch
2009	Harry Brown	Leonard
2009	The Tudors	Will Somers	Television series
2010-	Another Year	Ronnie
2010	The Holding	Cooper
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	Argus Filch
2011	Game of Thrones	Walder Frey	Television series
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	Doctor Who	TBA
2012	Prisoners' Wives	Francesca's Father	Television series
2012	Benidorm	Stan Garvey	Television Series

External links

• David Bradley at IMDb