Mark Williams (actor)
Mark Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams at Brighton Big Beach Screen Events 2017 | |
| Born | 22 August 1959 Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, presenter, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse | Dianne Williams |
| Children | 1 |
Mark Williams (born 22 August 1959)[citation needed] is an English actor, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films, and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show. He also played Brian Williams in the BBC series Doctor Who, and Olaf Petersen in Red Dwarf. “ More recently he has appeared as the title character in the BBC series Father Brown.
Early life
Williams was educated at North Bromsgrove High School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He performed with Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS). Having made a career as a theatre actor and working for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre along the way, he came to wider public attention through his appearances on the BBC television sketch programmes Alexei Sayle's Stuff and The Fast Show.[1] Williams has described the huge popularity of the latter show as a "double-edged sword" as it has led to his being seen by the public as a comedian rather than as an actor.[1]
Career
Williams made his film début alongside fellow débutants Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs in the Oxford University Film Foundation production Privileged in 1982.
His most famous cinema role is as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, which began in 2002. Other high-profile appearances include the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Stardust alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro and Claire Danes in 2007 and a 2012 role in Doctor Who as Brian Williams, father of the Doctor's companion, Rory.[2]
Since 2013, he has appeared as the lead role in the BBC costume drama Father Brown. Williams also featured in the first series of Blandings, the BBC TV adaptation of the P. G. Wodehouse Blandings Castle stories, broadcast in 2013, in which he played Beach, the Emsworth's tipsy butler; his performance was described as "a delight" by Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail[3] but he did not return for the show's second series, for which he was replaced by Tim Vine.
In 2014 and 2015, he presented the BBC daytime game show The Link. The show ran for two series.
Aside from his acting work, Williams has also presented several documentary programmes: Mark Williams' Big Bangs on the history of explosives, a follow-up to previous series Mark Williams on the Rails, Industrial Revelations and More Industrial Revelations.
He is a supporter of Aston Villa F.C. although, living in Lewes, he also supports Brighton & Hove Albion.[4]
Interviewed in 2014 by the Lancashire Evening Post, when asked if some people still saw him as a comedy actor, Williams replied, "Well, it’s only a few people in the BBC. In America, they see me as a major British character actor, but unfortunately, the BBC is pretty parochial and people are institutionalised here."[5]
Personal life
Williams is married to Dianne[6] and the couple has one child.[7]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Storyteller | Fearnot's brother | Episode "Fearnot" |
| Red Dwarf | Olaf Petersen | Three episodes:"The End", "Balance of Power" & "Stasis Leak" | |
| Alexei Sayle's Stuff | First series, six episodes | ||
| 1989 | Tumbledown | Lumpy | |
| 1990 | Kinsey | Danny | |
| Making Out | Manfred | Episodes 1 and 2 | |
| KYTV | Episode "Launch" | ||
| 1991 | Merlin of the Crystal Cave | Cerdic | |
| Bottom | Boris | Episode "Accident" | |
| 1993 | The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer | Don Powell | Seven episodes 1993–1995 |
| 1994 | Health and Efficiency | Steven | Episode "Cinderella Rockafeller" |
| The Fast Show | 23 episodes 1994–2000 | ||
| Chef! | Policeman 2 | Episode "Masterchef" | |
| 1995 | The Big Game | Tommy Hollis | |
| Searching | Gerald | ||
| Peak Practice | Roland Grogan | Episode "Life and Soul" | |
| 1998 | The Fast Show Live | ||
| The Canterbury Tales | Chanticleer | Episode "Leaving London" – voice | |
| Ted & Ralph | Confirmed Bachelor | ||
| 1999 | Hunting Venus | Peter | |
| 2000 | Gormenghast | Professor Perch | |
| The Strangerers | Cadet Flynn | Nine episodes | |
| 2001 | Fun at the Funeral Parlour | Larry Nazareth | Episode "The Jaws of Doom" |
| Industrial Revelations | Himself | Two series (as presenter) | |
| 2002 | Shackleton | Dudley Docker[citation needed] | |
| 2003 | Grass | Ben | Six episodes |
| 2004 | Mark Williams on the Rails | Himself | Presenter |
| Carrie and Barry | Kirk | Two episodes | |
| 2006 | Mark Williams' Big Bangs | Himself | Presenter |
| Saxondale | Deggsy | One episode | |
| 2007 | Tumbledown | Lumpy | |
| 2008 | Sense and Sensibility | Sir John Middleton | |
| 2009 | Inspector George Gently | Joe Bishop | Episode "Gently in the Night" |
| Blood in the Water | Jerry Hourihan | ||
| Agatha Christie's Marple | Claud Evans | Episode "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" | |
| New Tricks | David Beaumont | Episode "The Truth is out There" | |
| 2010 | The Indian Doctor | Richard Sharpe[8] | Five episodes |
| 2011 | Frankenstein's Wedding | Alphonse Frankenstein | |
| 2012 | Being Human | Regus | |
| Hustle | Dale Ridley | ||
| Doctor Who | Brian Williams | 2 episodes | |
| 2013 | Blandings | Sebastian Beach | Six episodes |
| Still Open All Hours | Planter's Salesman | ||
| 2013— | Father Brown | Father Brown | Title character, 70 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | The Link | Presenter | BBC daytime game show |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Robert Catesby | Episode: "Episode Four" |
| 2016 | Twirlywoos | Waiter | Television series, "More About This Way, That Way" |
Voice Over
- Power Rangers Operation Overdrive - Big Mouth Monster (Episode "Both Sides Now")
- Merlin - The Goblin (Episode "Goblin's Gold")
- Power Rangers Samurai - Eyescar (Episode "The Rescue")
- Lego Dimensions - Arthur Weasley
- We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Dad
- Early Man - Barry
References
- ^ a b "Mark Williams: I'm not a comedian". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Letts, Quentin (13 January 2013). "A 36-stone porker to rival the genius of Jeeves". Mail Online. Retrieved 15 January 2013
- ^ "Mark Williams: Captain of industry". The Independent, 21 September 2005. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ^ "I'm a British character actor – not a comedian".
- ^ "Mark Williams and wife Diane Williams pose backstage at the hit... - FilmMagic - 123561684". www.filmmagic.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Mark Williams on Father Brown coming back to our screens and making the permanent move to Sussex". Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ Ian Wolf. "The Indian Doctor – Production Details". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1959 births
- Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
- English male film actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- English television writers
- English male voice actors
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Bromsgrove
- Male actors from Worcestershire
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century English male actors
- The Fast Show
- Male television writers