Bob Peck
Encyclopedia
Bob Peck was an English
stage
, television
and film
actor
.
in Lawnswood
. Peck was educated at the Leeds College of Art where he received a Diploma in Art and Design.
alongside Ian McKellen
, Donald Sinden
and Judi Dench
, and appeared on stage (and later on television) in the RSC production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
as "John Browdie" and "Sir Mulberry Hawk", and as Macduff
in Trevor Nunn
's acclaimed 1976 stage and 1978 television production of Macbeth
. He also appeared in a production of Macbeth in 1982. According to McKellen, Peck is the actor he considers he "learned the most from".
Peck's first television role was in 1972 on the BBC's Thirty-Minute Theatre anthology series in the episode "Bypass". He went on to appear in various other television productions such as Z-Cars
and Play For Today
, but he was probably best known to British audiences for his role as Ronald Craven in the acclaimed 1985 BBC
drama serial Edge of Darkness
. The role won him the "Best Actor" award at that year's BAFTA
Awards and helped to launch his television and film career. He later became familiar to audiences worldwide for his film roles, including Jurassic Park
(as park game warden Robert Muldoon), and Smilla's Sense of Snow
(1997). Prior to these, he had also played an escaped android in the post apocalyptic film Slipstream
(1989), which also starred Mark Hamill
and Bill Paxton
, and had a small role in the 1990
film Lord of the Flies
.
Peck's other television work included Simon Gray's After Pilkington
(1987) , "Jim Henson's The Storyteller
(in the episode "The Soldier and Death") in 1988, Natural Lies (1991), An Ungentlemanly Act
(1992), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
(1993) and The Scold's Bridle
(1998). Peck also worked in radio, and starred in a BBC Radio
adaptation of J. B. Priestley
's classic play An Inspector Calls
.
Peck speaks the words of Beethoven in the Naxos 4-CD "Life and Works of Beethoven"
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
He went to Leeds Modern SchoolLeeds Modern School
Leeds Modern School in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England was founded on 14 July 1845 by Mr S. Twist in Rossington Street as the Mathematical and Commercial School...
in Lawnswood
Lawnswood
Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area.- Location :It is bordered by West Park, Adel, Ireland Wood and Holt Park...
. Peck was educated at the Leeds College of Art where he received a Diploma in Art and Design.
Career
Before breaking into film and television work, he was a regular actor with the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal 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...
alongside Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
and Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, and appeared on stage (and later on television) in the RSC production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an eight-hour stage play, presented over two performances, adapted from the Charles Dickens novel of the same name by David Edgar. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn, it opened on 5 June 1980 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The music and lyrics...
as "John Browdie" and "Sir Mulberry Hawk", and as Macduff
Macduff
Macduff may refer to:* Macduff , the character in Shakespeare's Macbeth* Macduff, Aberdeenshire, the former burgh which is now within the Aberdeenshire council area of Scotland* the Clan MacDuff, a Scottish clan...
in Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
's acclaimed 1976 stage and 1978 television production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. He also appeared in a production of Macbeth in 1982. According to McKellen, Peck is the actor he considers he "learned the most from".
Peck's first television role was in 1972 on the BBC's Thirty-Minute Theatre anthology series in the episode "Bypass". He went on to appear in various other television productions such as Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
and Play For Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, but he was probably best known to British audiences for his role as Ronald Craven in the acclaimed 1985 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama serial Edge of Darkness
Edge of Darkness
Edge of Darkness is a British television drama serial, produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six fifty-five minute episodes in late 1985...
. The role won him the "Best Actor" award at that year's BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Awards and helped to launch his television and film career. He later became familiar to audiences worldwide for his film roles, including Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
(as park game warden Robert Muldoon), and Smilla's Sense of Snow
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow or Smilla's Sense of Snow is a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg. It was translated into English by Tiina Nunnally...
(1997). Prior to these, he had also played an escaped android in the post apocalyptic film Slipstream
Slipstream (1989 film)
Slipstream is a 1989 post-apocalyptic science fiction adventure film. The plot has an emphasis on aviation and contains many common science-fiction themes, such as taking place in a dystopian future in which the landscape of the Earth itself has been changed and is windswept by storms of great power...
(1989), which also starred Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
and Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
, and had a small role in the 1990
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
film Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies (1990 film)
Lord of the Flies is a 1990 American thriller film adapted from the classic novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding. It is the second film adaptation of the book, the first being the 1963 film Lord of the Flies. The film was a moderate box office success and critics gave it average reviews...
.
Peck's other television work included Simon Gray's After Pilkington
After Pilkington
After Pilkington was a one-off BBC television drama by Simon Gray, starring Miranda Richardson, Bob Peck and Barry Foster. It was first broadcast in 1987.- Plot :...
(1987) , "Jim Henson's The Storyteller
The Storyteller
The StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
(in the episode "The Soldier and Death") in 1988, Natural Lies (1991), An Ungentlemanly Act
An Ungentlemanly Act
An Ungentlemanly Act is a 1992 BBC television film about the first days of the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982.-Production:The film was written and directed by Stuart Urban, and commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Falklands War...
(1992), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
(1993) and The Scold's Bridle
The Scold's Bridle
The Scold's Bridle is a crime novel by English writer Minette Walters. The book, Walters' third, won a CWA Gold Dagger.-Synopsis:Mathilda Gillespie, an eccentric recluse known for her incredible meanness of nature, is found dead in her bathtub, her wrists slashed and her head locked inside a...
(1998). Peck also worked in radio, and starred in a BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
adaptation of J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
's classic play An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
.
Peck speaks the words of Beethoven in the Naxos 4-CD "Life and Works of Beethoven"