George Harris (actor)
Encyclopedia
George William Harris is a British actor of film, stage, television, radio and musical theatre. His notable roles include Kingsley Shacklebolt in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, Captain Simon Katanga in Raiders of the Lost Ark
and Clive King in popular medical drama Casualty
, where he was one of the original cast members. He also played real-life Somali warlord Osman Ali Atto
in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.
and partially educated in his father's homeland of Barbados
. He left the Caribbean at the age of 15 to make United Kingdom
his home and has lived in Sweden
and Israel
. He performed all over Europe and the United States with his band before becoming a dramatic actor.
Harris is not only a film actor, but has also starred in many theatre productions at the National Theatre
and Royal Court Theatre
, as well as at many West End
and regional theatres like the Royal Exchange
in Manchester
, Theatre Royal Bath. He was also directed by Harold Pinter
at the Lincoln Center
in New York City
. His long and distinguished acting career that has seen him in musicals such as Hair
(performing in Hebrew in the Israeli production), Jesus Christ Superstar
(with the original London cast), and the Lloyd Webber–Rice Cricket
. He has many credits as the leading actor in many BBC
, independent television, and American television productions.
He has been acknowledged by the BBC Black Legends to be one of the inspirations for many present day performers.
He lives in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
, Captain Simon Katanga in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
and Clive King in popular medical drama Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, where he was one of the original cast members. He also played real-life Somali warlord Osman Ali Atto
Osman Ali Atto
Osman Hassan Ali Atto is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of the Somali Hawiye clan, sub-clan Habar Gedir Osman Hassan Ali Atto (born 1940) is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of...
in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.
Life and career
Harris was born on the Caribbean island of GrenadaGrenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
and partially educated in his father's homeland of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. He left the Caribbean at the age of 15 to make United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
his home and has lived in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He performed all over Europe and the United States with his band before becoming a dramatic actor.
Harris is not only a film actor, but has also starred in many theatre productions at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, as well as at many West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and regional theatres like the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Theatre Royal Bath. He was also directed by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
at the Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His long and distinguished acting career that has seen him in musicals such as Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
(performing in Hebrew in the Israeli production), Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
(with the original London cast), and the Lloyd Webber–Rice Cricket
Cricket (musical)
Cricket, also called Cricket , is a short musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday celebration, and was first performed at Windsor Castle on 18 June 1986....
. He has many credits as the leading actor in many 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...
, independent television, and American television productions.
He has been acknowledged by the BBC Black Legends to be one of the inspirations for many present day performers.
He lives in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England.
Filmography
- The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
, "Pay Off" as Zak Franklyn, (1976) - Flash GordonFlash Gordon (film)Flash Gordon is a 1980 British/American science fiction film, based on the comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film was directed by Mike Hodges and produced and presented by Dino De Laurentiis. It stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian...
, as Prince ThunPrince ThunPrince Thun is a fictional character who appeared in various forms of the Flash Gordon comic strip and film productions. He is a Lion Man of Mongo and one of Flash's most trusted friends....
of Ardentia (1980) - The Dogs of WarThe Dogs of War (film)The Dogs of War is a 1980 war film based upon the novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth, directed by John Irvin. It stars Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger as part of a small, international unit of mercenary soldiers privately hired to depose President Kimba of a fictional "Republic of...
as Colonel Bobi (1981) - Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
as Katanga (1981) - Prime Suspect as Vernon Allen (1992)
- The BillThe BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, "Walking The Line" as Mr Price (1999) - Black Hawk Down as Osman Atto (2001)
- CasualtyCasualty (TV series)Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
as Clive King (1986) and Neville Newton (2004) - Layer CakeLayer Cake (film)Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...
as Morty (2004) - The InterpreterThe InterpreterThe Interpreter is a 2005 political thriller film starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener. It was the final film to be directed by Sydney Pollack.-Plot:...
as Kuman-Kuman (2005) - 55 Degrees North55 Degrees North55 Degrees North is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicitor....
as Errol Cole (2004 and 2005) - Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
as Kingsley Shacklebolt (2007) - AgoraAgora (film)Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system...
as Heladius (2009) - Beneath the Blue as Daniel (2010)
- The Heavy as Doctor (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 as Kingsley Shacklebolt (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 as Kingsley Shacklebolt (2011)