Jon Finch
Encyclopedia
Jon Finch is an English
actor
noted for many Shakespearean
roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski
's 1971 film adaptation
of Shakespeare's Macbeth
. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock
's penultimate film Frenzy (1972).
Finch was born in Caterham
, Surrey
. He has appeared in films such as The Vampire Lovers
(1970), Lady Caroline Lamb
(1972), The Final Programme (1973), Death on the Nile
(1978), Breaking Glass
(1980), Darklands
(1997), and most recently, a small role as the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem
(Heraclius, though unnamed in the film) in the Ridley Scott
film Kingdom of Heaven
(2005). Decades earlier, Finch was cast as Kane in Ridley Scott's Alien
(1979), but had to drop out because of his diabetes
; the role was eventually played by John Hurt
.
Finch was also the original choice for a role eventually made famous by Martin Shaw
in the British television series The Professionals
(by an odd coincidence, Shaw had himself played Banquo
to Finch's Macbeth in Polanski's film
). He pulled out at last minute, citing the fact that he "couldn't possibly play a policeman".
During 1978-79, Finch played the role of Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV of England) in the BBC Television Shakespeare
productions of Richard II
, Henry IV, Part I
and Henry IV, Part II
, which also featured Derek Jacobi
, John Gielgud
, David Gwillim
and Anthony Quayle
in principal roles. In 1981, he played Luke the Evangelist
in the television film Peter and Paul
, which featured Robert Foxworth
and Anthony Hopkins
in the title roles.
Jon Finch has been married once, to the actress Catriona MacColl; they were divorced in 1987. Finch is a very private man, and seems to have retreated from the public eye since 2005.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
noted for many Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's 1971 film adaptation
Macbeth (1971 film)
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
of Shakespeare's 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...
. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's penultimate film Frenzy (1972).
Finch was born in Caterham
Caterham
Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He has appeared in films such as The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
(1970), Lady Caroline Lamb
Lady Caroline Lamb (film)
Lady Caroline Lamb is a 1972 film based on the life of the notorious Lady Caroline Lamb, lover of Lord Byron and wife of Prime MinisterViscount Melbourne...
(1972), The Final Programme (1973), Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile (1978 film)
Death on the Nile is a 1978 film based on the Agatha Christie mystery novel Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin. The film features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot played by Peter Ustinov plus an all-star cast. It takes place in Egypt, mostly on the Nile River...
(1978), Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass is a 1980 British film starring Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels and Jonathan Pryce. The film was co-produced by Dodi Fayed and written and directed by Brian Gibson. The film was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival....
(1980), Darklands
Darklands (film)
Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King and released in 1997....
(1997), and most recently, a small role as the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem
Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem
Heraclius or Eraclius , was archbishop of Caesarea and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.Heraclius was from the Gévaudan in Auvergne, France. Like his later rival William of Tyre he studied law at the University of Bologna: his contemporaries and friends included Stephen of Tournai and Gratian...
(Heraclius, though unnamed in the film) in the Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
film Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)
Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McKidd, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam...
(2005). Decades earlier, Finch was cast as Kane in Ridley Scott's Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
(1979), but had to drop out because of his diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
; the role was eventually played by John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
.
Finch was also the original choice for a role eventually made famous by Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
in the British television series The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
(by an odd coincidence, Shaw had himself played Banquo
Banquo
Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. In the play, he is at first an ally to Macbeth and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his...
to Finch's Macbeth in Polanski's film
Macbeth (1971 film)
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
). He pulled out at last minute, citing the fact that he "couldn't possibly play a policeman".
During 1978-79, Finch played the role of Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV of England) in the BBC Television Shakespeare
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
productions of Richard II
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
, Henry IV, Part I
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
and Henry IV, Part II
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
, which also featured Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, David Gwillim
David Gwillim
David Gwillim is an English actor, best known for playing Prince Hal in the BBC Television Shakespeare Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II and the title role in Henry V which were broadcast in 1979, and John Bold in The Barchester Chronicles broadcast in 1982.- Biography :Gwillim was born in...
and Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
in principal roles. In 1981, he played Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
in the television film Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul is a 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul of Tarsus and Robert Foxworth as Peter the Fisherman, David Gwillim as Mark and Jon Finch as Luke. It was directed by Robert Day. The film mostly shows the works of Paul, beginning with his being struck down and converted by the Lord...
, which featured Robert Foxworth
Robert Foxworth
Robert Heath Foxworth is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life and career:Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth , a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor...
and Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
in the title roles.
Jon Finch has been married once, to the actress Catriona MacColl; they were divorced in 1987. Finch is a very private man, and seems to have retreated from the public eye since 2005.
Filmography
- The Vampire LoversThe Vampire LoversThe Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
(1970) - The Horror of FrankensteinThe Horror of FrankensteinThe Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster...
(1970) - Sunday Bloody SundaySunday Bloody Sunday (film)Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971) - MacbethMacbeth (1971 film)Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
(1971) - Lady Caroline LambLady Caroline Lamb (film)Lady Caroline Lamb is a 1972 film based on the life of the notorious Lady Caroline Lamb, lover of Lord Byron and wife of Prime MinisterViscount Melbourne...
(1972) - Frenzy (1972)
- The Final Programme (1973) (U.S. title: The Last Days of Man on Earth)
- Diagnosis: Murder (1975)
- El Segundo poder (1976)
- Une femme fidèle (1976)
- Die Standarte (1977)
- Death on the NileDeath on the Nile (1978 film)Death on the Nile is a 1978 film based on the Agatha Christie mystery novel Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin. The film features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot played by Peter Ustinov plus an all-star cast. It takes place in Egypt, mostly on the Nile River...
(1978) - Richard IIBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(1978) - La Sabina (1979)
- Henry IV, Part IBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(1979) - Henry IV, Part IIBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(1979) - Witching Time (1980), an episode of The Hammer House of Horror
- Breaking GlassBreaking GlassBreaking Glass is a 1980 British film starring Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels and Jonathan Pryce. The film was co-produced by Dodi Fayed and written and directed by Brian Gibson. The film was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival....
(1980) - Gary Cooper, que estás en los cielos (1980)
- Peter and PaulPeter and PaulPeter and Paul is a 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul of Tarsus and Robert Foxworth as Peter the Fisherman, David Gwillim as Mark and Jon Finch as Luke. It was directed by Robert Day. The film mostly shows the works of Paul, beginning with his being struck down and converted by the Lord...
(1981) - Doktor Faustus (1982)
- Giro CityGiro CityGiro City is a 1982 British drama film written and directed by Karl Francis and starring Glenda Jackson, Jon Finch and Kenneth Colley. A team of reporters come up against censorship when they pursue a story...
(1982) - Power Game (1983)
- Pop Pirates (1984)
- The Odd Job Man (1984)
- Much Ado About NothingBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(1984) - Riviera (1987)
- Die Stimme (1988)
- Plaza Real (1988)
- Unexplained Laughter (1988)
- The Rainbow (1988)
- Rehovot Ha'Etmol (1989)
- La Più bella del reame (1989)
- Merlin of the Crystal Cave (1991)
- The Lurking Fear (1994)
- DarklandsDarklands (film)Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King and released in 1997....
(1996) - Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord (1997)
- Anazapta (2001)
- New Tricks (2003)
- Kingdom of HeavenKingdom of Heaven (film)Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McKidd, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam...
(2005)