Vernon Dobtcheff
Encyclopedia
Vernon Dobtcheff is a French and British actor
.
Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes
, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup. One of his many television roles was as the Chief Scientist in the Doctor Who
series The War Games
in 1969.
In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, British actor Rupert Everett
describes an encounter with Dobtcheff on the boat train
to Paris, and reveals his extraordinary reputation as the "patron saint" of the acting profession, stating that Dobtcheff "was legendary not so much for his acting as for his magical ability to catch every first night in the country". Widely travelled and prone to pop up in the most unlikely of locales, if unable to attend an opening night, Dobtcheff will still endeavour to send the cast a card wishing the production good luck.
Dobtcheff is set to appear in the upcoming Doctor Who
audio drama The Children of Seth
where he will be playing the role of Shamur, set for release in December 2011.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup. One of his many television roles was as the Chief Scientist in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
series The War Games
The War Games
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
in 1969.
In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, British actor Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
describes an encounter with Dobtcheff on the boat train
Boat train
A boat train is a passenger train which connects with a passenger ship, such as a ferry or ocean liner. Through ticketing is normally available. -Notable named boat trains:*The Flèche d'Or Paris Gare du Nord to Calais...
to Paris, and reveals his extraordinary reputation as the "patron saint" of the acting profession, stating that Dobtcheff "was legendary not so much for his acting as for his magical ability to catch every first night in the country". Widely travelled and prone to pop up in the most unlikely of locales, if unable to attend an opening night, Dobtcheff will still endeavour to send the cast a card wishing the production good luck.
Dobtcheff is set to appear in the upcoming Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio drama The Children of Seth
The Children of Seth
The Children of Seth is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
where he will be playing the role of Shamur, set for release in December 2011.
Filmography
- The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew (1967 film)The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people...
(1967) – Pedant - A Dandy in AspicA Dandy in AspicA Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow....
(1968) – Stein - Baby LoveBaby Love (film)Baby Love is a 1968 British drama film, directed by Alastair Reid and starring Ann Lynn, Keith Barron, Linda Hayden and Diana Dors. The film tells the story of a schoolgirl who seduces her adoptive family after her mother commits suicide....
(1968) – Man In Cinema - The Assassination BureauThe Assassination BureauThe Assassination Bureau Limited is a black comedy film made in 1969 based on an unfinished novel, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd by Jack London...
(1969) – Baron Muntzof - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- The War GamesThe War GamesThe War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
(1969) – Chief Scientist - Anne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 costume drama made by Hal Wallis Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The film tells the story of Anne Boleyn...
(1969) – Mendoza - Darling LiliDarling LiliDarling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
(1970) – Kraus - The Beast in the CellarThe Beast in the CellarThe Beast in the Cellar is a 1970 British horror film written and directed by James Kelley. The film was produced by Leander Films and Tigon British Film Productions. Filming took place at Pinewood Studios. The film was released in the UK on DVD by Anchor Bay as part of The Tigon Collection...
(1970) – Sir Bernard Newsmith - Them (1970) – Brisbane
- Nicholas and AlexandraNicholas and AlexandraNicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971) – Dr. Lazovert - Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof (film)Fiddler on the Roof is the 1971 film adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name, with music composed by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905, about Tevye and his Daughters. It was directed by Norman Jewison. The film won three...
(1971) – Russian Official - The HorsemenThe Horsemen (1971 film)The Horsemen is a 1971 film starring Omar Sharif, directed by John Frankenheimer; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. Based on a novel by French writer Joseph Kessel, Les Cavaliers shows Afghanistan and its people the way they were before the wars that wracked the country, particularly their love for...
(1971) – Zam Hajji - Les mariés de l'an II (1971) – Le pasteur
- Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots (film)Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Leading an all-star cast are Vanessa Redgrave as the titular character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. In the same year, Jackson played the part of Elizabeth in the TV drama Elizabeth...
(1971) – Duc François de Guise - The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales (film)The Canterbury Tales is a 1972 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and based on the medieval narrative poem The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is the second film in Pasolini's 'Trilogy of Life'...
(1972) – The Manager - Revolt of the CityGiordano BrunoGiordano Bruno , born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model in proposing that the Sun was essentially a star, and moreover, that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited...
(1973) - The Day of the JackalThe Day of the Jackal (film)The Day of the Jackal is a 1973 Anglo-French film, set in August 1963 and based on the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, it stars Edward Fox as the assassin known only as "the Jackal" who is hired to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.- Synopsis :The film opens...
(1973) – The Interrogator - Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express (1974 film)Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
(1974) – Concierge - Fall of EaglesFall of EaglesFall of Eagles is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series was created by John Elliot and produced by Stuart Burge....
(1974) – Count Stookau - Plaies et bossesPlaies et bossesPlaies et bosses is a 1974 French film directed by Yves-André Hubert.-Cast:* Paul Barge - Egan* Isabelle Huppert - Patsy Lackan* Françoise Lugagne - Norah* Marc Eyraud - Dooling* Gilette Barbier - Maeve Lackan* Thierry Murzeau - Sean Lackan...
(1974) - Operation DaybreakOperation DaybreakOperation Daybreak is a 1975 World War II film based on the true story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague - starring Anthony Andrews, Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and shot mostly on location in Prague. It was adapted from the book Seven Men...
(1975) – Pyotr - Le SauvageLe SauvageLe Sauvage is a 1975 French film starring Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve. The film was a commercial success with a total of 2,373,738 admissions in France and was the 12th highest grossing film of the year....
(1975) – Coleman - Playing with Fire (1975) – Un messager
- India SongIndia SongIndia Song is a 1975 French drama film directed by Marguerite Duras. India Song stars Delphine Seyrig, Michel Lonsdale, Mathieu Carriere, Claude Mann, Vernon Dobtcheff and Didier Flamand. The film centres on Anne-Marie , the promiscuous wife of the French Vice-Consul in India, and was based on an...
(1975) – George Crown - GalileoGalileo (film)Galileo is a 1975 film version of the Bertolt Brecht play The Life of Galileo. The film was produced and released as part of the American Film Theatre, which adapted theatrical works for a subscription-driven cinema series.-Plot:...
(1975) – First Secretary - Il Messia (1976) – Samuele
- March or DieMarch or Die (film)March or Die is a 1977 film directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve and Ian Holm.The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion...
(1977) – Mean corporal - The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me (film)The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
(1977) – Max Kalba - Joseph AndrewsJoseph AndrewsJoseph Andrews, or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full-length novel of the English author and magistrate Henry Fielding, and indeed among the first novels in the English language...
(1977) – Fop Two - Little Girl in Blue Velvet (1978) – Lamberti
- NijinskyNijinsky (film)Nijinsky is a 1980 American biographical film directed by Herbert Ross. Hugh Wheeler, whose screenplay centers on the later life and career of Vaslav Nijinsky, used the legendary dancer's personal diaries and his wife's 1933 book Life of Nijinsky as his primary source materials.-Synopsis:The film...
(1980) – Sergei Grigoriev - L'Amour nu (1981) – John, le patron de Claire
- San-Antonio ne pense qu'à ça (1981) – Actor
- La nuit de VarennesThat Night in VarennesThat Night in Varennes is a 1982 bilingual, Italian and French drama film directed by Ettore Scola. It is based on a novel by Catherine Rihoit. It tells the story of a fictional meeting between Restif de la Bretonne, Giacomo Casanova, Thomas Paine and Sophie de la Borde...
(1982) – Le juge saisie - Nutcracker (1982) – Markovitch
- EnigmaEnigma (1983 film)Enigma is a 1983 motion picture directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey and Kevin McNally.-Plot:...
(1983) – Actor - Wagner (1983) – Giacomo MeyerbeerGiacomo MeyerbeerGiacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
- The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-YakThe Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-YakThe Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak is a French action/sexploitation film released in 1984, directed by Just Jaeckin...
(1984) – Actor - Ronde de nuit (1984) – Le majordome
- My Friend Washington (1984) – Actor
- Mata HariMata Hari (1985 film)Mata Hari is a 1985 film produced by Golan-Globus featuring Sylvia Kristel in the title role of exotic dancer Mata Hari, executed for espionage during World War I...
(1985) – Prosecutor - MorengaMorengaMorenga is a 1985 German drama film directed by Egon Günther. It was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Jacques Breuer as Gottschalk* Edwin Noel as Wenstrup* Jürgen Holtz as v. Kageneck* Manfred Seipold as v. Koppy...
(1985) - The Name of the RoseThe Name of the Rose (film)The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
(1986) – Hugh of NewcastleHugh of NewcastleHugh of Newcastle was a Franciscan theologian and scholastic philosopher, a pupil of Duns Scotus. His origin in Newcastle-upon-Tyne is questioned; he may have been from Neufchâtel.-Works:... - Je hais les acteurs (1986) – Fritz Kesselberger
- CaravaggioCaravaggio (film)Caravaggio is a British film directed by Derek Jarman. The film is a fictionalized re-telling of the life of Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.-Plot:...
(1986) – Art Lover - Maschenka (1987) – Yasha
- TestimonyTestimony (film)Testimony: The Story of Shostakovich is a 1987 British musical drama film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Ben Kingsley, Sherry Baines and Robert Stephens. The film is based on the memoirs of Shostakovich as dictated in the book Testimony and filmed in Panavision...
(1988) – Gargolovsky - Madame SousatzkaMadame SousatzkaMadame Sousatzka is a 1988 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens.-Plot synopsis:...
(1988) – Music Critic - Pascali's IslandPascali's Island (film)Pascali's Island is a 1988 British drama film, based on the novel by Barry Unsworth. It was written and directed by James Dearden. It stars Ben Kingsley, Charles Dance and Helen Mirren...
(1988) – Pariente - Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
(1989) – Butler - Splendor (1989) – Don Arno
- NataliaNatalia (film)Natalia is a 1988 French drama film directed by Bernard Cohn. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Pierre Arditi – Paul Langlade* Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu – Natalia Gronska...
(1989) – Alfred Grabner - Vincent and MeVincent and MeVincent and Me is a 1990 family film. The movie was directed by Michael Rubbo and is the 11th in the Tales for All series of children's movies created by Les Productions la Fête....
(1990) – Dr. Winkler - HamletHamlet (1990 film)Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...
(1990) – Reynaldo - The Garden (1990) – Actor
- The KraysThe Krays (film)The Krays is a 1990 film based on the lives and crimes of the British gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, twins who are often referred to as The Krays...
(1990) – Teacher - Near Mrs. (1990) – Ivan, Paris KGB Chief
- The Plot to Kill HitlerThe Plot to Kill Hitler (film)#The Plot to Kill Hitler is a 1990 television movie. It is about the 20 July 1944 plot by German officers to kill Adolf Hitler. Brad Davis stars as Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg who plants a bomb in the conference room of the Führer's headquarters in East Prussia.- Plot summary :“The...
(1990) – Erich Fellgiebel - Let Him Have ItLet Him Have ItLet Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater...
(1991) – Clerk of Court - Toutes peines confondues (1992) – Thurston
- The Hour of the Pig (1993) – Apothecary
- M. ButterflyM. Butterfly (film)M. Butterfly is a 1993 romantic drama film directed by David Cronenberg. The screenplay was written by David Henry Hwang based on his play of the same name...
(1993) – Agent Etancelin - Jefferson in ParisJefferson in ParisJefferson in Paris is a 1995 Franco-American historical drama film directed by James Ivory . The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France prior to his Presidency, and his alleged relationships with...
(1995) – King's Translator - England, My EnglandEngland, My EnglandEngland, My England is a 1995 British historical film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Michael Ball, Simon Callow and Robert Stephens. It depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell, seen through the eyes of a playwright in the 1960s who is trying to write a play about him. It was written by...
(1995) – Dr. Spratt - Agatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
– Hercule Poirot's ChristmasHercule Poirot's ChristmasHercule Poirot's Christmas is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on December 19, 1938 . It retailed at seven shillings and sixpence ....
(1995) – Simeon Lee - The OgreThe Ogre (film)The score is composed by Michael Nyman and features strictly brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments by members of the Michael Nyman Band. The music was rerecorded by Wingates Band, with the woodwind parts transcribed for brass, on the 2006 album, Nyman Brass.-Track listing:#Knights at School...
(1996) – Lawyer - JudeJude (film)Jude is a 1996 English film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini...
(1996) – Curator - Surviving PicassoSurviving PicassoSurviving Picasso is a 1996 Merchant Ivory Film starring Anthony Hopkins as the painter Pablo Picasso. It was shot in Paris and southern France.It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper...
(1996) – Diaghilev - Déjà vuDéjà Vu (1997 film)Déjà Vu is a 1997 American dramatic romance film directed by Henry Jaglom. It stars the British actors, Stephen Dillane and Vanessa Redgrave. It premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on 25 October 1997 and was released theatrically on 22 April 1998.-Plot:Dana , a young American woman,...
(1997) – Konstantine - Anna KareninaAnna Karenina (1997 film)Anna Karenina is a 1997 film by director Bernard Rose, and starring Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean. The film is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Leo Tolstoy. It was the first international version to be filmed entirely in Russia, at locations in St...
(1997) – Pestov - Hilary and JackieHilary and JackieHilary and Jackie is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce is based on the memoir A Genius in the Family by Piers and Hilary du Pré, which chronicles the life and career of their late sister, cellist Jacqueline du Pré...
(1998) – Professor Bentley - Vigo (1998) – Papa Lozinska
- Dreaming of Joseph LeesDreaming of Joseph LeesDreaming of Joseph Lees is a 1999 British romantic drama film directed by Eric Styles and starring Rupert Graves, Samantha Morton and Nicholas Woodeson. It is an adaptation of a story written by Catherine Linstrum set in rural England in the late 1950s. The film was distributed by the Fox...
(1999) – Italian Doctor - Festival in CannesFestival in CannesFestival in Cannes is a 2001 film directed by Henry Jaglom.The plot is an entertainment industry farce about filmmakers trying to make deals during the Cannes Film Festival....
(2001) – Millie's Escort - The Body (2001) – Monsignor
- The OrderThe Order (2001 film)The Order is a 2001 20M action thriller film about a religious order, written by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Les Weldon and directed by Sheldon Lettich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The cast also includes Sofia Milos, Brian Thompson, Ben Cross, Vernon Dobtcheff and Charlton Heston...
(2001) – Oscar Cafmeyer, Rudy's father - RevelationRevelation (2001 film)Revelation is a 2001 film, directed by Stuart Urban and starring James D'Arcy, Natasha Wightman, Udo Kier and Terence Stamp. Revelation tells the story of the final search for an ancient relic known as the Loculus, dating back to 50 CE, and the effect of this relic on the Martel family and the...
(2001) – Curé at Rennes-le-Chateau - Merci Docteur ReyMerci Docteur ReyMerci Docteur Rey is a 2002 Merchant Ivory's gay comedy film directed by Andrew Litvack, starring Diane Wiest and Jane Birkin. Filmed in Paris.-Synopsis:...
(2002) – François - BrocéliandeBrocéliande (film)Brocéliande is a French horror film written by Doug Headline and Benoît Lestang, directed from Doug Headline, it stars André Wilms, Alice Taglioni and Alexis Loret.-Plot:...
(2002) – Brennos - Before SunsetBefore SunsetBefore Sunset is a 2004 American romantic drama film and the sequel to Before Sunrise . Like its predecessor, the film was directed by Richard Linklater. However, this time Linklater shares screenplay credit with both actors from the movies, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy...
(2004) – Bookstore Manager - IznogoudIznogoudIznogoud |French]] accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary...
(2005) – Kitussé - Othello: A South African Tale (2005) – Brabantio
- PricelessPriceless (film)Priceless is a 2006 French film directed by Pierre Salvadori, who says it was adapted from the 1961 Blake Edwards' film, Breakfast at Tiffany's, though the synopsis lays out more like the 1958 novella of the same name written by Truman Capote.- Plot :...
(2006) – Jacques - Asterix at the Olympic GamesAstérix at the Olympic Games (film)Asterix at the Olympic Games is a French film, adapted from René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's Astérix comic series. It was filmed essentially in Spain in the course of the year 2006. Its €78 million budget makes it one of the most expensive European movies ever...
(2006) – Druid - Le Plaisir de chanter (2008)
- Undisputed III: RedemptionUndisputed III: RedemptionUndisputed III: Redemption is the third installment to the 2002 action film Undisputed. The film stars Scott Adkins, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Mark Ivanir and Hristo Shopov, and was directed by Isaac Florentine.-Plot:...
(2010) – Rezo