Ronald Pickup
Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.
His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert and also appeared in The Day of the Jackal. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and in 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, in 1988 in the BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988 TV Serial) as the voice of Aslan, and in 1990 he starred in the short lived sit-com, Not with a Bang. More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse. He is also a regular character in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne.
Pickup gave a highly acclaimed performance as a decayed Russian aristocrat in the BBC series Fortunes of War, based on a work by Olivia Manning. He also provided the voice for Aslan in the BBC's adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia and starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly.
He is also an accomplished stage actor. He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 1997 for his performance in Amy's View.
Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani. In 2005, he had a supporting role in the family-based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby.
Between March and August 2009, he starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias' production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Simon Callow (Pozzo). The tour opened in Malvern before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand.
In February 2010 he also appeared as 'Pegleg' in the BBC's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ronald Pickup, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acted in
End of Term
2021
as Damian Self
The Happy Prince
2018
as Judge
Darkest Hour
2017
as Neville Chamberlain
Stealing Silver
2017
as Udo
The Time of Their Lives
2017
as Frank
The Crown
2016
as Archbishop of Canterbury
The Have-Nots
2016
as Bentham
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2015
as Norman Cousins
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road
2014
as Bearded Man
Atlantis
2013
as Orpheus
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2012
as Norman Cousins
Pramface
2012
Call the Midwife
2012
as Philip Worth
Vera
2011
as Mr. Kipford
Downton Abbey
2010
as Sir Michael Reresby
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2010
as King Sharaman
Theatreland
2009
as Himself
Dark Floors
2008
as Tobias
Lark Rise to Candleford
2008
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
2007
as William McDowell
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby
2005
as Cecil Johnson
A Life in Suitcases
2005
as Monsieur Moitessier
Supernova
2005
as Dr. Malcolm Handey
Cherished
2005
as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
Evilenko
2004
as Aron Richter
Feather Boy
2004
as Ernest Sorrel
The Worst Week of My Life
2004
as Fraser
Hustle
2004
as Harry Holmes
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
2004
as Monsieur Moitessier
Sea of Souls
2004
as Alex Galt
Secret Passage
2004
as Da Monte
Cambridge Spies
2003
as Colonel Winter
Foyle's War
2002
as Sir Giles Messinger
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
2002
as Sir Stuart Stinhurst
The Jury
2002
as Jeffrey Livingstone
Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes
2001
as Sir John Starr
Waking the Dead
2001
as Charles Sutton
Breathtaking
2000
as Dr. Maclaren
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
1999
as Don Massaredo
Hornblower
1998
as Don Massaredo
Lolita
1997
as Young Humbert's Father
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Rupert Smythe-Webster
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Ernest Balliol
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis
1997
as Percy Stone
Ivanhoe
1997
as Waldemar Fitzurse
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
1996
as Narrator
Der Blinde
1996
as Dr. Bartnik
Silent Witness
1996
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
1996
as Lester Rose
Black Hearts in Battersea
1995
as Duke Of Battersea
A Very Open Prison
1995
as Brian Silcott
Henry IV
1995
as Henry IV
Milner
1994
as Jocelyn Fry
Message for Posterity
1994
as Richard Browning
In The Cold Light Of Day
1994
as Morris
The Rector's Wife
1994
as Daniel Byrne
Bethune: The Making of a Hero
1993
as Alan Coleman
The Riff Raff Element
1993
as Roger Tundish
My Friend Walter
1992
as Sir Walter Raleigh
A Time to Dance
1992
as Andrew Powell
The Golden Years
1992
Absolute Hell
1991
as Siegfried Shrager
A Murder of Quality
1991
as Felix D'Arcy
Journey of Honor
1991
as Capt. Crawford
The War That Never Ends
1991
as Diodotus
Performance
1991
as Siegfried Shrager
Performance
1991
as King Henry IV
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
1990
as Aslan (voice)
Not with a Bang
1990
as Brian Appleyard
El C.I.D.
1990
as Jack
Jekyll & Hyde
1990
as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
1989
as Aslan (voice)
A Dry White Season
1989
as Louw
Danny the Champion of the World
1989
as Captain Lancaster
Behaving Badly
1989
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
1988
as Aslan (voice)
The Chronicles of Narnia
1988
The Chronicles of Narnia
1988
as Aslan (voice)
Testimony
1988
as Marshall Tukhachevsky
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1988
as Barrymore
Fortunes of War
1987
as Prince Yakimov
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
as Chief Inspector Moore
The Fourth Protocol
1987
as Wynne-Evans
Inspector Morse
1987
as Ian Matthews
Ladies' Night
1986
as James Tripp
Unnatural Causes
1986
as James Tripp
The Mission
1986
as Hontar
Casualty
1986
as Martin / Reginald Freeborn
Matlock
1986
as Sir Alec Moore
Lovejoy
1986
as Edwin Felt
Eleni
1985
as Spiro
Moving
1985
Camille
1984
as Jean
Sherlock Holmes
1984
as Barrymore
Pope John Paul II
1984
as Jan Tyranowski
Albert Einstein
1984
as Albert Einstein
Puccini
1984
as Giulio Ricordi
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
1983
as George Orwell
Never Say Never Again
1983
as Elliott
Verdi
1982
as Giuseppe Verdi
The Letter
1982
as Howard Joyce
Ivanhoe
1982
as Prince John
Verdi
1982
as Giuseppe Verdi
Bergerac
1981
as Sir Antony Villiers
Nijinsky
1980
as Igor Stravinsky
Zulu Dawn
1979
as Lt. Harford
Henry VIII
1979
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
BBC Television Shakespeare
1978
The Thirty Nine Steps
1978
as Bayliss
Ghost Trio
1977
...but the clouds...
1977
Joseph Andrews
1977
as Mr. Wilson
The Philanthropist
1975
as Philip
King Lear
1975
as Edgar
The Fight Against Slavery
1975
as William Pitt
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
1974
as Lord Randolph Churchill
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
1974
as Randolph Churchill
Father Brown
1974
Mahler
1974
as Nick
All Good Men
1974
The Day of the Jackal
1973
as The Forger
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1973
as Edmund Tyrone
Play for Today
1970
as Richard Massingham
Three Sisters
1970
as Baron Tusenbach
Much Ado About Nothing
1967
as Don Pedro
BBC Play of the Month
1965
as Mercutio
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964
as Physician
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Jean
Schadenfreude
as The Gambler