Ian Bannen was born on June 29, 1928 in Airdrie, Scotland, to a lawyer. Graduated from Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire. He served a year and a half as a corporal in the British Armed Forces. In 1947 he made his debut at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. In the first half of the fifties he played in the troupe of the Stradford Memorial Theatre (now the Royal Shakespeare Theatre). In 1955, he first performed in London, where he soon proved himself well in Eugene O'Neill's plays Long Journey into the
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Ian Bannen was born on June 29, 1928 in Airdrie, Scotland, to a lawyer. Graduated from Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire. He served a year and a half as a corporal in the British Armed Forces. In 1947 he made his debut at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. In the first half of the fifties he played in the troupe of the Stradford Memorial Theatre (now the Royal Shakespeare Theatre). In 1955, he first performed in London, where he soon proved himself well in Eugene O'Neill's plays Long Journey into the Night and The Ice Seller Is Coming. He was also involved in Shakespeare's repertoire. The beginning of his cinematic career was closely associated with the directors brothers John and Roy Bowling: first appearing on the screen as a soldier in their army comedy Private's Way (1956), he later played the young king in the famous satirical film Carlton Brown - Diplomat (1959), a lover in French Lover (1960) and a fierce Korean war veteran in Suspect (1961). In 1966, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a cynical Crowe in the disaster adventure film The Phoenix Flight (1965, directed by Robert Eldrich). No less interesting was his role as Sergeant Charlie Harris of the military drama Sidney Lummet "Hill", which appeared on the screens in the same year.
Over the next thirty years, Bannen starred in a variety of feature and television films, often playing surrounded by recognized stars of the world screen, such as Vanessa Redgrave, Macle Kane, Jeanne Moreau, Paul Newman, Donald Sutherland and many others. Among the most important films with his participation, such as "Too late, hero" (1970, director Robert Eldrich), "Sailor of Gibraltar" (1971, director Tony Richardson), "Fear" (1971, dir. Peter Collinson), "Macintosh Man" (1973, dir. John Huston), "Stumbling Stone" (1973, dir. Sidney Lumet), "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977, dir. Franco Zeffirelli), "The Needle Eye" (1981), "Michamber", "Michael". His later film work ranged from episodic appearances on screen, such as the role of a police officer in the historical epic Gandhi (1982) directed by Richard Attenborough to vivid character roles, such as the eccentric and grumpy Grandpa George in John Boorman's drama Hope and Glory (1987). He is also remembered by many as the leper father of Scottish King Robert the Bruce in Mel Gibson's Medieval Braveheart saga (1995). In 1998, Bannen brilliantly played old man Jackie O’Shea, a cunning inhabitant of a small Irish village in the comedy “Ancient Ned’s Surprise” (1998, Kirk Jones). This role can rightly be considered one of the most memorable in his acting biography. Unfortunately, soon the life of Ian Bannen tragically ended: on November 3, 1999, he died in a car accident near Loch Ness.
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