Massive owner of thunderous voice Brian Blessed for several decades remains one of the most beloved actors of British cinema. He was born on 9 October 1937 in Mexborough, Yorkshire to a poor mining family. In school years, together with his friend Patrick Stewart, the future actor of the series “Star Trek” performed in amateur plays. Before becoming an actor, he changed many professions. After serving in the army, Blessed began attending school at the Bristol branch of the Old Vic Theatre, and later
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Massive owner of thunderous voice Brian Blessed for several decades remains one of the most beloved actors of British cinema. He was born on 9 October 1937 in Mexborough, Yorkshire to a poor mining family. In school years, together with his friend Patrick Stewart, the future actor of the series “Star Trek” performed in amateur plays. Before becoming an actor, he changed many professions. After serving in the army, Blessed began attending school at the Bristol branch of the Old Vic Theatre, and later joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre troupe.
He became famous for television: his first appearance on the screen took place in 1962 in the police television series “Machine Z” as Constable Fancy Smith, and four years later he played Porthos in the serial film “Three Musketeers”. This was followed by numerous roles in film, theater and television. Blessed starred in Trojans (1971, dir. Michael Kakoyanis) with Vanessa Redgrave and Katherine Hepburn, in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972, directed by Warris Hussain), the television series The Avengers and Doctor Who, the fantastic film comic The Flash Gordon (1980, directed by Mike Hodges). One of Blessed’s best roles was Augustus in the television series I, Claudius (1975, Herbert Wise) with Derek Jacoby. His impressive appearance made him an indispensable performer of many roles of medieval kings and barons: from the bloodthirsty King Richard IV in the comedy series “Black Viper” to Lord Locksley from the adventure film “Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves” (1991, directed by Kevin Reynolds). For many years of work in the theater, the actor was engaged in both modern and classical repertoire: the range of his roles stretched from the cat of the Old Deuteronomy in the musical “Cats” by Andrew Lloyd-Webber (the original production of 1981) to Maxim Gorky in the play by Robert Bolt “The State of the Revolution”, on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre he played Hastings in “Richard II”, Exeter in “Henry V” and Claudius in “Hamlet”. Long-term love for Shakespeare's repertoire prompted Blessed to the film adaptation of King Lear (1999), in which he was both a director and a lead actor. The role of Jester in this film was performed by his wife, actress Hildegard Neal. Blessed also starred in three Shakespearean films by Kenneth Branagh: he was Exeter in his Henry V (1989), Senor Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and a ghost in Hamlet (1996). He is also the author of Happy Everest, a book about expeditions to the top of this mountain and his journey to Venezuela. His work in the musical theater was not limited to “Cats”: later he performed with the musical fairy tale of Sergei Prokofiev “Peter and the Wolf” accompanied by a symphony orchestra, and in 2002 he played the role of Baron Bombarst in the famous musical of Ian Flemming “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in London’s Palladium. In 1999, he played a small role as Boss Nass in the science fiction film Star Wars: Episode I - The Hidden Threat by George Lucas, which only added to the popularity of the already famous actor. Unfortunately, in recent years, Blessed, busy with various projects, does not often appear on the big screen. One of the most famous films of recent years with his participation is the historical drama Alexander (2004) directed by Oliver Stone, in which he flashed in the episodic role of a wrestling coach.
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