Richard Griffiths
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1947-07-31
Day of Death
2013-03-28 (65 years old)
Place of Birth
Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Richard Griffiths
Biography
Richard Thomas Griffiths (July 31, 1947 – March 28, 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For his performance in the stage play The History Boys, Griffiths won a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. For the 2006 film adaptation, Griffiths was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
He played Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001-2010) and Great Uncle Matthew Brown "Gum" in the BBC film Ballet Shoes (2007). He also portrayed Uncle Monty in Withnail and I (1987), and Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997). Earlier in his career, he had supporting roles in such critically acclaimed films as Chariots of Fire (1981), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Gandhi (1982), and The Naked Gun 2+1⁄2: The Smell of Fear (1991). In his later career he appeared in Sleepy Hollow (1999), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and in Martin Scorsese's Hugo (2011).
Known For
Acting
(2014)
Showing Up
as Self
(2013)
About Time
as Lawyer in Play (uncredited)
(2012)
Private Peaceful
as The Colonel
(2011)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
as King George
(2011)
Hugo
as Monsieur Frick
(2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Vernon Dursley
(2010)
Jackboots on Whitehall
as Hermann Goering (voice)
(2010)
National Theatre Live: The Habit of Art
as Fitz / W. H. Auden
(2008)
Bedtime Stories
as Barry Nottingham
(2008)
Ballet Shoes
as Great Uncle Matthew
(2008)
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
as Santa Claus
(2007)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
as Vernon Dursley
(2006)
Venus
as Donald
(2006)
The History Boys
as Hector
(2005)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
as Jeltz (voice)
(2005)
Opa!
as Tierrney
(2005)
Princes in the Tower
as Thomas More voice
(2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Vernon Dursley
(2004)
Stage Beauty
as Sir Charles Sedley
(2003)
The Brides in the Bath
as Sir Edward Marshall-Hall
(2002)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
as Vernon Dursley
(2002)
Jeffrey Archer: The Truth
as Willie Whitelaw
(2001)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
as Vernon Dursley
(2000)
Vatel
as Dr. Bourdelot
(2000)
(1999)
Sleepy Hollow
as Bürgermeister Phillipse
(1998)
Ted & Ralph
as Landowner at Party
(1995)
Funny Bones
as Jim Minty
(1994)
Guarding Tess
as Frederick
(1994)
A Breed of Heroes
as Brian Beasely
(1992)
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends
as Mr. Alderman Ptolomy Tortoise/Mr. Jackson/Sir Isaac Newton
(1992)
Blame It on the Bellboy
as Maurice Horton
(1992)
Mr. Wakefield's Crusade
as Porter
(1991)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
as Dr. Meinheimer / Earl Hacker
(1991)
King Ralph
as Duncan Phipps
(1989)
Goldeneye
as Second Admiral
(1989)
The Movie Life of George
as Self
(1987)
Withnail & I
as Monty
(1987)
Casanova
as Cardinal
(1986)
Shanghai Surprise
as Willie Tuttle
(1984)
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
as Captain Billings
(1984)
A Private Function
as Allardyce
(1983)
Gorky Park
as Anton
(1982)
Gandhi
as Collins
(1982)
Britannia Hospital
as Cheerful Bernie
(1982)
The Merry Wives of Windsor
as Sir John Falstaff
(1982)
The World Cup: A Captain's Tale
as Sidney Barron
(1982)
A Light Snack
as The Window Cleaner
(1981)
Chariots of Fire
as Head Porter - Caius College
(1981)
The French Lieutenant's Woman
as Sir Tom
(1981)
Ragtime
as Delmas' Assistant No. 1
(1980)
Superman II
as Terrorist
(1980)
Breaking Glass
as Studio Engineer
(1979)
Afternoon Off
as Factory Boss
(1978)
The Comedy of Errors
as Officer
(1977)
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
as Board Member
(1977)
Twelve Off the Belt
as Bedworth Hogg
(1976)
It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
as Sam Broadbent
(1976)
Well Thank You, Thursday
as Window Cleaner
(1974)
Norma
as Park Keeper