Ronald Pickup
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1940-06-07
Day of Death
2021-02-25 (80 years old)
Place of Birth
Chester, England, UK
Ronald Pickup
Biography
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.
Known For
Acting
Schadenfreude
as The Gambler
(2021)
End of Term
as Damian Self
(2018)
The Happy Prince
as Judge
(2017)
Darkest Hour
as Neville Chamberlain
(2017)
The Time of Their Lives
as Frank
(2017)
Stealing Silver
as Udo
(2016)
The Have-Nots
as Bentham
(2015)
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Norman Cousins
(2014)
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road
as Bearded Man
(2012)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Norman Cousins
(2010)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
as King Sharaman
(2009)
Theatreland
as Himself
(2008)
Dark Floors
as Tobias
(2007)
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
as William McDowell
(2005)
Supernova
as Dr. Malcolm Handey
(2005)
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby
as Cecil Johnson
(2005)
Cherished
as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
(2005)
A Life in Suitcases
as Monsieur Moitessier
(2004)
Evilenko
as Aron Richter
(2004)
Secret Passage
as Da Monte
(2004)
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
as Monsieur Moitessier
(2000)
Breathtaking
as Dr. Maclaren
(1999)
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
as Don Massaredo
(1997)
Lolita
as Young Humbert's Father
(1997)
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis
as Percy Stone
(1996)
Der Blinde
as Dr. Bartnik
(1996)
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
as Narrator
(1995)
Henry IV
as Henry IV
(1995)
A Very Open Prison
as Brian Silcott
(1994)
Milner
as Jocelyn Fry
(1994)
Message for Posterity
as Richard Browning
(1994)
In The Cold Light Of Day
as Morris
(1993)
Bethune: The Making of a Hero
as Alan Coleman
(1992)
My Friend Walter
as Sir Walter Raleigh
(1992)
(1991)
A Murder of Quality
as Felix D'Arcy
(1991)
Absolute Hell
as Siegfried Shrager
(1991)
Journey of Honor
as Capt. Crawford
(1991)
The War That Never Ends
as Diodotus
(1990)
Jekyll & Hyde
as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
(1990)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
as Aslan (voice)
(1989)
A Dry White Season
as Louw
(1989)
Danny the Champion of the World
as Captain Lancaster
(1989)
(1988)
The Hound of the Baskervilles
as Barrymore
(1988)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
as Aslan (voice)
(1988)
Testimony
as Marshall Tukhachevsky
(1987)
The Fourth Protocol
as Wynne-Evans
(1986)
The Mission
as Hontar
(1986)
Ladies' Night
as James Tripp
(1985)
Eleni
as Spiro
(1984)
Camille
as Jean
(1984)
Pope John Paul II
as Jan Tyranowski
(1984)
Puccini
as Giulio Ricordi
(1983)
Never Say Never Again
as Elliott
(1983)
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
as George Orwell
(1982)
Ivanhoe
as Prince John
(1982)
The Letter
as Howard Joyce
(1982)
Verdi
as Giuseppe Verdi
(1980)
Nijinsky
as Igor Stravinsky
(1979)
Zulu Dawn
as Lt. Harford
(1979)
Henry VIII
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
(1979)
In England's Green and Pleasant Land
as Norman Reynolds
(1978)
The Thirty Nine Steps
as Bayliss
(1978)
For Tea on Sunday
as Ian
(1977)
Joseph Andrews
as Mr. Wilson
(1977)
(1977)
(1975)
King Lear
as Edgar
(1975)
The Philanthropist
as Philip
(1974)
Mahler
as Nick
(1974)
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
as Lord Randolph Churchill
(1974)
(1973)
The Day of the Jackal
as The Forger
(1973)
Long Day's Journey Into Night
as Edmund Tyrone
(1970)
Three Sisters
as Baron Tusenbach
(1967)
Romeo and Juliet
as Mercutio
(1967)
Much Ado About Nothing
as Don Pedro
(1964)
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
as Physician