Frank Finlay
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1926-08-06
Day of Death
2016-01-30 (89 years old)
Place of Birth
Farnworth, Lancashire, England, UK
Frank Finlay
Biography
Frank received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance as William Shakespeare’s Iago in Stuart Burge’s 1965 film of Laurence Olivier’s staging of Othello. He also won the Best Actor Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
He later essayed the definitive screen portrayal of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeer Porthos in three movies for director Richard Lester: The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). Frank’s many other films include The Longest Day; Tony Richardson’s The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner; Martin Ritt’s The Molly Maguires; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Alan Bridges’ The Return of the Soldier (for which he recieved a BAFTA Award nomination); Franco Zeffrelli’s Sparrow; and Eric Styles’ Dreaming of Joseph Lees; and most recently Roman Polanski’s multi-award winning The Pianist and Norma Jewison’s The Statement.
His similarly extensive television projects have earned him two BAFTA Awards, for his performances in The Death of Adolf Hitler (starring as Hitler, with Rex Firkin directing); The Adventures of Don Quixote (as Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison, for director Alvin Rakoff); the ground breaking Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Another Bouquet; 84 Charing Cross Road; and recently the critically acclaimed series The Sins. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Finlay had already begun performing on stage when he earned the Sir James Knott Scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Since then he has led theatre companies in London and on Broadway.
He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1984 New Year’s Honours List, and was presented with his CBE by the Queen in February1984.
Acting
(2018)
Nothing Like a Dame
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
(2007)
The Waiting Room
as Roger
(2004)
Lighthouse Hill
as Alfred
(2003)
The Statement
as Commissaire Vionnet
(2003)
Eroica
as Josef Haydn
(2002)
The Pianist
as Father
(2001)
The Martins
as Mr Heath
(2001)
Station Jim
as Riorden Snr
(2000)
For My Baby
as Rudi Wittfogel
(1999)
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
as Father
(1998)
Stiff Upper Lips
as Hudson Junior
(1997)
Limited Edition
as John Rathbone
(1997)
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
as Mike's Dad
(1995)
Virgin Mary
as Monsignor
(1995)
A Mind to Murder
as Professor Etherege
(1994)
The Voyeur
as Nino Rolfe
(1994)
Sparrow
as Father Nunzio
(1993)
An Exchange of Fire
as Pavel Rhele
(1992)
Stalin
as Sergei
(1992)
Cthulhu Mansion
as Chandu
(1992)
The Other Side
as Arthur Conan Doyle
(1991)
Mountain of Diamonds
as Garrick
(1990)
King of the Wind
as Edward Coke
(1989)
The Return of the Musketeers
as Porthos
(1987)
Casanova
as Razetta
(1985)
Lifeforce
as Dr. Hans Fallada
(1985)
In the Secret State
as Frank Strange
(1985)
Nineteen Nineteen
as Sigmund Freud (voice)
(1984)
A Christmas Carol
as Jacob Marley
(1984)
Arch of Triumph
as Col. Boris Morosov
(1984)
Sakharov
as Kravtsov
(1983)
The Key
as Nino Rolfe
(1983)
The Return of the Soldier
as William Grey
(1983)
The Ploughman's Lunch
as Matthew Fox
(1983)
The Spanish Civil War
as Narrator
(1982)
Enigma
as Canarsky
(1982)
Mona
as Captain Manson
(1981)
Dear Brutus
as Dearth
(1979)
Murder by Decree
as Inspector Lestrade
(1979)
Ring of Darkness
as Paul
(1978)
The Wild Geese
as Fr. Geoghagen
(1978)
The Thief of Baghdad
as Abu Bakar
(1978)
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
as Peppino
(1978)
Betzi
as Napoleon
(1977)
Count Dracula
as Abraham van Helsing
(1975)
84 Charing Cross Road
as Frank Doel
(1975)
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
(1974)
The Four Musketeers
as Porthos
(1974)
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
(1973)
The Three Musketeers
as Porthos / O'Reilly
(1973)
Shaft in Africa
as Vincent Amafi
(1973)
The Death of Adolf Hitler
as Adolf Hitler
(1973)
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
as Sancho Panza
(1973)
Van der Valk and the Rich
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
(1972)
Sitting Target
as Marty Gold
(1972)
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
as George Dabernon
(1972)
The Merchant of Venice
as Shylock
(1972)
(1971)
Gumshoe
as William Ginley
(1971)
Assault
as Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
(1970)
Cromwell
as John Carter
(1970)
The Molly Maguires
as Davies
(1970)
The Body
as Narrator
(1970)
The Lie
as Andrew Firth
(1969)
Julius Caesar
as Brutus
(1969)
Blood of the Lamb
as Albert
(1969)
The Piano Tuner
as Wilfred Tilley
(1968)
The Shoes of the Fisherman
as Igor Bounin
(1968)
Inspector Clouseau
as Supt. Weaver
(1968)
Twisted Nerve
as Henry Durnley
(1967)
Robbery
as Robinson
(1967)
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
as Chaplain
(1967)
Much Ado About Nothing
as Dogberry
(1967)
The Jokers
as Harrassed Man
(1967)
The Spare Tyres
as Council foreman
(1966)
The Sandwich Man
as Second Fish Porter
(1966)
The Deadly Bees
as H.W. Manfred
(1965)
A Study in Terror
as Inspector Lestrade
(1965)
Othello
as Iago
(1965)
The Wild Affair
as Drunk
(1965)
Olivier Talks About Othello
as (archive footage)
(1964)
Hot Enough for June
as British Embassy Porter
(1964)
The Comedy Man
as Prout
(1963)
Doctor in Distress
as Corsetiere
(1963)
The Informers
as Leon Sale
(1962)
The Longest Day
as Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
(1962)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
as Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
(1962)
Life for Ruth
as Teddy's Father
(1962)
Private Potter
as Capt. Patterson
(1962)
The Hard Knock
as Franco Angelo