John Neville
From Willesden, London, England, UK • 1925 - 2011
John Reginald Neville CM OBE (2 May 1925 – 19 November 2011) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned more than sixty years. He was renowned for his roles on both stage and screen in genres ranging from classical theatre to fantasy and science fiction. Neville was one of the young leading lights of the British theatre in the early 1950s, and he and contemporary and friend Richard Burton honed their craft at the Old Vic, where over the course of five years they worked their way through the Shakespearean canon. Based on their performance styles and physicality, it was commented at the time that Burton was seen as the successor to Laurence Olivier, whereas Neville was seen as the natural successor to John Gielgud. Neville was a great champion of young talent throughout his career, as was evident when a 23-year-old Judi Dench made her professional debut as Ophelia opposite his Hamlet in 1957. Alongside the classical repertoire, Neville also worked on contemporary productions. He originated the titular role of Alfie in Bill Naughton's 1963 play Alfie. It was in that same year that he, along with Frank Dunlop and Peter Ustinov, became artistic directors of the Nottingham Playhouse, with Neville later assuming sole charge. It was under his leadership that he played the leading part in Coriolanus, directed by Tyrone Guthrie, playing opposite a young Ian McKellen in the role of Tullus Aufidius. After leaving Nottingham in 1972, Neville emigrated to Canada, where he enjoyed further theatrical success in Stratford, Ontario at the Stratford Festival Theatre. Neville enjoyed a resurgence of international attention in the 1980s as a result of his starring role in Terry Gilliam's cult classic The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and latterly in the sci-fi series The X-Files, playing the sinister role of the Well-Manicured Man. (Via Wikipedia)
