Richard Briers
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"Ken offered me Malvolio in his production of 'Twelfth Night' at the very time I had decided to expand my career when I realized I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms. As soon as I worked with him, I thought he was truly exceptional." --Richard Briers quoted in "A Midwinter's Tale" press material
"Rather than me going off and becoming a doddering small-part character actor, Branagh for the last 10 years has completely changed my whole life. So now I'm a respected character actor." --Briers to The Daily Telegraph, January 17, 2000
Biography
This British character actor has had a long career in TV, but has enjoyed a late-career renaissance thanks to director-actor Kenneth Branagh, who has cast him in six features and one short since "Henry V" in 1989. Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Briers made his London debut in 1959 in "Gilt and Gingerbread." For the next 30 years, he alternated his TV and film work with such plays as "Present Laughter" (1965), "The Real Inspector Hound" (1968), "Butley" (1972), "Run for Your Wife" (1983), "Twelfth Night" (1987-88) and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (as Bottom, 1990).
But it was as a TV comic that Briers won his greatest fame in England, appearing in the popular shows "The Good Life" (BBC, 1975, shown in the US as "Good Neighbors"), "Ever Decreasing Circles" (BBC-1, 1989), Rowan Atkinson's "Mr. Bean" (ITV, 1990) and "Marriage Lines." He also appeared in the playwright Alan Ayckbourn's "The Norman Conquests" (PBS, 1978) and "Just Between Ourselves."
Briers' big screen career began with the British features "Bottoms Up" (1960), "Murder She Said" (1961), "The Girl on the Boat" and "A Matter of Who" (both 1962) and the multi-national "The VIPs" (1963). He appeared in Raquel Welch's spy spoof "Fathom" (1967), the comedy "All the Way Up" (1970) and did a voice-over for the animated "Watership Down" (1978). But he was largely unknown in the US until he began appearing in Kenneth Branagh's films.
Briers met Branagh when Briers joined the Renaissance Theatre Company and began taking on more classical roles, including King Lear and Uncle Vanya. On film, Branagh cast the actor--who still thought of himself as a sitcom clown--as Bardolph in "Henry V" (1989), Stephen Fry's father in the comedy "Peter's Friends" (1992), Don Leonato in "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), the blind grandfather in the controversial "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994) and as a cranky old trouper in "A Midwinter's Tale" (1996). Sticking with Branagh, Briers next filmed the role of Polonius in "Hamlet" (1996).
Briers, who is married to actress Ann Davies, has done some recent work sans Branagh, including the comedy "A Chorus of Disapproval" (1989), the harrowing period drama "Skallagrigg" (1994) and the P G Wodehouse comedy "Heavy Weather" (PBS, 1996), with Peter O'Toole and Judy Parfitt.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1956
Worked with Liverpool Rep Company
1958
Made West End acting debut
1961
Starred on BBC comedy "Marriage Lines"
1962
Appeared on British series "Brothers in Law" (BBC)
1971
Headlined comedy series "Birds on the Wing" (BBC)
1975
Co-starred on sitcom "The Good Life/Good Neighbors" (BBC)
1977
With Michael Gambon, starred on BBC comedy series "The Other One"
1978
Provided character voice of Fiver in animated feature "Watership Down"
1982
Starred as title character on "Goodbye, Mr. Kent" (BBC)
1984
Appeared in recurring role on BBC comedy series "Ever Decreasing Circles"
1985
Played lead on ITV comedy series "All in Good Faith"
1987
Joined Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company; appeared in "Twelfth Night" and "Coriolanus," and played title roles of "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya"
1989
First film collaboration with Branagh, "Henry V"
1989
Awarded OBE by Queen Elizabeth II
1992
Landed small role in Branagh's "Peter's Friends"
1993
Co-starred on BBC comedy series "If You See God, Tell Him"
1995
Starred opposite Judy Parfitt in "Heavy Weather" (BBC)
1996
Appeared in two films directed by Branagh, "A Midwinter's Tale" and "Hamlet" (as Polonius)
1998
Played opposite Geraldine McEwan in Broadway production "The Chairs"
1999
Provided character voice of Captain Broom for animated series based on "Watership Down" (ITV)
2000
Reteamed with Branagh for "Love's Labour's Lost"
2000
Starred on BBC comedy-drama series "Monarch of the Glen"
2002
Starred opposite June Whitfield in London stage revival of "Bedroom Farce"
2003
Cast as Smee in P.J. Hogan's live-action adaptation of "Peter Pan"
2006
Played Adam in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation "As You Like It"
2008
Guest starred on BBC sci-fi drama "Torchwood"
2011
Narrated war drama "The Only One Who Knows You're Afraid"
2012
Made final film appearances in British comedies "Run for Your Wife" and " Cockneys vs. Zombies"
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Ken offered me Malvolio in his production of 'Twelfth Night' at the very time I had decided to expand my career when I realized I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms. As soon as I worked with him, I thought he was truly exceptional." --Richard Briers quoted in "A Midwinter's Tale" press material
"Rather than me going off and becoming a doddering small-part character actor, Branagh for the last 10 years has completely changed my whole life. So now I'm a respected character actor." --Briers to The Daily Telegraph, January 17, 2000
"As soon as Ken cast me in the straight stuff my income dropped. Job satisfaction 100 per cent; income 40 per cent." --Richard Briers quoted in London's Evening Standard, February 23, 2000
