Edward Fox


Actor

About

Also Known As
Ed Fox
Birth Place
London, England, GB
Born
April 13, 1937

Biography

This tall blond actor is best known for playing patrician characters noted for their cynicism and cruelty. Born into a theatrical family in London, Fox followed in the footsteps of his younger brother James who was a child performer. He made his first screen appearance in the sci-fi flick "The Mind Benders" (1963). Routine roles followed throughout the 1960s before Fox scored as Julie Ch...

Family & Companions

Tracy Reed
Wife
Actor. Married in 1958; divorced in 1961.
Joanna David
Wife
Actor. Born on January 17, 1947.

Notes

Fox has appeared in productions of "Hamlet" at the Young Vic, and in David Hare's "Knuckle," "The Family Reunion," and "Interpreters."

Biography

This tall blond actor is best known for playing patrician characters noted for their cynicism and cruelty. Born into a theatrical family in London, Fox followed in the footsteps of his younger brother James who was a child performer. He made his first screen appearance in the sci-fi flick "The Mind Benders" (1963). Routine roles followed throughout the 1960s before Fox scored as Julie Christie's fiance in Joseph Losey's "The Go-Between" (1973). Fox won critical praise and is perhaps best known for his performance as the menacing assassin in Fred Zinnemann's "The Day of the Jackal" (1973). Throughout the 70s and 80s, he worked in small or supporting roles, generally in period pieces: "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Duellists" (both 1977), "Soldier of Orange" (1979), "Gandhi" (1982), "The Shooting Party" (1984). Fox has made sporadic appearances on the small screen, notably as the Duke of Windsor in "Edward and Mrs. Simpson" (1978) and recreating his London stage role as the title character in "Quartermaine's Terms" (1987). In a return to leading roles, he won critical praise opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Uma Thurman as one side of a romantic triangle in the period drama "A Month by the Lake" (1995).

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

The Happy Prince (2018)
Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
Joy Division (2006)
Lassie (2006)
The Republic of Love (2005)
Richard
Stage Beauty (2004)
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
All the Queen's Men (2001)
Colonel Aitken
Never Love a Thief (1998)
Inspector Donen
Prince Valiant (1998)
King Arthur
Lost in Space (1998)
Business Man
Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search For Livingstone (1997)
True Blue (1996)
A Month By The Lake (1995)
A Feast at Midnight (1995)
Magnus' Father
Robin Hood (1991)
Crucifer Of Blood (1991)
They Never Slept (1990)
Monk
Return to the River Kwai (1989)
Hazard of Hearts (1987)
Wild Geese II (1985)
The Shooting Party (1984)
Lord Gilbert Hartlip
The Bounty (1984)
Never Say Never Again (1983)
The Dresser (1983)
Gandhi (1982)
Nighthawks (1981)
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
The Cat and the Canary (1979)
Hendricks
The Big Sleep (1978)
Force Ten From Navarone (1978)
Sergeant "Milly" Miller
Soldier of Orange (1977)
Colonel Rafelli
The Squeeze (1977)
Foreman
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Galileo (1974)
A Doll's House (1973)
Krogstad
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
The Go-Between (1971)
Hugh Trimingham
Skullduggery (1970)
Bruce Spofford
Battle of Britain (1969)
Pilot Officer Archie
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
I'll Never Forget What's 'Is Name (1968)
Walter
The Frozen Dead (1967)
Prisoner no. 3
The Naked Runner (1967)
Ritchie Jackson
The Jokers (1967)
Lieutenant Sprague
The Long Duel (1967)
Hardwicke
The Mind Benders (1963)
Stewart

Cast (Special)

Quartermaine's Terms (1987)
Shooting the Chandelier (1978)
Hard Times (1977)

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Gulliver's Travels (1996)
September (1996)
Archie Balmerino
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986)
Shaka Zulu (1986)

Life Events

1958

Made his theatre debut

1963

First film appearance in, "The Mind Benders"

1973

First leading role in feature, "The Day of the Jackal"

1977

First appearance on American TV, "Hard Times" a presentation of "Great Performances"

1980

Played King Edward VIII in the television drama series, "Edward and Mrs Simpson"

1982

Portrayed the controversial Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer in "Gandhi," the man responsible for the Amritsar Massacre in India

1983

Played M in the unofficial James Bond film "Never Say Never Again"

1985

Appeared in "The Shooting Party," with James Mason and Sir John Gielgud

1991

Played Prince John in the TV movie "Robin Hood" (Fox)

1995

Played an ex-British officer in "A Month by the Lake" opposite Vanessa Redgrave

1997

Appeared with partner Joanna David in the mini-series "A Dance to the Music of Time"

2001

Played Professor Prosser in an adaptation of Phillip Pullman's "I Was A Rat"

2002

Cast as the dignified butler Lane in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

2004

Cast in the Renaissance drama, "Stage Beauty"

2006

Cast in Charles Sturridge's "Lassie," based on Eric Knight's classic 1938 novel Lassie Come Home

Videos

Movie Clip

Dresser, The (1983) -- (Movie Clip) Let Them Know You're Coming Backstage at a WWII era English provincial theater, as the end of Othello approaches, Norman (Tom Courtenay, the title character) rushes to support "Sir" (Albert Finney) and company through the curtain call, from the opening scenes of Peter Yates' The Dresser, 1983.
Battle Of Britain, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Buck Up The Civilians Opening with action over France, May, 1940, director Guy Hamilton introduces Christopher Plummer as Brit Squadron Leader Harvey, irritated with flier Jamie (James Cosmo) for showing off, greeting Robert Shaw as colleague Skipper, Edward Fox and Ian McShane recognizing the signs, in Battle Of Britain, 1969.
Gandhi (1982) -- (Movie Clip) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Edward Fox as British General Dyer, leading director Richard Attenborough's heavily researched recreation of the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, India, April 1919, in Gandhi, 1982.
Day Of The Jackal, The -- (Movie Clip) One Englishman Rodin (Eric Porter), leader of the secret OAS conspiracy, introduces colleagues (Dennis Carey, Jean Martin), to his chosen English assassin (Edward Fox, title character), in The Day Of The Jackal, 1973, directed by Fred Zinnemann from Frederick Forsyth's novel.
Day Of The Jackal, The -- (Movie Clip) Quanto Costa? Doing business at a Genoa street market, Edward Fox (title character) in a famous scene testing the rifle made for his attempt to kill the French president, with a special bullet, in The Day Of The Jackal, 1973, from Frederick Forsyth's novel.
Day Of The Jackal, The -- (Movie Clip) Hiring The Jackal (Edward Fox) sets the terms for his job, the murder of Charles De Gaulle, in this scene from The Day Of The Jackal (1973).
Day Of The Jackal, The -- (Movie Clip) Over What Range? Edward Fox (title character) in Genoa, Italy, visits a reclusive English gunsmith (Cyril Cusack), seeking the weapon for his attempt to kill French President de Gaulle, in Fred Zinnemann's The Day Of The Jackal, 1973.
Duellists, The -- (Movie Clip) Open, Appetite Opening credits followed by Stacy Keach reading from Joseph Conrad's original story and Harvey Keitel (as "Feraud") engaged in a sword-fight, from Ridley Scott's first feature, The Duellists, 1978.

Trailer

Family

Frederick Lonsdale
Grandfather
Playwright.
Robin Fox
Father
Agent. Died of lung cancer in 1971;.
Angela Muriel Fox
Mother
Author. Born on June 17, 1912; daughter of Lucy Glitters Worthington and Frederick Lonsdale; mother was married to Dr. Henry Worthington but had three daughters with Lonsdale; Noel Coward wrote his famous song, "Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington" about her; died on December 1, 1999; had stormy marriage with husband punctuated by separations and infidelities on both sides.
James Fox
Brother
Actor. Born in 1939.
Robert Fox
Brother
Producer. Younger.
Emilia Fox
Daughter
Actor. Born c. 1974; mother, Joanna David.

Companions

Tracy Reed
Wife
Actor. Married in 1958; divorced in 1961.
Joanna David
Wife
Actor. Born on January 17, 1947.

Bibliography

Notes

Fox has appeared in productions of "Hamlet" at the Young Vic, and in David Hare's "Knuckle," "The Family Reunion," and "Interpreters."