Hugh Fraser (born 23 October 1945) is an English actor, theatre director and author. He is best known for his portrayal of Captain Hastings in the television series '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'' opposite

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppen ...

as Hercule Poirot and for his role as the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

(replacing David Troughton) in the '' Sharpe'' television series. Fraser was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

but grew up in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

. He studied acting at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: * Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) ...

and the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

. Fraser's first big break came after portraying

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

in the 1978 television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'', with Edward Fox, after which he was frequently cast as upper class or aristocratic characters, such as Mr Talmann in

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...

's '' The Draughtsman's Contract''.

Early life

Born in

in 1945, but brought up in the

, Hugh Fraser studied acting at the

and the

. As a member of folk band Telltale, Hugh co-wrote and performed the theme music for ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

'', the ITV children's television series.

Work

Acting

Fraser's first big break came after portraying

in the 1978 television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'', with Edward Fox, after which he was frequently cast as upper class or aristocratic characters, such as Mr Talmann in

's '' The Draughtsman's Contract''. He has regularly appeared on film and television and is best known for his portrayals of Captain Hastings in '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'', opposite

, and of

(replacing David Troughton) in '' Sharpe'' opposite

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

. In the 1980s, he appeared in the BBC

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' Edge of Darkness''. Fraser can be frequently heard narrating the audiobooks of Christie's works, which are currently published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

. His film credits include ''

Curse of the Pink Panther ''Curse of the Pink Panther'' is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of ''The Pink Panther'' series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Pe ...

'', '' 101 Dalmatians'' and '' Patriot Games'' along with his ''Sharpe'' co-star

. He has also worked in theatre, playing Claudio in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

in 1979. He has guest-starred in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' audio dramas ''

Circular Time ''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly titled the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', produced by Nicholas Briggs and Big Finish ...

'' (2007) and '' Cradle of the Snake'' (2010), and in 2003, alongside Martin Shaw in ''

Death in Holy Orders ''Death in Holy Orders'' is a 2001 detective novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James. Setting The novel is mainly set in and around an Anglo-Catholic theological college, Saint Anselm's, on the windswept coast of East Anglia. It pro ...

''. Fraser guest starred in a Season 2 episode of the British audio comedy podcast ''

Wooden Overcoats ''Wooden Overcoats'' is a British sitcom podcast created and written by David K. Barnes, and directed and produced by Andy Goddard and John Wakefield. It premiered on September 24, 2015, and completed its run on March 31, 2022 with the conclusion ...

'', which his wife, Belinda Lang, was the narrator of.

Directing

Fraser has been an associate tutor, director, and member of the audition panel at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, specialising in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He has also directed several plays, including a production of

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

's adaptation of Chekhov's ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the di ...

'', which was staged at

Wilton's Music Hall Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving musi ...

in London in January 2007, with

Rachael Stirling Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977).. is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama '' Tipping the Velvet'', an ...

as Yelena and the first London production in nearly a century of Kate O'Brien’s play '' Distinguished Villa'' at the Finborough Theatre in 2022.

Writing

Fraser has also become an author; he is the author of a series of crime fiction thrillers featuring contract killer Rina Walker. His first novel, ''Harm'', was published in 2015, followed by ''Threat'' in 2016. The third in the Rina Walker series, ''Malice'', came out in October 2017 and ''Stealth'', in 2018 During his appearance on Pointless Celebrities (30 Jan 2021), flute-player Hugh explained that he composed the theme melody for kids’ programme ''Rainbow'' along with other songs for the show and theme tunes for other (unmentioned) TV series.

Personal life

He is married to the actress Belinda Lang and has one daughter, Lily.

Selected film and television roles

References

External links

*
Interview with Hugh Fraser at Classic Film & TV Cafe

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Hugh 1945 births Living people Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Audiobook narrators English male film actors English male television actors English folk musicians Male actors from London People from Westminster 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors