Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

and has performed many times for 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 ...

. Glover's well-known film roles have included

General Maximilian Veers This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

in ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...

'' (1980),

Aristotle Kristatos The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series. Novel villains by author Ian Fleming Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) Christopher Wood John Gardner Raymond Benson ...

in '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), Brian Harcourt-Smith in ''

The Fourth Protocol ''The Fourth Protocol'' is a thriller novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth, published in August 1984. Etymology The title refers to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which (at least in the world of the novel) contained four secr ...

'' (1987) and

Walter Donovan This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...

in ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action- adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and a s ...

'' (1989). He also voiced the giant Acromantula spider

Aragog Rubeus Hagrid () is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' book series written by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a half-giant and half-human who is the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys ...

in '' Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (2002) and appeared as conductor Andris Davis in the psychological drama '' Tár'' (2022). Glover has also appeared frequently on television, especially in Britain, including guest appearances in

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

series such as '' The Avengers'', '' The Saint'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'', ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'' and '' Inside No. 9''. He played the recurring supporting role of

Grand Maester Pycelle George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyo ...

in HBO's ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

'' (2011–2016) and appeared as General Beauvilliers in the BBC drama ''

Spies of Warsaw ''The Spies of Warsaw'' is a 2008 spy novel by Alan Furst about espionage involving the major nations shortly before World War II competing for influence and control over the future of Poland. The story starts in October 1937 and ends in May 1938 ...

'' (2013).

Early life

Glover was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, London, the son of Honor Ellen Morgan (née Wyatt), a BBC journalist, and Claude Gordon Glover, a BBC radio producer. Glover and Wyatt divorced in the 1940s, after the birth of a daughter, Prue, and Honor Wyatt subsequently married George Ellidge. Julian Glover's younger half-brother is the musician

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

. Glover attended

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

, where he was in the same class as future actors

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carte ...

and David Prowse. He also attended

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

in Dulwich, London. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1954. He also performed national service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, where he went on the officers' training course.

Career

In the early 1950s, Glover appeared in several shows at

Unity Theatre, London Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Somers Town, London NW1. In 1937, it moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, also in Somers Town, an area which is part of the pres ...

, and played Tolen in

Ann Jellicoe Patricia Ann Jellicoe (15 July 1927 – 31 August 2017) was an English playwright, theatre director and actress. Although her work covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising ...

's ''The Knack'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

in 1962. He also performed at the

. He became a regular actor in 1960s and 1970s British television series such as '' The Avengers'', '' The Saint'', '' Strange Report'', ''

'' and ''

''. In 1966, Glover played

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

in '' A Choice of Kings'', then in 1967 featured as Professor Quatermass's nemesis Colonel Breen in the

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

production of ''

Quatermass and the Pit ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Prof ...

'', an adaptation of

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Scr ...

's 1958–1959 BBC TV original. He has also appeared twice in ''

'': as

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

in '' The Crusade'' (1965); and as the villain Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, in one of the original run's most popular serials, ''

City of Death ''City of Death'' is the second serial of the seventeenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor. It was produced by the BBC ...

'' (1979). Glover later recorded DVD commentaries for ''The Crusade'' episode "The Wheel of Fortune" (from the '' Lost in Time'' set) and for ''City of Death''. In the 1980s, Glover made some of his most notable appearances: the

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

general

Maximilian Veers This incomplete list of characters from the '' Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt ...

in ''

'' (1980), the ruthless Greek villain Aristotle Kristatos in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) and the deceptive American Nazi

in ''

'' (1989). On television, he played the leading role of Sir Martin Lacey in the BBC

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

drama series '' By the Sword Divided'', and played the guest role of surgeon Arnold Richardson in a 1989 episode of the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'' (he made a second guest appearance as a different character in 2011, and also appeared as a different character again in the sister series ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'' in 2014). He has also played a leading role in the British film '' Brash Young Turks''. In the 2002 film version of '' Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', Glover voiced the giant spider

. Glover has been associated with the epic poem ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...

'' since the 1980s and has delivered staged interpretations in various forms, often taking the role of an Anglo-Saxon gleeman or traveller poet, delivering an abridged version of the tale while standing around a

mead hall Among the early Germanic peoples, a mead hall or feasting hall was a large building with a single room intended to receive guests and serve as a center of community social life. From the fifth century to the Early Middle Ages such a building was t ...

hearth and rendering selected passages in the poem's original

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

. This adaptation has been shown in documentaries on both the English language and

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...

and was also used for historian Michael Wood's documentary on the poem broadcast during the BBC Poetry Season in 2009. He adapted his interpretation in novel form as '' Beowulf: An Adaptation''. In 2009, Glover played the role of

Mr. Brownlow Mr Brownlow is a character from the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. Brownlow is a bookish and kindly middle-aged bachelor who helps Oliver escape the clutches of Fagin. He later adopts Oliver Twist by the end of the novel. T ...

in the West End revival of the musical ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...

'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

. In the short film '' Battle for Britain'' (2010), Glover played a 101-year-old Polish veteran

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

pilot. Glover portrayed the character of

in the HBO series ''

'' between 2011 and 2016, appearing in a total of 31 episodes across the first six seasons of the show. In 2013, Glover played the role of General Beauvilliers in the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

drama series '' The Spies of Warsaw''. In May 2014, he played the character Joe Goodridge in two episodes of the BBC TV medical drama series ''

'' ("My Name is Joe" and "No Apologies"). In the same year, he portrayed an old man in horror thriller ''Backtrack''. In 2019, Glover played the role of Nonno in the

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194� ...

production of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' ''

The Night of the Iguana ''The Night of the Iguana'' is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams. It is based on his 1948 short story. In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years he developed it into a full-length play, p ...

'' at the Noël Coward Theatre. Glover is an associate member of the

Awards

In 1993, Glover was awarded the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The Oliviers were established as the Society of West End Theat ...

for his title role in the

's 1992 production of ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' and '' Part 2''. Theatre critic Michael Billington called his portrayal of the king in that production "superb".

Honours

Glover was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Personal life

Glover has been twice married: to actresses

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

and

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair wa ...

(with whom he has a son, actor Jamie Glover). In 2020, Glover sold 250 lots of photographs, costumes, props and memorabilia from his career at East Bristol Auctions, including his badge of rank from ''

'' and the watch, overcoat and personal script from ''

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Julian 1935 births 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English male film actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people Male actors from London National Youth Theatre members People educated at Alleyn's School People educated at Bristol Grammar School People from Hampstead Royal Shakespeare Company members