Stuart Conan Wilson (born 25 December 1946) is an English

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

of film, television, and stage who is best known for his villainous and supporting roles in popular films like '' Lethal Weapon 3,

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine '' Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. App ...

, No Escape, Death and the Maiden, The Mask of Zorro, Enemy of the State'', and ''

Hot Fuzz ''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, and Jim Broadbent, the film centres on two police officers investigating a series of mysteriou ...

''.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, to an RAF family, and consequently had a varied educational history, spending much of his early childhood in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

where his father worked as a mining engineer. Having moved to London, he trained 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 ...

. After leaving RADA he played in theatres during the 1960s and 1970s. He has played major roles 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 ...

, 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 ...

, London's West End, regional, touring and many Fringe productions, most particularly at London's

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a s ...

Career

Wilson's first break was when he was chosen for the leading role of

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

in the 1972 ITV costume drama ''

The Strauss Family ''The Strauss Family'' is a 1972 British Associated Television series of eight episodes,Acorn DVD sleeve notes about the family of composers of that name, including Johann Strauss I and his sons Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Straus ...

''. He subsequently made many appearances on British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, his credits including '' Space: 1999'', ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'', ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, usu ...

'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'', '' Return of the Saint'', '' The Pallisers'', ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'', '' The Professionals'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', '' The Old Men at the Zoo'', '' The Jewel in the Crown'' and '' Prime Suspect''. His biggest success was as Alan Stewart in the 1979 thriller serial '' Running Blind''.

Film credits

As a more mature actor, Wilson successfully made the transition to Hollywood, often playing villains. His film credits include '' Dulcima'', ''

Wetherby Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrog ...

'', '' Lethal Weapon 3'', '' No Escape'', '' Enemy of the State'', '' The Rock'' (uncredited), ''

'', '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'', '' Death and the Maiden'', ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...

'', '' Slow Burn'', '' The Mask of Zorro'' and ''

''. He also starred in

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s, such as '' Secret Weapon'', '' Coins in the Fountain'', '' Her Wicked Ways'' and ''

Princess of Thieves ''Princess of Thieves'' is a romantic adventure TV movie starring Keira Knightley, produced by Granada Productions in 2001 and first broadcast on ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' on ABC in the United States that same year. Co-starring in the ...

''.

Television work

Wilson made fewer television appearances after his success as a film actor, but continued to appear occasionally in series such as ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' (2008), '' Spooks'' (2008), and '' Crossbones''."NBC's 'Crossbones' Casts 'Enemy of the State' Alum", ''Hollywood Reporter'', 14 November 2013
Accessed 19 May 2014

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Stuart 1946 births English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Royal Shakespeare Company members Living people Male actors from Surrey Actors from Guildford Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art