Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'';

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in the 1976

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television production of '' I, Claudius''; King Richard IV in the

first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...

''; Prince Vultan in ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

''; Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' at the New London Theatre; Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, in '' Henry V''; Boss Nass in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''; and the voice of Clayton and the Tarzan yell in Disney's ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

''. In 2016, Blessed was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to the arts and charity.

Early life

Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital in

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster, City of Doncaster District, South Yorkshire, England, between Manvers and Denaby Main, on the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road. It is co ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, the son of William Blessed, a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team, and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99. Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg. Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF, in Bicester, before enrolling at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

in 1956.

Career

Acting

One of Blessed's earliest roles was that of PC "Fancy" Smith in the

television series ''

'', between 1962 and 1965. In 1966, he appeared in a production of '' Incident at Vichy'' at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Also in 1966, he was offered the titular role of

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

in BBC's

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

drama, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', to take over from

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

, but had to turn it down due to conflicting projects. In 1967, he played Porthos in a 10-part BBC adaptation of ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

''. Blessed also had minor roles in cult TV series such as '' The Avengers'' (1967, 1969) and the original ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...

'' (1969). He interpreted the role of King

Mark of Cornwall Mark of Cornwall (, , , ) was a sixth-century King of History of Cornwall, Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. As Mark or Marc (''Marc'h''), he is best known for his appearance in King Arthur, Arthurian legend as the uncle o ...

in the HTV television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' (1972–1973). He appeared as William Woodcock in the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

series ''Boy Dominic'' (1974). He played

Caesar Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

drama series '' I, Claudius'' (1976), Vargas in the ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'' episode Cygnus Alpha (1978) and Basileos in '' The Aphrodite Inheritance'' (1979). He hosted a docudrama on the life of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

called ''The Joy of Bach'' (1978), in which he also played Bach in a number of scenes. Blessed also appeared in two episodes of the British science fiction television series '' Space:1999''. He played scientist Dr. Rowland Cabot in the 1975 episode '' Death's Other Dominion'' and as Mentor in the 1976 episode '' The Metamorph''. Blessed played Long John Silver in the 10-part serial '' Return to Treasure Island'' (1986), King Yrcanos in the ''

'' serial '' Mindwarp'' (1986), General Yevlenko in the mini-series '' War and Remembrance'' (1988), and Lord Loxley, the father of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, in the Hollywood film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991). In 1981, Blessed appeared in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's musical, ''

'', as both Old Deuteronomy and Bustopher Jones, for the original

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. 1194–1195, ...

production. Blessed has appeared in a number of Shakespearean roles on both stage and screen, including four of the five Shakespeare films directed by

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

: as the Duke of Exeter in '' Henry V'' (1989), Antonio in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, 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. ...

'' (1993), the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (1996), and both Duke Frederick and Duke Senior in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' (2006). In comedies, Blessed portrayed Prince Vultan in the film ''

'' (1980); the mad, comical figure of Richard IV in the first series of ''

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...

'' (1983), a role Blessed has claimed to be one of his most cherished; and Spiro Halikiopoulos in the TV mini-series ''

My Family and Other Animals ''My Family and Other Animals'' (1956) is an autobiography, autobiographical book by British naturalist Gerald Durrell. It tells in an exaggerated and sometimes fictionalised way of the years that he lived as a child with his siblings and wid ...

'' (1987), a BBC adaptation of

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell Order of the British Empire, OBE (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservation movement, conservationist, and television presenter. He was born in Jamshedpur in British Ind ...

's book by the same name. Blessed has joked that he was due to appear in '' Blackadder II'' (1986) as

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, but was unavailable for filming. In 1989, he made an appearance in the comedy/drama '' Minder'', as

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Freddie Dyer of the Serious Crime Squad in the episode ''The Last Video Show.'' In 1997, Blessed portrayed Squire Western in the BBC adaptation of

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

's 1749 comic novel '' Tom Jones''. He later recalled accidentally punching Peter Capaldi whilst filming and said of the event, "I thought I'd killed the poor bastard." In 1999, Blessed provided both the voice and live-action reference for the CGI character Boss Nass in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', and also provided the voice of the villainous hunter Clayton in Disney's animated feature film ''

'', a role he later reprised in the video game based on the film and in the critically acclaimed '' Kingdom Hearts'' in 2002; he also did the Tarzan yell after Tony Goldwyn was unable to do it himself. He voiced "Sir Morris" in the 1999 cartoon series '' The Big Knights''. He read the story "The White City" for the album series '' Late Night Tales'', recording it in four parts released over four albums, and was also the voice of

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...

Radio Theatre's audio adaptation of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''. Blessed was one of the narrators for '' Story Teller'', a children's magazine partwork series in the 1980s. He has further provided vocal links for the Sony-Award-winning Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, and introduced advertisements for Orange mobile phones. In 2002, under the direction of

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 opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

director Adrian Noble, he originated the role of Baron Bomburst for the stage musical version of ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

''. From December 2005 to January 2006, Blessed headlined the Christmas pantomime production of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'', alongside

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

presenter Kirsten O'Brien, at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

's Regent Theatre. From 2007 to 2008, he appeared in the same play as

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain of the br ...

at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable; he reprised the role for the Christmas 2008 season at the

Fairfield Halls Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. For Christmas 2006, he presented a production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' for Virgin Radio, starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

, Thandiwe Newton and others. Since October 2008, Blessed has presented the English-language dub of the Japanese TV game show '' Unbeatable Banzuke'' on Challenge, under the pseudonym "Banzuke Brian". He was the narrator of the Sky 1 series ''Crash Test Dummies'', starring Steve Marsh and Dan Wright. In animation, he has provided the voices of Bob in ''Kika & Bob'' (2008) and Grampy Rabbit in ''

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...

'' (2004–present). In 2009 Blessed starred with his wife, Hildegarde Neil, in the short film Mr Bojagi. Following a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

campaign,

satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...

manufacturer TomTom recorded Blessed's voice for use in its products; he has been available as a voice command option since October 2010. In September 2010, Blessed recorded the voice of Great Sultan Shahryār for ''Sheherazade, or The Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon!'', an album of children's stories set to

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

's classical music composition ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...

'', co-starring Rory Bremner and released as an instalment of ''Grandma Dingley's Ingeniously Musical Tales'' in 2011. In 2018, Blessed voiced German military engineer Konrad Kyeser in the open-world medieval RPG, '' Kingdom Come: Deliverance''. He voiced the megalomaniacal Red Ivan in the 2021 base building game '' Evil Genius 2: World Domination''.

Expeditions and Adventures

Blessed has attempted to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

three times without supplemental oxygen, reaching heights of in 1993 and in 1996, but without reaching the summit. Blessed has reached the summits of

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the ...

in Argentina and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and has undertaken an expedition into the jungles of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, during which he survived a plane crash. Blessed is the oldest man to have reached the

North Magnetic Pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...

on foot, where he says he punched a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

on the nose.

Music

In 2009, Blessed featured in the song "Army of the Damned" from the album ''Beneath the Veiled Embrace'' by British

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

Pythia Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as th ...

, reciting the poem " Suicide in the Trenches" by

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

. Blessed also appeared on their 2014 album ''Shadows of a Broken Past''. He had previously contributed to the song "The Joust" by Christian band Eden Burning in 1994. Blessed contributed vocals to the track 'Sonic Attack' on the 2015 Hawkwind album 'Space Ritual Live'. In 2017, Blessed was featured in "If you remember" music video, singles from British indie band, The Ramona Flowers. As of November 2024, the video had reached over 725,000 views. It is also his first appearance in a music video and called it a "great adventure". The music video was directed by Roger Sargent and produced by Connor Simmons. Blessed contributed to the spoken word intro track 'The Prophecy' from

Saxon (band) Saxon are an English heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Barnsley in 1975. As leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 alb ...

's 2024 album Hell, Fire and Damnation.

Other work

Blessed has completed 800 hours of space training at Star City in Russia. Blessed served as President of the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) from 2007 to 2008 and presented the 2008 TRIC Awards at

Grosvenor House Grosvenor House was one of the largest townhouse (Great Britain), townhouses in London, home of the Grosvenor family (the family of the Dukes of Westminster) for more than a century. Their original London residence was on Millbank, but after t ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2004, Blessed appeared on and won an episode of '' Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes'', impersonating the opera singer

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. He appeared as an expert and commentator on the satellite channel UKTV G2 during the 2006 World Cup. Blessed also appeared on '' A Question of Sport'' in 2006 and 2011, and was a guest host on the

's satirical quiz show '' Have I Got News for You'' in May 2008 and April 2013 (also making a surprise appearance in the 2008 Christmas special).

Downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

for the computer game '' War of the Roses'' featured narration by Blessed. In 2013, he received the Spirit of Hammer Award at the ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' magazine's Golden Gods Awards. On 14 August 2014, Blessed was the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', tracing the lives of his ancestors. In October 2016 the BBC broadcast a 3-hour compilation of interviews with Blessed, ''Brian Blessed's Radio Adventures'', featuring interviews with him where he discusses his life and career.

Personal life

In 1963, Blessed, then in his late 20s, assisted a mother giving birth in

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

, London. He delivered the healthy baby girl, then bit through the umbilical cord. He later recounted, "I was covered in blood, my shirt was covered in blood, I was wrapping her, wiping her, aying'it's all right, darling'.... And I was licking the baby's face." Blessed's first marriage was to the American actress and Egyptologist Ann Bomann, whom he met in Bristol. They had a daughter together, Catherine, but later divorced. Blessed was then married to actress Hildegarde Neil from 1978 until Neil's death in 2023. Their daughter, Rosalind, is an actress. Blessed lives in

Windlesham Windlesham is a geographically-large village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He owns several dogs and is a patron of the charity Pet Respect. In 2011, he became a patron for Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021. Brentwood is a t ...

. Blessed is a black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Health

Blessed suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

at age 18. He eventually recovered with the support of friends, family, and his speech teacher. On 19 January 2015, Blessed collapsed on stage during a performance of ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' with the Guildford Shakespeare Company, in which his daughter Rosalind was also acting. He received medical attention from a doctor in the audience and returned to the stage to complete the play 20 minutes later. On 30 January 2015, it was announced that Blessed had been "compelled to withdraw" from the production on the advice of his heart specialist. He has been fitted with a pacemaker.

Honours

He has

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

(awarded July 2003) and

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

(awarded 2004) and has also been awarded the honorary title of "Official Shoutsperson" by the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

Society. In 2011, the student union at the University of York voted to name a new study area the "Brian Blessed Centre for Quiet Study". The same year, Blessed was nominated for the post of

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, following a campaign by graduates. He was later awarded Honorary Membership of the Cambridge Union in recognition of his nomination. Blessed was appointed

(OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the arts and charity.

Bibliography

* ''The Turquoise Mountain: Brian Blessed on Everest'' (1991) * ''The Dynamite Kid'' (1992) * ''Nothing's Impossible'' (1994) * ''To the Top of the World'' (1995) * ''Quest for the Lost World'' (1999) * ''Absolute Pandemonium'' (2015) * ''The Panther in My Kitchen: My Wild Life with Animals'' (2017)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blessed, Brian 1936 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English male writers Actors from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Actors from Surrey Heath Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Audiobook narrators British explorers of the Arctic English autobiographers English game show hosts English male film actors English male musical theatre actors English male radio actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male video game actors English male voice actors English mountain climbers English non-fiction outdoors writers English polar explorers English radio presenters English television presenters Explorers of South America Male actors from South Yorkshire Male actors from Surrey Officers of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the University of York Sportspeople from Mexborough Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Virgin Radio (UK)