David Parfitt (born 8 July 1958) is an English film producer,

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, and co-founder of Trademark Films. He won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

at the 71st Academy Awards for ''

Shakespeare in Love ''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 period romantic comedy film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, B ...

'' (1998).

Early life

Parfitt was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and educated at the Barbara Speake Stage School, an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in London.

Career

He began his stage career with the Sunderland Empire Theatre Society in 1969 and later gained work on television, including playing Peter Harrison in the sitcoms '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973) and its sequel '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' (1974–1976) and appearing in '' Love in a Cold Climate'' (1980). In the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

serial ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'', he was the first actor in the role of Tim Beecham, an old friend of Nigel Pargetter.

Work as a producer

Parfitt gave up acting in the late 1980s to concentrate on production. He co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with

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 ...

in 1987, and was associate producer of Renaissance Film's first production, '' Henry V'' in 1989. Since then he has produced and associate-produced many British films, including ''

Peter's Friends ''Peter's Friends'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh, and written by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman. The film follows six friends (played by Stephen Fry, Branagh, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Imeld ...

'', ''

Swan Song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...

'' (1992), ''

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), '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'', ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' (1996), '' The Wings of the Dove'' (1997), ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American-Italian epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1928 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The fil ...

'' (Production Consultant), '' I Capture the Castle'', '' Chasing Liberty'', '' A Bunch of Amateurs'', '' My Week with Marilyn'', '' Loving Vincent'' and '' Red Joan''. ''

'' won the

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 19 ...

as well as the Academy Award and '' The Madness of King George'' won the

BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, fi ...

in 1996. He produced TV adaptations of ''

Parade's End ''Parade's End'' is a tetralogy of novels by the British novelist and poet Ford Madox Ford, first published from 1924 to 1928. The novels chronicle the life of a member of the English gentry before, during and after World War I. The setting is ...

'' in 2012 and '' The Wipers Times'' in 2013 for the

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 ...

, both of which were nominated for

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1 ...

s. His company has since produced '' The Wipers Times'' in theatres in the West End and throughout the UK. He also produced '' The Father'' (2020) and received a nomination for the

, as well as nominations for Best Film and Outstanding British Film at the

BAFTA Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Other activities

He was Chairman of the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

(BAFTA) from 2008 to 2010 and was Chair of Film London from 2010 to 2017. Since 2018 he has been a governor of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, where he was formerly a parent.

Personal life

He was awarded an

Honorary Doctorate 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 ...

of Arts from the University of Sunderland in 1999. He lives in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

with his wife Liz and their three sons, Bill, Thomas and Max. He is a supporter of

Sunderland AFC Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Formed in 187 ...

Filmography

''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

Television

;As an actor

References

External links

*
Trademark Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parfitt, David Male actors from Sunderland English male television actors English film producers Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Golden Globe Award–winning producers Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award 1958 births Living people People educated at Barbara Speake Stage School English male child actors