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 ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

'' opposite

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

and for his role as the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

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

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, but grew up in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

. He studied acting at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...

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. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. 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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

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 British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

'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 the folk band Telltale, Hugh co-wrote and performed the theme music for ''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'', 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 ''

'', opposite

, and of the

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

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

. In the 1980s, he appeared in 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 ...

thriller ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 50 to 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and pol ...

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

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. His film credits include '' Curse of the Pink Panther'', '' 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 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. ...

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

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, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' audio dramas '' Circular Time'' (2007) and '' Cradle of the Snake'' (2010), and in 2003, alongside Martin Shaw in '' Death in Holy Orders''. Fraser guest starred in a Season 2 episode of the British audio comedy podcast '' Wooden Overcoats'', for which his wife, Belinda Lang, was the narrator.

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, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, specialising in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

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

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

'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 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'', 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 music ...

in London in January 2007, with Rachael Stirling as Yelena and the first London production in nearly a century of Kate O'Brien’s play '' Distinguished Villa'' at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

in 2022.

Writing

Fraser 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 the children's 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 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from the City of Westminster Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Audiobook narrators English folk musicians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English theatre directors Male actors from London People from Westminster