Ian Denbigh White (3 June 1949 – 6 May 2024), known professionally as Ian Gelder, was a British actor. He was known for his numerous stage and screen roles, including Mr. Dekker in '' Torchwood: Children of Earth'' (2009) and Kevan Lannister in ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' (2011–2012; 2015–2016).

Early life

Ian Denbigh White was born in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

on 3 June 1949. He spent the later years of his childhood in

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

. Adopting his mother's maiden name of Gelder for his stage name, he began acting professionally in an ''

ITV Sunday Night Theatre ''ITV Sunday Night Theatre'', originally titled ''ITV Saturday Night Theatre'' and often shortened to simply ''Sunday Night Theatre'' or ''Saturday Night Theatre'', is a British television anthology series screened on ITV, whose episodes were co ...

'' episode in 1972.

Career

Gelder appeared in ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'' as Rumpole's university lecturer son. He also played many other roles on stage and screen. His stage work includes '' The Low Road'' (2013). From May to July 2014 he performed as Marcus Andronicus, brother of Titus, in

Lucy Bailey Lucy Bailey is a prolific British theatre director, known for productions such as ''Baby Doll'' at Britain's Royal National Theatre, National Theatre and a notorious ''Titus Andronicus'', The Guardian review said, 'There is no getting away from o ...

's revival of her original 2006 production of

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. He appeared in television programmes such as '' Torchwood: Children of Earth'' in 2009, and ''

'', 2011 as ''Mr Dekker'' and ''Kevan Lannister'' respectively. After an absence of three years, Gelder reprised his role in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

'' in Season 5 and Season 6 as Kevan Lannister. Gelder guest-starred in 12 episodes for the series. In 2019, he guest-starred as Librarian Scholar Charles 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 ...

TV series ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'', based on the critically acclaimed book trilogy by

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

. Then in 2020, he guest-starred as Zellin in the seventh episode of the twelfth season of ''

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 ...

'', " Can You Hear Me?".

Personal life and death

Gelder's partner was actor

Ben Daniels Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is an English actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ...

. They met in 1993 during a London stage production of Joe Orton's ''

Entertaining Mr Sloane ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' is a three-act play written in 1963 by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964. Pl ...

''. They lived in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. Gelder died of complications from bile duct cancer on 6 May 2024, at the age of 74. Gelder's partner Daniels stopped working to take care of him, and remarked that he dealt with his "dreadful illness with such bravery".

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelder, Ian 1949 births 2024 deaths 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English male actors Actors from Wokingham Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma English gay actors English male radio actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from Gloucestershire Male actors from London