John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Zealand. International audiences are most likely to have seen Bach as the Gondorian Ranger Madril in the second and third movies of ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003). His leading roles in New Zealand television include playing the titular Detective Inspector John Duggan in the '' Duggan'' telemovies and television series, one of the truckdriving brothers in series'' Roche'', and time on long-running

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Close to Home''. In 1992 he starred as Scottish inventor

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

in the telemovie The Sound and the Silence. In 1999 he played the Earl of Sackville in an episode of the TV miniseries '' A Twist in the Tale''. Bach's Australian work includes science fiction series ''

Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...

,'' playing Mike Power in based on a true story mini-series ''The Great Bookie Robbery ''(1986), and as Sir Ian Hamilton in the 2015 TV miniseries ''

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

''. In 2010, Bach appeared in the science fiction series '' This Is Not My Life'' as the sinister Harry Sheridan, as magistrate Titus Calavius in '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and in an episode of '' Legend of the Seeker''. He has also appeared in several New Zealand films, including ''

Utu Shamash ( Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu ( Sumerian: dutu " Sun") was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection ...

'', '' Carry Me Back'', '' Goodbye Pork Pie'', '' The Last Tattoo'', '' Pallet on the Floor'', ''

Old Scores ''Old Scores'' is a 1991 television film jointly produced by New Zealand and Wales, about the two countries' mutual national sport of rugby union. It is notable for the appearance of many notable Wales national rugby union team, Welsh and All B ...

'' (in which he had a central role), and ''

Beyond Reasonable Doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of t ...

''. In 2014, he performed as

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

for

Saruman Saruman, also called Saruman the White, later Saruman of Many Colours, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is the leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the go ...

in place of

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

, who was unable to fly to New Zealand for

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' film series. He appeared as the Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

in the first season of the 2016 Netflix drama series, ''

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

''. In 2021, he began a recurring role as Don on the comedy series ''Under the Vines'', created by Erin White and starring

Rebecca Gibney Rebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand actress known for her roles on Australian television in '' The Flying Doctors'', '' Halifax f.p.'', ''Packed to the Rafters'', ''Winter'' and '' Wanted''. She has also featured in a number of Australia ...

and fellow ''Lord of the Rings'' alum Charles Edwards.

Filmography

Film

Television

Note

Bach's surname is pronounced "Baitch", and not as in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

pronunciation of the word for small, from which it is derived.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, John 1946 births Living people New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male film actors Welsh emigrants to New Zealand Welsh male television actors Welsh male film actors 20th-century New Zealand male actors 20th-century Welsh male actors 21st-century New Zealand male actors 21st-century Welsh male actors