Neil Dickson (born 26 November 1950) is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television.
Biography
At the age of five, Dickson contracted
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
, but made a complete recovery a year later. He attended
Worksop College in Nottinghamshire playing
Coriolanus in the Junior Play 1966. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and spent several seasons working in
repertory theatre
A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom ...
s in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, Manchester,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
and
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
among others.
Career
In 1975, he made his West End debut in ''
The Gay Lord Quex'', opposite
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...
, which was directed by Sir
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
at the
Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to:
Given name
* Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator
Surname
* A. S. Albery, British politician
* Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario
* Do ...
.
While playing Dean Rebel in ''
Trafford Tanzi'' at London's
Mermaid Theatre, he was spotted by the producers of the NBC mini-series ''
A.D.'', who cast him in the lead role of Valerius. He spent the following nine months on location in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
working opposite
James Mason,
Susan Sarandon,
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...
and
Ian McShane. Upon his return, he was cast in the eponymous role of
James Bigglesworth in the British feature film,
''Biggles'' (American title: ''Biggles: Adventures in Time''), which was selected as the Royal Premiere Film in 1986. He went on to star in several mini-series and the cult sci-fi series ''
She-Wolf of London'', which was given the alternative title ''Love & Curses'' when syndicated in the United States. In 2008, he starred in the film ''Chasing Chekhov'', which won the first BAFTA LA Film Festival Award.
TV credits include: ''
I, Claudius'', ''
Secret Army'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
'', ''
Boon'', ''
Rockliffe's Babies'', ''
She-Wolf of London'', ''
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
'', ''
Matlock'', ''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...
'', ''
Sliders'', ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'', ''
Diagnosis: Murder'', ''
Alias'', ''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' and 1987 TV movie ''
The Murders in the Rue Morgue''.
Film credits include ''
Biggles
James Charles Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the Title role#Title character, title character and Protagonist, hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns ...
'' and ''
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion''. He also appeared alongside
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. ,
Joss Ackland and
Gareth Hunt in the
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
film, ''
It Couldn't Happen Here'', ''Lionheart'', David Lynch's ''
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
'', ''King of the Wind'',
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
's ''
Body of Lies'' and
Charles Dennis's ''The Favour of Your Company'' and ''Chicanery''. He played Nick in Barbara Taylor Bradford's ''Voice of the Hear'' alongside Lindsay Wagner and Victoria Tennant.
In 2011 Dickson played the eponymous role in
Charles Dennis's award-winning film ''Atwill''. He reprised the role of fugitive British assassin Clive Atwill in the web series ''Atwill at Large'' and in the 2018 feature film ''Barking Mad''. Dickson and the other actors won the Best Ensemble Cast award at the 2021 Studio City Film Festival.
Dickson's game credits include ''
Eternal Darkness'', ''
Age of Empires III'', ''
Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate'', and ''
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''.
Personal life
Dickson currently resides with his wife Lynda and their two daughters, Lucy and Chloë, in Los Angeles.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
Neil Dickson website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Neil
1951 births
Living people
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
People educated at Worksop College