Paul Freeman (born 18 January 1943) is an English actor who has appeared in theatre, television and film. Internationally, he is known for playing the rival
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
René Belloq in ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...
'' (1981), evil wine baron
Gustav Riebmann on season 4 of the soap opera ''
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...
'' (1984–85), and
supervillain
A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
Ivan Ooze in ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995). His other credits include ''
Morlang'' (2001), ''
When I'm 64'' (2004), ''
Hot Fuzz
''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 buddy cop action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the film with Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, an elite London police officer, whose proficiency makes the rest of his team look bad, causing hi ...
'' (2007) and ''
Hard Boiled Sweets'' (2012). In the UK, he had a leading role in the television series ''
Yesterday's Dreams'' (1987) as Martin Daniels.
Referring to Freeman's extensive theatre work, in 1995 the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' described him as "one of Britain's best-regarded actors, classically trained, with stints at 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 ...
and the
National Theatre".
Early life
Freeman was born in
Barnet, Hertfordshire, on 18 January 1943.
Career
Freeman began his career in advertising and teaching, and gained small roles in the theatre, appearing in productions of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' and ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
''. He had roles at the
National Theatre and 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 ...
.
Freeman made his television debut in 1978 in the serial ''
Will Shakespeare'' (1978).
He also acted in the docudrama ''
Death of a Princess'',
a film about the execution of
Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud of Saudi Arabia. Freeman began his feature film career in 1980 when he appeared in ''
The Long Good Friday''
and ''
The Dogs of War''.
In 1981, he played
Ralph Wigram in the television series ''
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years''.
In the same year,
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
and
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
chose Freeman to play
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
René Belloq, the archrival to
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
, in the adventure film ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...
'',
opposite
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...
. The film led to Freeman becoming typecast in villainous roles, especially
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
.
He played the conniving wine baron
Gustav Riebmann in the
fourth season of ''
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...
'', airing in 1984–1985.
Freeman starred as Martin Daniels in the series ''
Yesterday's Dreams'' in 1987.
In 1988, Freeman played
Professor Moriarty in comedy film ''
Without a Clue'',
which starred
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
as a mini-brained
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
and
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
as Watson, who is secretly the real crime-solving genius. In 1995, Freeman was cast as the villain
Ivan Ooze in ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie''.
Freeman guest-starred in television shows such as ''
Monarch of the Glen'',
''
ER'',
''
Falcon Crest
''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...
'',
and ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' (sometimes referred to as ''Young Indy'') is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" ...
''.
He also played in several mini-series, including ''Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story'' (1989),
and ''
The Final Cut'' (1995).
In 2004, Freeman played Angus,
Bobby Jones' caddie, in ''
Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius''.
During 2006 and 2007, he played Laurence Scammel QC in the drama ''
New Street Law''.
Also in 2007, he played Rev. Philip Shooter of Sandford in the action comedy film ''
Hot Fuzz
''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 buddy cop action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the film with Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, an elite London police officer, whose proficiency makes the rest of his team look bad, causing hi ...
''.
Among his television work, Freeman has appeared in an episode of ''
Midsomer Murders
''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...
'',
titled "Down Among the Dead Men". He also appeared in ''
Waking the Dead'' in the episode "Straw Dog", and played
Adam Kingsley in the BBC adaptation of
Minette Walters
Minette Caroline Mary Walters Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 26 September 1949) is an English writer.
Life and work
Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. As her father was a serving army officer, the f ...
' ''
The Dark Room''.
He appeared in ''
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 ...
'' in the episode "Appointment with Death", playing Colonel Carbury.
Freeman appeared as George Aaranow in the 2008 London revival 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 ''
Glengarry Glen Ross''.
In 2012, Freeman played
Thomas Erpingham in the BBC adaptation of
William 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 nation ...
's ''
Henry V'' from ''
The Hollow Crown'' series.
Personal life
Freeman is married to Maggie Scott, who was his co-star in the 1980 film ''
The Dogs of War''.
They have one daughter.
Freeman was previously married to actress
Judy Matheson.
Freeman and Scott are both co-founders of the charity UK Friends of Healing Focus (UKHF),
which works in partnership with
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
NGO, Healing Focus Orphanage Centre.
Freeman is a regular visitor to the orphanage.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Paul
1943 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Actors from the London Borough of Barnet
English male film actors
English male Shakespearean actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
Male actors from Hertfordshire
People from Chipping Barnet
Royal Shakespeare Company members