Peter Firth

Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lifespan. He has given many other television and film performances, most notably as Alan Strang in '' Equus'' (1977), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received Academy Award nomination.

Early life, family and education

Firth was born on 27 October 1953 in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of publicans Mavis (née Hudson) and Eric Macintosh Firth. He attended Hanson School in Bradford.

Early career

Child actor

Firth was a leading child actor by the middle of 1969, having starred in the first series of '' The Flaxton Boys'' as Archie Weekes and then the following year in the series '' Here Come the Double Deckers'', both of which featured child actors in the leading roles. Firth played Scooper, the leader of the gang. In 1972 he also starred in the ITV (London Weekend Television) series '' The Adventures of Black Beauty'', episode "The Runaway", playing David Abbott.

In July 1973, Firth appeared at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, starring in the stage version of Peter Shaffer's play '' Equus'' as a teenager being treated by a psychiatrist, and in October 1974 repeated the role in the Broadway production, receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Alan Strang.

Firth starred in an episode of '' The Protectors'', titled “Implicado”, first screened in November 1973. He played Stephen Douglas, an innocent young man, alongside Patrick Mower as a drug dealer.

Next stage of career

Firth's first major role as an adult was the title part in a BBC Television '' Play of the Month'' adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (1976). The script was based on a stage adaptation by John Osborne, and also starred Jeremy Brett and John Gielgud. That same year saw the release of the World War I film ''Aces High'' which featured Firth as the inexperienced RFC pilot Lt. Stephen Croft.

Firth played the lead role in the film adaptation of Henry Fielding's '' Joseph Andrews'' (1977). That same year he starred with Richard Burton in the film adaptation of '' Equus''. The film was only a moderate box-office success, but earned Firth a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award in the same category. Further film work quickly followed, most notably Roman Polanski's '' Tess'' (1979).

Film

Other film work has included roles in '' Diamonds on Wheels'' (1973); '' When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?'' (1979); '' Lifeforce'' (1985); '' Letter to Brezhnev'' (1985); ''Northanger Abbey'' (1987), playing Henry Tilney; '' The Hunt for Red October'' (1990) playing the Soviet political officer Ivan Putin murdered early in the film; '' White Angel'' (1993), playing mild-mannered dentist Leslie Steckler; '' Amistad'' (1997) playing the strongly anti-slavery Captain Fitzgerald of the Royal Navy; '' Mighty Joe Young'' (1998); ''Pearl Harbor'' (2001); and '' The Greatest Game Ever Played'' (2005), playing Lord Northcliffe.

Television

Along with his film career, Firth has continued to appear in television productions, with several notable credits in various high-profile dramas. He starred in two science-fiction episodes of the BBC's '' Play for Today'' anthology series as the eponymous time-traveller in the romantic '' The Flipside of Dominick Hide'' (1980), and its sequel, ''Another Flip for Dominick'' (1982). Firth also had a starring role in '' Tales of the Unexpected'' in 1981. In 1994, in the Fourth Series of '' Heartbeat'', he played Dr. Radcliffe who partnered with Dr. Rowan ( Niamh Cusack) in Whitby. He also portrayed the Emperor Vespasian in "The Jewish Revolt" episode of the BBC series '' Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire''.

For many years he had played a primary role as senior MI5 officer Harry Pearce in the BBC's popular spy drama series '' Spooks'' (2002–2011), and played Fred Hoyle in '' Hawking'', a BBC dramatisation of the early career of Stephen Hawking.
He was also Snaith in the three-part series ''South Riding'' in 2011. Firth has also appeared on American and Canadian television, on programmes such as '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' Total Recall 2070'', as well as in television films such as '' The Incident'' starring Walter Matthau.

In 2014, Firth played the part of the character Andrew Rawlins in '' Undeniable'', a two-part series made for the ITV network. In 2015 he played Jacob Marley in four episodes of the BBC television series '' Dickensian''.

In 2016, he played the part of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover, in ITV's drama series ''Victoria''.
In 2018, he played Milos Borisovich, a Belarusian drug lord.

Audiobooks

Firth is also a narrator of audiobooks. He has been responsible for performances reading Pat Barker's '' Regeneration'', '' The Ghost Road'' and '' The Eye in the Door'', ''Suspicion'' by Robert McCrum, '' Maurice'' by E. M. Forster, '' Brave New World'' by Aldous Huxley, Sebastian Faulks' ''Birdsong'' and Thomas Hardy's '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles''.

Honours and awards

On 17 July 2009, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bradford as a Doctor of Letters for his services to acting, having been nominated by the School of Computing, Informatics & Media; he received his award during the school's degree ceremony.

Personal life

Firth lodged with Peter Shaffer throughout the Broadway run of ''Equus'', in a father–son relationship. Firth was interviewed with his ''Letter to Brezhnev'' co-star Alexandra Pigg on '' BBC Breakfast'' in April 2017, during which Firth explained that they dated briefly after making the film and that they have been in a relationship since 2010. They married in London on Christmas Eve 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audiobooks

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Peter
1953 births
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Male actors from Bradford
Audiobook narrators
Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
English male child actors
English male film actors
English male television actors
English male stage actors
English male voice actors
Living people