Nicholas C. Frost (born 1955), known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor.

Nicholas Farrell
Farrell in 2023
Born
Nicholas C. Frost

1955 (age 68–69)
EducationFryerns Grammar School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
OccupationActor
Years active1975–present
Spouse
(m. 2005)
Children2

Early life

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Farrell was born in Brentwood, Essex.[1] He was educated at Fryerns Grammar and Technical School in Basildon, Essex,[2] He furthered his education studying acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.[3]

Life and career

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Farrell's early screen career included the role of Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.[4] In 1983, he starred as Edmund Bertram in a television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park.[1] In 1984, he appeared in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes,[1] and The Jewel in the Crown.[3]

Since then, his film and television work has included several screen adaptations of Shakespeare's works, including Kenneth Branagh's 1996 Hamlet,[2] in which he played Horatio, a role he had played previously with Branagh for the Royal Shakespeare Company.[2] He has also appeared in film adaptations of Twelfth Night (1996), Othello (1995) and In the Bleak Midwinter (1995). He provided the voice of Hamlet for the animated television adaptation Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992).[3]

In 2009, he played the role of Albert Dussell in the BBC series The Diary of Anne Frank.[5] In 2011, he played Margaret Thatcher's close friend and advisor Airey Neave in The Iron Lady.[6]

In 2014, he portrayed Eyre Crowe in the British documentary drama miniseries 37 Days, about the weeks leading up to World War I.[1] Other television appearances have included two Agatha Christie's Poirot films,[2] Sharpe's Regiment,[1] Lipstick on Your Collar, To Play the King, Roman Mysteries, Torchwood,[2] and Collision. He has also appeared in episodes of Lovejoy,[1] Foyle's War,[6] Absolute Power, Spooks,[2] Midsomer Murders,[6] Drop the Dead Donkey, Call the Midwife,[1] and Casualty.[1] He also voiced the Golem Pump 19 in the 2010 two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal.[1]

Farrell's theatre work includes performances of The Cherry Orchard,[2] Camille,[2] and The Crucible,[2] as well as Royal Shakespeare Company productions of The Merchant of Venice,[2] Julius Caesar,[2] and Hamlet.[2] In the 2011 Chichester Festival he played schoolmasters Dewley and Crocker-Harris in the double bill of South Downs and The Browning Version.[7] In 2021 he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at the Nottingham Playhouse.[8][3]

In 2014, Farrell starred in the Grace Kelly biopic Grace of Monaco alongside Nicole Kidman and Tim Roth, and the short film The Pit and the Pendulum: A Study in Torture, based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story.[3]

In 2020, he starred as the racehorse trainer in the Welsh film Dream Horse, alongside Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, and Owen Teale.[3]

In 2021 he was chosen as the face of the Saga plc television campaign 'Experience is Everything'.[3]

He is married to Scottish actress Stella Gonet, and they have a daughter, Natasha.[3]

Selected film and television appearances

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Film

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Television

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Nicholas Farrell Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Nicholas Farrell voice". sohovoices.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nicholas Farrell". saga.co.uk. 18 November 2021.
  4. ^ "How we made: Hugh Hudson and Nicholas Farrell on Chariots of Fire". theguardian.com. 9 July 2012.
  5. ^ "The Diary of Anne Frank". bbc.co.uk. 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "First Impressions - Nicholas Farrell". lady.co.uk. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Nicholas Farrell - Posted by StageTalk". The Stage. 30 March 2015.
  8. ^ Cremona, Patrick (22 September 2022). "Mark Gatiss's A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is coming to cinemas". Radio Times.
  9. ^ Ross, Deborah (21 August 2024). "The best film you won't go and see this week: Widow Clicquot reviewed". The Spectator.
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