Brian Blessed

Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital{{cite book|last=Blessed|first=Brian|title=The Dynamite Kid|year=1992|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=0-7475-1275-2|edition=1st|page=1|chapter=1}} in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire,{{cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=%2F61cw2GEAYP4cwmdOMP0MQ&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=4 November 2010|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/21354 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301080045/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/21354 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 March 2007 |title=BFI biodata |publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk |date=16 April 2009 |access-date=8 July 2011}} the son of William Blessed, a socialist coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team,Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC) – Series 11: 2. Brian Blessed and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99.{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/02/brian-blessed-family-values|title=My family values: Brian Blessed|date=2 January 2010|website=The Guardian}} Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg, Lincolnshire; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg.{{cite news|url=http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/think-Brian-Blessed-traces-Brigg-Winterton/story-22714610-detail/story.html|title=Who do you think you are? Brian Blessed traces Brigg & Winterton relatives on BBC1 tonight|newspaper=Scunthorpe Telegraph|date=14 August 2014|access-date=15 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814143723/http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/think-Brian-Blessed-traces-Brigg-Winterton/story-22714610-detail/story.html|archive-date=14 August 2014}}

Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF,{{cite book|title=Absolute Pandemonium|last=Blessed|first=Brian|publisher=Pan Macmillan|year=2016|isbn=9781447292975|pages=67}} in Bicester, before enrolling at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1956.{{cite news |date=26 May 1956 |title=Boltonian Will Play Shylock |pages=1 |work=South Yorkshire Times and Mexborough & Swinton Times |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002838/19560526/003/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 August 2023 |via=British Newspaper Archive}}{{cite book|title=The International Who's Who 2004|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9781857432176|page=[https://archive.org/details/internationalwho2004ond/page/176 176]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/internationalwho2004ond/page/176}}{{cite news |last=J. B. |date=22 September 1956 |title=Mexborough Theatre Guild: "Wuthering Heights" |pages=25 |work=South Yorkshire Times |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002838/19560922/257/0025 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 August 2023 |quote=...Brian Blessed, off next week to enrol[sic] with the Bristol Old Vic Drama Academy in the first phase in making the stage his professional career... |via=British Newspaper Archive}}

{{Main|List of Brian Blessed performances}}

One of Blessed's earliest roles was that of PC "Fancy" Smith in the BBC television series Z-Cars, between 1962 and 1965.{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/f3c56a1d1bd747fe942a1ea1d39f6ff0 |title=Z Cars: 5: Big Catch – BBC Television – 30 January 1962 |date=30 January 1962 |publisher=BBC Genome}} In 1966, he appeared in a production of Incident at Vichy at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Also in 1966, he was offered the titular role of the Doctor in BBC's sci-fi drama, Doctor Who, to take over from William Hartnell, but had to turn it down due to conflicting projects.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/aug/05/brian-blessed-turned-down-doctor-who-bbc|title=Brian Blessed: I turned down Doctor Who|date=5 August 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=11 November 2018}} In 1967, he played Porthos in a 10-part BBC adaptation of The Three Musketeers.{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/80ee1436ca7f44ea942296349c236416 |title=The Three Musketeers – BBC One London – 8 January 1967 |date=8 January 1967 |publisher=BBC Genome}} Blessed also had minor roles in cult TV series such as The Avengers (1967, 1969) and the original Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969). He interpreted the role of King Mark of Cornwall in the HTV television series Arthur of the Britons (1972–1973). He appeared as William Woodcock in the Yorkshire Television series Boy Dominic (1974). He played Caesar Augustus in the BBC Two drama series I, Claudius (1976),{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/114be1caa91c438c92a85fd33d037a9b |title=I, Claudius – BBC Two England – 6 December 1976 |date=6 December 1976 |publisher=BBC Genome}} Vargas in the Blake's 7 episode Cygnus Alpha (1978) and Basileos in The Aphrodite Inheritance (1979).{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/af32c1fb31c84ee1ac59f3ed1a38ac30 |title=The Aphrodite Inheritance – BBC One London – 14 February 1979 |date=14 February 1979 |publisher=BBC Genome}} He hosted a docudrama on the life of Johann Sebastian Bach called The Joy of Bach (1978), in which he also played Bach in a number of scenes.

Blessed also appeared in two episodes of the British science fiction television series Space:1999. He played scientist Dr. Rowland Cabot in the 1975 episode Death's Other Dominion and as Mentor in the 1976 episode The Metamorph.

Blessed played Long John Silver in the 10-part serial Return to Treasure Island (1986), King Yrcanos in the Doctor Who serial Mindwarp (1986), General Yevlenko in the mini-series War and Remembrance (1988), and Lord Loxley, the father of Robin Hood, in the Hollywood film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

In 1981, Blessed appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats, as both Old Deuteronomy and Bustopher Jones, for the original West End theatre production.{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jan/13/brian-blessed-rosalind-blessed-interview-cats-astronaut|title=Brian Blessed: 'All my life, 90% of men have bored the arse off me'|date=13 January 2020|website=The Guardian|accessdate=1 November 2022}}

Blessed has appeared in a number of Shakespearean roles on both stage and screen, including four of the five Shakespeare films directed by Kenneth Branagh: as the Duke of Exeter in Henry V (1989), Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in Hamlet (1996), and both Duke Frederick and Duke Senior in As You Like It (2006).

In comedies, Blessed portrayed Prince Vultan in the film Flash Gordon (1980);{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/11977486/Brian-Blessed-Picasso-gave-me-a-50m-picture.-I-threw-it-away.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/11977486/Brian-Blessed-Picasso-gave-me-a-50m-picture.-I-threw-it-away.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Brian Blessed: 'Picasso Gave me a £50m picture – I threw it away' |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=8 November 2015}}{{cbignore}} the mad, comical figure of Richard IV in the first series of The Black Adder (1983), a role Blessed has claimed to be one of his most cherished{{citationneeded|date=June 2024}}; and Spiro Halikiopoulos in the TV mini-series My Family and Other Animals (1987), a BBC adaptation of Gerald Durrell's book by the same name.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5339326.stm |date=15 September 2006 |title=Gerald Durrell's Lasting Legacy |access-date=5 May 2008 | work=BBC News Online}} Blessed has joked that he was due to appear in Blackadder II (1986) as Elizabeth I, but was unavailable for filming.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2001/aug/22/climbingholidays.livechats?page=3 |date=22 August 2001 |title=Brian Blessed Web Chat |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=1 September 2008 }} In 1989, he made an appearance in the comedy/drama Minder, as Detective Inspector Freddie Dyer of the Serious Crime Squad in the episode The Last Video Show.{{cite web|url=https://www.minder.org/episodeguide/S07E04_TheLastVideoShow.htm|title=#7.4 The Last Video Show|website=www.minder.org|access-date=8 August 2020}}

In 1997, Blessed portrayed Squire Western in the BBC adaptation of Henry Fielding's 1749 comic novel Tom Jones. He later recalled accidentally punching Peter Capaldi whilst filming and said of the event, "I thought I'd killed the poor bastard."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-10-09/the-day-brian-blessed-punched-and-knocked-out-peter-capaldi |date=9 October 2014 |title=The day Brian Blessed punched and knocked out Peter Capaldi |magazine=Radio Times |access-date=2 November 2016}}

In 1999, Blessed provided both the voice and live-action reference for the CGI character Boss Nass in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and also provided the voice of the villainous hunter Clayton in Disney's animated feature film Tarzan, a role he later reprised in the video game based on the film and in the critically acclaimed Kingdom Hearts in 2002; he also did the Tarzan yell after Tony Goldwyn was unable to do it himself. He voiced "Sir Morris" in the 1999 cartoon series The Big Knights. He read the story "The White City" for the album series Late Night Tales, recording it in four parts released over four albums,{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/290589-Brian-Blessed?type=Appearances | title=Brian Blessed discography.| website=Discogs}} and was also the voice of Jean Valjean in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's audio adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. Blessed was one of the narrators for Story Teller, a children's magazine partwork series in the 1980s. He has further provided vocal links for the Sony-Award-winning Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, and introduced advertisements for Orange mobile phones.

Image:Brian Blessed by Offwhitehouse.jpg in 2007]]

In 2002, under the direction of Royal Shakespeare Company director Adrian Noble, he originated the role of Baron Bomburst for the stage musical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. From December 2005 to January 2006, Blessed headlined the Christmas pantomime production of Peter Pan, alongside CBBC presenter Kirsten O'Brien, at Ipswich's Regent Theatre.{{cn|date=March 2024}} From 2007 to 2008, he appeared in the same play as Captain Hook at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable; he reprised the role for the Christmas 2008 season at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon. For Christmas 2006, he presented a production of Cinderella for Virgin Radio, starring David Tennant, Thandiwe Newton and others.

Since October 2008, Blessed has presented the English-language dub of the Japanese TV game show Unbeatable Banzuke on Challenge, under the pseudonym "Banzuke Brian". He was the narrator of the Sky 1 series Crash Test Dummies, starring Steve Marsh and Dan Wright. In animation, he has provided the voices of Bob in Kika & Bob (2008){{cite web|url=http://www.kikaandbob.com/castandcrew.html|title=KIKA & BOB :: submarine productions|website=www.kikaandbob.com|access-date=8 August 2020}} and Grampy Rabbit in Peppa Pig (2004–present).

In 2009 Blessed starred with his wife, Hildegarde Neil, in the short film Mr Bojagi.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1487977/|title=IMDB|website=www.imdb.com|access-date=30 September 2024}}

Following a Facebook campaign, satellite navigation manufacturer TomTom recorded Blessed's voice for use in its products; he has been available as a voice command option since October 2010.{{cite web|last=Wallop |first=Harry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7930644/Brian-Blessed-new-voice-of-TomTom-Sat-Nav.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7930644/Brian-Blessed-new-voice-of-TomTom-Sat-Nav.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Brian Blessed new voice of TomTom Sat Nav

|publisher= Telegraph Media Group Limited |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=19 September 2017}}{{cbignore}} In September 2010, Blessed recorded the voice of Great Sultan Shahryār for Sheherazade, or The Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon!, an album of children's stories set to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's classical music composition Scheherazade, co-starring Rory Bremner and released as an instalment of Grandma Dingley's Ingeniously Musical Tales in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.GrandmaDingley.com |title=Sheherazade or The Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon! | Grandma Dingley's Ingeniously Musical Tales |publisher=Grandmadingley.com |date=21 March 2011 |access-date=8 July 2011}}

In 2018, Blessed voiced German military engineer Konrad Kyeser in the open-world medieval RPG, Kingdom Come: Deliverance.{{cite web|title=Kingdom Come: Deliverance presents: Brian Blessed as Lord Konrad Kyeser|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWdx0o8mrAY&t=0s|website=YouTube| date=5 May 2017 |publisher=Warhorse Studios|access-date=5 May 2017}} He voiced the megalomaniacal Red Ivan in the 2021 base building game Evil Genius 2: World Domination.{{cite web|title=Evil Genius 2 Voice Cast Announced Featuring Samantha Bond and Brian Blessed|url=https://gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/378048/EVIL_GENIUS_2_VOICE_CAST_ANNOUNCED_FEATURING_SAMANTHA_BOND__BRIAN_BLESSED.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302173646/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/378048/EVIL_GENIUS_2_VOICE_CAST_ANNOUNCED_FEATURING_SAMANTHA_BOND__BRIAN_BLESSED.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2021|website=Gamasutra|access-date=30 March 2021}}

File:Everestblessings.jpg

blessings from Ngawang Tenzing Jangpo. Ginette Harrison, Sir David Hempleman-Adams, Dr David Callaway, Scott McIvor, Lee Nobmann, Brian Blessed.]]

Blessed has attempted to climb Mount Everest three times without supplemental oxygen,{{cite news|first=Matt |last=Dickinson |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-matt-dickinson--brian-blessed-6988621.html |title=How We Met: Matt Dickinson and Brian Blessed|work=The Independent |date= 19 February 2012|access-date=24 April 2013|quote= Dickinson: "But as for going back to Everest with Brian: in truth, he's too old now to try again."}} reaching heights of {{convert|28,200|ft|m}} in 1993 and {{convert|25,200|ft|m}} in 1996, but without reaching the summit.{{cite news|first=Charles |last=Arthur |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/blessed-launches-bitter-attack-on-human-lemmings-of-everest-1349787.html |title=Blessed Launches Bitter Attack on 'Human Lemmings' of Everest |work=The Independent|date=30 May 1996|access-date=24 April 2013}}

Blessed has reached the summits of Aconcagua in Argentina and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,{{cite web |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/theatre-and-comedy/2019/09/06/blessed-are-the-meek-brian-blessed-talks-ahead-of-shrewsbury-show/|title=Blessed are the meek: Brian Blessed talks ahead of Shrewsbury show – Shropshire Star|date=6 September 2019 |access-date=4 December 2020}} and has undertaken an expedition into the jungles of Venezuela, during which he survived a plane crash.{{cite web |url=https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/things-to-do/weston-s-playhouse-to-host-an-evening-with-brian-blessed-4553728 |title=An Evening with Brian Blessed at Weston's Playhouse Theatre – Weston Mercury |date=3 March 2020 |access-date=4 December 2020}}

Blessed is the oldest man to have reached the North Magnetic Pole on foot,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/jul/29/features11.g23 |title=Why I Love Brian Blessed |first=Leo |last=Benedictus |work=The Guardian |date=29 July 2003 |access-date=5 May 2008 }} where he says he punched a polar bear on the nose.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/membership/video/2015/dec/02/did-brian-blessed-really-punch-a-polar-bear-video |title=Did Brian Blessed really punch a polar bear? – video – Stage |work= The Guardian|date=2 December 2015 |access-date=4 December 2020|last1=Blessed |first1=Brian |last2=Morgan |first2=Richie }}

In 2009, Blessed featured in the song "Army of the Damned" from the album Beneath the Veiled Embrace by British power metal band Pythia, reciting the poem "Suicide in the Trenches" by Siegfried Sassoon.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Blessed also appeared on their 2014 album Shadows of a Broken Past.

He had previously contributed to the song "The Joust" by Christian band Eden Burning in 1994.Eden Burning Mirth and Matter sleeve notes.

Blessed contributed vocals to the track 'Sonic Attack' on the 2015 Hawkwind album 'Space Ritual Live'.

In 2017, Blessed was featured in "If you remember" music video, singles from British indie band, The Ramona Flowers. As of November 2024, the video had reached over 725,000 views.{{cite web |title=The Ramona Flowers – If You Remember | website=YouTube | date=28 June 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD8VB9nmscE |access-date=17 June 2023 }}{{cite web |last=indieisnotagenre.com |date=4 July 2017 |title=Video: The Ramona Flowers — If You Remember |url=https://medium.com/@indieisnotagenre/video-the-ramona-flowers-if-you-remember-c016be142465 |access-date=13 November 2024 |website=Medium }} It is also his first appearance in a music video and called it a "great adventure".{{cite web |title=The Ramona Flowers- The making of 'If You Remember' featuring Brian Blessed | website=YouTube | date=28 June 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNa974Zp1zI |access-date=20 August 2023 }}{{cite web |title=The Ramona Flowers release video for "If You Remember" starring British acting legend Brian Blessed • WithGuitars |url=https://www.withguitars.com/ramona-flowers-release-video-remember-starring-british-acting-legend-brian-blessed/ |access-date=13 November 2024 |website=www.withguitars.com }} The music video was directed by Roger Sargent and produced by Connor Simmons.

Blessed contributed to the spoken word intro track 'The Prophecy' from Saxon (band)'s 2024 album Hell, Fire and Damnation.

Blessed has completed 800 hours of space training at Star City in Russia.

Blessed served as President of the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) from 2007 to 2008 and presented the 2008 TRIC Awards at Grosvenor House, London.{{cite web|url=https://dougsocyork.wordpress.com/committee/|title=DougSoc Committee|access-date=8 July 2011}}

In 2004, Blessed appeared on and won an episode of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, impersonating the opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. He appeared as an expert and commentator on the satellite channel UKTV G2 during the 2006 World Cup. Blessed also appeared on A Question of Sport in 2006 and 2011, and was a guest host on the BBC's satirical quiz show Have I Got News for You in May 2008 and April 2013 (also making a surprise appearance in the 2008 Christmas special).{{cn|date=March 2024}}

Downloadable content for the computer game War of the Roses featured narration by Blessed.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/war-of-the-roses-details-brian-blessed-dlc-free-content-and-kingmaker-gold-edition/|title=War of the Roses Details Brian Blessed DLC, Free Content and Kingmaker Gold Edition|date=1 February 2013|magazine=PC Gamer|access-date=25 April 2013}} In 2013, he received the Spirit of Hammer Award at the Metal Hammer magazine's Golden Gods Awards.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/metal-hammer-golden-gods-2013-all-the-winners/ |title=Metal Hammer Golden Gods Winners |date=17 June 2013 |magazine=Metal Hammer |access-date=19 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404203717/http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/metal-hammer-golden-gods-2013-all-the-winners/ |archive-date=4 April 2014 }}

On 14 August 2014, Blessed was the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing the lives of his ancestors.

In October 2016 the BBC broadcast a 3-hour compilation of interviews with Blessed, Brian Blessed's Radio Adventures, featuring interviews with him where he discusses his life and career.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07y77x3|title=Brian Blessed's Radio Adventures|website=BBC}}

In 1963, Blessed, then in his late 20s, assisted a mother giving birth in Richmond Park, London. He delivered the healthy baby girl, then bit through the umbilical cord.{{cite web|title=Brian Blessed speaks candidly about the day he helped a woman deliver her baby|url=https://www.magicmum.com/brian-blessed-speaks-candidly-about-the-day-he-helped-a-woman-deliver-her-baby/|access-date=26 October 2020|website=MagicMum.com|date=7 October 2015 }} He later recounted, "I was covered in blood, my shirt was covered in blood, I was wrapping her, wiping her, [saying] 'it's all right, darling'.... And I was licking the baby's face."{{cite news|first=Sebastian|last=Mann|date=7 October 2015|title=Brian Blessed: I chewed through an umbilical cord while delivering a baby in Richmond Park|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/brian-blessed-i-chewed-through-umbilical-cord-to-deliver-baby-in-richmond-park-a3084591.html|access-date=26 October 2020|newspaper=Evening Standard}}

Blessed's first marriage was to the American actress and Egyptologist{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXVMAAAAYAAJ&q=ann+bomann+actress |title=Country Life |date=1978 |publisher=Country Life, Limited }} Ann Bomann, whom he met in Bristol. They had a daughter together, Catherine, but later divorced.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=31 July 2023 |title=Brian Blessed: He tells a good tale, and it's all in the delivery |newspaper= The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/brian-blessed-he-tells-a-good-tale-and-its-all-in-the-delivery-kg8scrbw588 |access-date=1 August 2023 |issn=0140-0460}} Blessed was then married to actress Hildegarde Neil from 1978 until Neil's death in 2023. Their daughter, Rosalind, is an actress.{{cite book |title=The International Who's Who 2004: 2004 |last=Sleeman |first=Elizabeth |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, England|isbn=978-1-85743-217-6 |page=176 |edition=67th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9drlYR0YUgAC&q=%22brian+blessed%22+Zimmermann&pg=PA176}}

Blessed lives in Windlesham, Surrey.{{cite web | url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/brian-blessed-windlesham-village-shops-24181284 | title= Surrey village with 'excellent shops' where Brian Blessed says the people are lovely | work=SurreyLive | first=David | last=Bradshaw |date=11 June 2022 | access-date=17 August 2024}} He owns several dogs and is a patron of the charity Pet Respect.{{cite web|url=https://petrespect.org.uk/brian-blessed-obe/|title=Our New Patron, Brian Blessed OBE | Pet Respect|first=Glen|last=Hartley|accessdate=30 October 2022}} In 2011, he became a patron for Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Brentwood, Essex.{{cite web|url=http://www.hopefield.org.uk/patrons-and-trustees/|title=Hopefield Patrons and Trustees|publisher=Hopefield Animal Sanctuary|access-date=18 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204174318/http://www.hopefield.org.uk/patrons-and-trustees/|archive-date=4 December 2011|url-status=dead}}

Blessed is a black belt in judo.{{cite web | last=Scott | first=Danny | title=My hols: Brian Blessed | website=The Times & The Sunday Times | date=1 July 2017 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/my-hols-brian-blessed-8b7gpsfn2 | access-date=6 October 2023}}

Blessed suffered a nervous breakdown at age 18. He eventually recovered with the support of friends, family, and his speech teacher.{{cite news| title=The other Brian Blessed|website=Deskarati|url=https://deskarati.com/2011/08/16/the-other-brian-blessed/| date=16 August 2011|access-date=4 December 2019}}{{cite news| title=Brian Blessed – My Yorkshire|url=http://my-yorkshire.co.uk/people/brian-blessed.html| access-date=4 December 2019}}

On 19 January 2015, Blessed collapsed on stage during a performance of King Lear with the Guildford Shakespeare Company, in which his daughter Rosalind was also acting. He received medical attention from a doctor in the audience and returned to the stage to complete the play 20 minutes later.{{cite news| title= Brian Blessed collapses on stage – but returns to finish show|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30912506| date=21 January 2015| work= BBC News | access-date=21 January 2015}} On 30 January 2015, it was announced that Blessed had been "compelled to withdraw" from the production on the advice of his heart specialist.{{cite web | title= Brian Blessed pulls out of King Lear on doctor's orders |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31066689| author=| date= 30 January 2015| website= BBC News | access-date=30 January 2015}} He has been fitted with a pacemaker.

He has honorary degrees from the University of Bradford (awarded July 2003) and Sheffield Hallam University (awarded 2004) and has also been awarded the honorary title of "Official Shoutsperson" by the University of York's Douglas Adams Society.

In 2011, the student union at the University of York voted to name a new study area the "Brian Blessed Centre for Quiet Study".{{cite web |first=Hoagy |last=Davis-Digges |url=http://www.nouse.co.uk/2011/01/25/ugm-sees-highest-voting-numbers-since-2008/ |title=Union General Meeting Sees Highest Voting Numbers Since 2008 |publisher=Nouse.co.uk |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=8 July 2011}} The same year, Blessed was nominated for the post of chancellor of the University of Cambridge, following a campaign by graduates.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-13640487 |title=Brian Blessed Bids to be Cambridge Chancellor |date=3 June 2011 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 April 2013}} He was later awarded Honorary Membership of the Cambridge Union in recognition of his nomination.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/events/1007395339324054|title=Brian Blessed {{!}} Week 08 {{!}} Cambridge Union|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=28 March 2018}}

Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the arts and charity.{{London Gazette|issue=61608 |supp=y|page=B11|date=11 June 2016}}

• The Turquoise Mountain: Brian Blessed on Everest (1991) {{ISBN|9780747510468}}
• The Dynamite Kid (1992) {{ISBN|9780747512752}}
• Nothing's Impossible (1994)
• To the Top of the World (1995) {{ISBN|9780831732981}}
• Quest for the Lost World (1999)
• Absolute Pandemonium (2015) {{ISBN|9781447292975}}
• The Panther in My Kitchen: My Wild Life with Animals (2017) {{ISBN|9781509841592}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Brian Blessed}}

• {{IMDb name|306}}
• {{Tcmdb name}}
• {{British Comedy Guide|people|brian_blessed}}

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Category:1936 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English male actors

Category:20th-century English male writers

Category:20th-century Royal Air Force personnel

Category:21st-century English male actors

Category:21st-century English male writers

Category:Actors from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster

Category:Actors from Surrey Heath

Category:Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

Category:Audiobook narrators

Category:British explorers of the Arctic

Category:English autobiographers

Category:English game show hosts

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male musical theatre actors

Category:English male radio actors

Category:English male Shakespearean actors

Category:English male stage actors

Category:English male television actors

Category:English male video game actors

Category:English male voice actors

Category:English mountain climbers

Category:English non-fiction outdoors writers

Category:English polar explorers

Category:English radio presenters

Category:English television presenters

Category:Explorers of South America

Category:Male actors from South Yorkshire

Category:Male actors from Surrey

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:People associated with the University of York

Category:Sportspeople from Mexborough

Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents

Category:Virgin Radio (UK)