Nigel Terry

Terry was born on 15 August 1945England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 [d0atabase online] in Bristol, the son of Frank Albert Terry OBE, DFC,Supplement to The London Gazette, 31 December 1976 a pilot in the Royal Air Force, and his wife, Doreen. The family soon moved to Truro, Cornwall, where his father worked as a probation officer. Terry attended Truro School in Truro, where he developed an interest in acting and became skilled at drawing and painting.

His parents encouraged him to go on the stage, and after working briefly in forestry and as a petrol pump attendant, he joined the National Youth Theatre.Films and Filming Magazine, Volume 21, Hanson Books, 1985Wilkes, Angela. "Terry gives more than his Pound of Flesh", The Stage, 2 October 1986, p. 6 He enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama in 1963, working both on stage and behind the scenes. He joined the Oxford Meadow Players in 1966, working initially as assistant stage manager.

Terry worked mostly in theatre. After training with repertory companies like the Oxford Meadow Players and Bristol Old Vic, Terry appeared in many productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Round House Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre. Among his roles was Daniel de Bosola in the 1989 Royal Shakespeare Company production of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.{{cite web|url=https://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/dum198912/search/rsc_person:terry-nigel/view_as/grid/page/2|title = Search | RSC Performances | DUM198912 - the Duchess of Malfi | Shakespeare Birthplace Trust}} In the same year he played Pericles in David Thacker's production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

Terry appeared in about 20 films, most notably as John in The Lion in Winter (1968) with Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole and Anthony Hopkins;{{Cite web |url=https://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Nigel_Terry |title=Nigel Terry: 1945–2015 |magazine=Variety |date=12 May 2015 |via=Cuttings Archive |access-date=10 February 2025}} King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981);{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |title=Boorman's Excalibur |newspaper=The New York Times |date=10 April 1981 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9505EFD61138F933A25757C0A967948260 |access-date=10 November 2012}} and the title character in Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1986). He worked with Jarman on four more films: The Last of England (1988), War Requiem (1989), Edward II (1991) and Blue (1993).

His last film role was in Troy in 2004, playing the Trojan high priest.

An early television appearance was as the agoraphobic Harry Mandrake in the Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave" (1970).

His main US and British television appearances include Covington Cross, a series set in medieval times. He also appeared in Casualty as Denny, as General Cobb in the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Daughter" and as Gabriel Piton in Highlander: The Series. He also played Sam Jacobs in a two-part Waking the Dead episode titled "Anger Management". He appeared in Pie in the Sky series 3 episode 3 "Irish Stew" as Byron de Goris. He also appeared in an episode of Foyle's War.

In 1993, after 30 years of living in London, Terry moved back to Cornwall.Jarman, Derek. Smiling in Slow Motion. Great Britain: Century, 2000, p. 285 He was a very private person.{{cite news |title=Obituary: Nigel Terry, actor. |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-nigel-terry-actor-1505171 |access-date=26 November 2022 |work=The Scotsman |date=12 May 2015}}{{cite web |last=Lincoln |first=Ross A. |title=Nigel Terry Dies; 'Excalibur' Actor Was 69 |url=https://deadline.com/2015/05/excalibur-actor-nigel-terry-dies-age-69-1201420201/ |website=Deadline |date=4 May 2015}} Terry died of emphysema in Newquay, Cornwall, on 30 April 2015, at the age of 69.{{cite news |last=Coveney |first=Michael |title=Nigel Terry obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/may/03/nigel-terry |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 May 2015 |access-date=4 May 2015}} In the absence of any surviving close family, his memorial service was organised by close friends Maggie Steed and David Horovitch in Truro on 19 May 2015, attended by fellow actors and friends.

{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

• The Lion in Winter (1968) – Prince John
• Slade in Flame (1975) – Assistant Disc Jockey (uncredited)
• Excalibur (1981) – King Arthur
• Sylvia (1985) – Aden Morris
• Déjà Vu (1985) – Michael / Greg
• Caravaggio (1986) – Caravaggio
• On Wings of Fire (1986) – Zarathustra
• The Last of England (1987) – Narrator (voice)
• War Requiem (1989) – Abraham
• Edward II (1991) – Mortimer
• Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) – Roldan
• Blue (1993) – Narrator (voice)
• Pie In The Sky (1996, TV series; episode "Irish Stew") – Byron de Goris/James Jackson
• The Hunchback (1997, TV movie)
• Far From the Madding Crowd (1998, TV movie) – Mr. Boldwood
• On Wings of Fire (2001) – Zarathustra
• The Emperor's New Clothes (2001) – Montholon
• The Search for John Gissing (2001) – Alan Jardeen
• FeardotCom (2002) – Turnbull
• The Ride (2003) – Mr. Silverstone
• The Tulse Luper Suitcases (2003) – Sesame Esau
• Troy (2004) – Archeptolemus
• Red Mercury (2005) – Lindsey
• Blackbeard (2006, TV mini-series) – Calico Billy
• Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime (2010) – Mulwick

{{div col end}}

{{Portal|Cornwall}}

{{reflist}}

{{Sister project links|auto=y|d=y}}

• {{IMDb name|id=0856050}}
• [http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Nigel-Terry.html Profile], filmreference.com; accessed 26 January 2016.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Nigel}}

Category:1945 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Deaths from emphysema

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male stage actors

Category:English male television actors

Category:20th-century English male actors

Category:21st-century English male actors

Category:People educated at Truro School

Category:Male actors from Bristol

Category:National Youth Theatre members

Category:Entertainers from Truro

Category:Male actors from Cornwall