Constantine Gregory (born Constantine Liebert, September 16, 1942) is an American actor, dialect coach, and voice actor. Until 1983 he was usually credited as Constantin de Goguel.

Life and career

He was born of a Dutch father and Russian–born mother. On their divorce, he was given his mother's surname of de Goguel. His mother was born in 1920 in Sebastopol with the White Army during the Russian Civil War, and in 1925 was smuggled out to England, where she was brought up. She studied acting briefly under

Michael Chekhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (russian: Михаил Александрович Чехов; 29 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was an American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew o ...

Dartington Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located west of the River Dart, south of Dartington H ...

, but when his school broke up with the outbreak of war, she then later went to America and worked as a personal assistant to

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

. She married Onno Liebert (Leebaert) in 1941. Liebert was a journalist and broadcaster who escaped the occupied Netherlands on a bicycle. Gregory came to England with his mother in 1950 and then attended

Dartington Hall School Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...

(1950–1961), followed by

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(1961–1965) where he read Economics and Political Science. He became President of Trinity College Players and in 1965 went with them to the Edinburgh Festival with a hugely successful late night revue directed by

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

at the Traverse Theatre founded by

Jim Haynes James Almand Haynes (10 November 1933 – 6 January 2021) was an American-born figure in the British "underground" and alternative/counter-culture scene of the 1960s. He was involved with the founding of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, the pape ...

which had then only been going for two years. His first professional job was as the back legs of Alfred the Horse in the annual Christmas production of ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel '' The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by Willi ...

'' in London's West End. He also understudied Mr Toad, and played Fat-Face the Policeman. Then he followed the usual path of actors in British theatre with stints in repertory at the Opera House, Harrogate, the

Theatre Royal Windsor The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...

, amongst others, as well as playing a Blue Fairy in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, where he understudied Oberon. He performed at the Everyman Theatre Liverpool, toured in a musical directed by

Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people. Early years Bogdanov was born Michael Bogd ...

, who had been a University contemporary. Constantine joined 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 produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

under

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...

for the "Roman season" of ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

'', ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'', ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'' and ''

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...

''. (He later appeared as Aemelius in

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

's film, ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

''). In

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...

's acclaimed production of ''Rabelais'' at the Round House Theatre London, Constantine played the leading part of the MC. He also appeared at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

in Keith Hack's production of '' The Good Woman of Szechuan'' with

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman, (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles, among others, on TV. In her first film, ''Nicho ...

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...

and Jonathan Kent. Meanwhile, his film and television career was taking off, thanks largely to his speaking fluent Russian at a time when Cold War spy stories were popular. Finding that he was being type cast as a "foreigner", he took on the professional surname of Gregory, and started getting more varied roles. His facility for accents and languages saw him portray not only Russians, but Americans, Germans, Spaniards and even a Moroccan. This vocal ability made him in demand as a "voice" in recording

ADR ADR or adr may refer to: Computing * Asynchronous DRAM refresh, an approach for persistent memory found in some Intel Xeon processors * The adr microformat, part of the hCard microformat * Architectural decision record * Action–domain–respond ...

, or "dubbing" feature films. He has now done this work, as a voice and group director, on over 350 films. This in turn led to being asked to dialogue coach the TV mini-series '' Mussolini: The Untold Story'' with

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

and many other stars, including the young

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

and

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...

. A parallel career to acting stemmed from this when he was asked to dialogue coach on

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

's Oscar-winning film ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

'' (1987), in which he also played "The Oculist". He worked on two further movies with Bertolucci, ''

Little Buddha ''Little Buddha'' is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, ...

'' (1994) and '' The Dreamers'' (2003). Gregory's skills as a dialogue coach have been mostly used with non-Anglo actors who need to act in English, and in establishing dialect conventions with multi-national casts. He has worked with many distinguished directors and international stars in this capacity, as well as the most distinguished actors in many countries, while continuing to act in feature films and TV movies. Constantine has also worked on radio for the BBC and made many audio story recordings, latterly several for Spoken Ink. Gregory has been married and divorced twice, has two daughters and a son, and lives in London and Hove. He has dual nationality UK/US and speaks fluent Russian and French with a knowledge of Italian, Spanish and German.

Selected filmography

*''

Before Winter Comes ''Before Winter Comes'' is a 1969 British comedy-drama war film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay by Andrew Sinclair. Plot ''Before Winter Comes'' takes place in the immediate aftermath of World War II. British Major Giles Burnside ...

'' (1969) - Russian Corporal *'' The Revolutionary'' (1970) *''

The McKenzie Break ''The McKenzie Break'' is a 1970 British war drama film starring Brian Keith as Jack Connor, an intelligence officer investigating recent disturbances at a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Scotland. The Nazi German POWs are led by the charismatic ...

'' (1970) - Lt. Hall *''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' (1970) - Michel Le Guestier *'' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) - Aide to Metz (uncredited) *''

The Tamarind Seed ''The Tamarind Seed'' is a 1974 romantic thriller drama film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Evelyn Anthony, the film is about a British Home Office ...

'' (1974) - Dimitri Memenov *''

'' (1974, TV Movie) - Ventidius *''

Alfie Darling ''Alfie Darling'' is a 1975 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Hughes. The film premiered at the Universal Cinema in London on 6 March 1975. It is the sequel to the film '' Alfie'' (1966), with Alan Price taking over Michael Caine's rol ...

'' (1975) - Police Inspector *'' Russian Roulette'' (1975) - Samuel *'' Inside Out'' (1975) - Col. Kosnikov *'' To the Devil a Daughter'' (1976) - Kollde *'' Emily'' (1976) - Rupert Wain *''

Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events conc ...

'' (1976) - Navigation Officer *'' The Stud'' (1978) - Lord Newton *''

The Class of Miss MacMichael ''The Class of Miss MacMichael'' is a 1978 British comedy drama film directed by Silvio Narizzano, and starring Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, and Michael Murphy. It was based on a novel by Sandy Hutson. Plot The film depicts the attempts of an ...

'' (1978) - Maj. Brady *''

Meetings with Remarkable Men ''Meetings with Remarkable Men, autobiographical in nature, is the second volume of the ''All and Everything'' trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff started working on the Russian manuscript in 1927, ...

'' (1979) - Captain *''

Loophole A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow verti ...

'' (1981) - 2nd Interviewer *''

Enter the Ninja ''Enter the Ninja'' is a 1981 American martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi and Christopher George. The film is about a martial artist named Cole (Nero) who is visiting his friend Fr ...

'' (1981) - Mr. Parker *''A Flame to the Phoenix'' (1983) - Waclaw Ranczowski *'' Maschenka'' (1987) - Pyotr *''

'' (1987) - Oculist *''

Shadow of China ''Shadow of China'' is a 1989 drama film directed and co-written by Mitsuo Yanagimachi and starring John Lone, Sammi Davis and Vivian Wu. It is based on the novel ''Snake Head'' by Masaaki Nishiki. It was the first Japanese-American co-producti ...

'' (1989) - Jameson *''

The Russia House ''The Russia House'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film b ...

'' (1990) - KGB Interviewer *''

Back in the USSR "Back in the U.S.S.R." is a song by the English rock band the Beatles and the first track of the 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). Written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, ...

'' (1992) - Stanley *''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the ser ...

'' (1995) - Russian Computer Store Manager *''

England, My England ''England, My England'' is a 1995 British historical film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Michael Ball, Simon Callow, Lucy Speed and Robert Stephens. It depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell, seen through the eyes of a playwrigh ...

'' (1995) - Colonel Wharton *''

Gregory's Two Girls ''Gregory's Two Girls'' is a 1999 Scottish film, set in Cumbernauld and also in various locations in Edinburgh. It is the sequel to ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), which also starred John Gordon Sinclair and Kennie Pullen and was written and directed ...

'' (1999) - Rudy (uncredited) *''

'' (1999) - Aemelius *'' The Sum of All Fears'' (2002) - General Bulgakov *''

Shanghai Knights ''Shanghai Knights'' is a 2003 American martial arts action comedy film. It is the sequel to ''Shanghai Noon'', and the second installment of the ''Shanghai'' film series. Directed by David Dobkin and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it ...

'' (2003) - The Major of New York City *'' Infinite Justice'' (2006) - Abe Kautsky *'' Flawless'' (2007) - Dmitriev *'' Thick as Thieves'' (2009) - Mr. Sergeev *'' Blood: The Last Vampire'' (2009) - Mr. Henry *'' Night Train'' (2009) - Mr. Gutman *''Showreel'' (2011) - Father *'' 6 Underground'' (2019) — Four Horsemen *''

Wonder Woman 1984 ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (also known as ''WW84'') is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC character Wonder Woman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Stone Quarry, and distributed by Warner Bros. P ...

'' (2021) — Russian General *''

The King's Man ''The King's Man'' is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British ''Kingsman'' film series, which is based on the comic book ''The ...

'' (2021) — Mayor of Sarajevo

References

External links

* * http://www.constantinegregory.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Constantine 1942 births Living people Male actors from New York City American people of Dutch descent American people of Russian descent Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Male actors from London People educated at Dartington Hall School