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Denis Stamper Lawson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the

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's adaptation of ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'', as Gordon Urquhart in the film '' Local Hero'', as Retired DI Steve McAndrew in BBC One's ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'', as Kit Curran in ''

The Kit Curran Radio Show ''The Kit Curran Radio Show'' is a British sitcom created and initially written by Andy Hamilton, and screened on ITV in 1984. A second series in 1986 was co-written with Guy Jenkin, the title reduced to simply ''Kit Curran''. Set in the ficti ...

'', and as

Wedge Antilles Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. He is also featured in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe, most notably as ...

in the original ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' trilogy.

Early life

Lawson was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

but grew up in

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has become ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, after his family moved there when he was three years old. He is the son of Phyllis Neno (née Stamper), a merchant, and Laurence Lawson, a watchmaker. Lawson was educated at Crieff Primary School (then called Crieff Public School). After the 11-plus examination, he attended

Morrison's Academy Morrison's Academy is a co-educational independent day school in Crieff, Perth and Kinross, in Central Scotland. The school provides nursery, primary and secondary school facilities. It draws many pupils from surrounding Perth and Kinross ...

as a day pupil before attending the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

, having first unsuccessfully auditioned for the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

in London. He then sold carpets and did amateur theatre work for a year in Dundee before auditioning again at RADA in London and successfully at RSAMD in Glasgow.

Career

Lawson began his acting career with a small role in a 1969 stage production of ''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

'' in London's West End. and has since starred in television dramas such as ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' (1973) opposite

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

as Shylock, ''

Rock Follies ''Rock Follies'' (together with its sequel, ''Rock Follies of '77'') was a musical drama shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as they struggl ...

'' (1976) and ''

Dead Head Dead Head is a Dutch thrash metal band from the city Kampen. The band was formed in 1989 by the four original members Tom van Dijk (bass, vocals), Robbie Woning (guitar), Ronnie van der Wey (guitar), and Hans Spijker (drums). Their mission was t ...

'' (1986). Lawson played X-wing pilot

in all three films of the original ''

'' trilogy. In 2001, he reprised the role, in voiceover form, for the

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

game '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader''. He has appeared often on the West End stage, notably in the musical ''

Mr. Cinders ''Mr Cinders'' is a 1928 musical with music by Vivian Ellis and Richard Myers and a libretto by Clifford Grey and Greatrex Newman. The story is an inversion of the Cinderella fairy tale with the gender roles reversed. The Prince Charming char ...

'' at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

from 1983 to 1984. In 1999, Lawson directed a production of '' Little Malcolm & His Struggle Against the Eunuchs'' which was first staged at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

before transferring to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End starring his nephew

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

in the lead role of Malcolm Scrawdyke. He appeared on an episode of '' Loose Ends'' hosted by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of ra ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 10 December 2005. In 2005, he played the leading role of John Jarndyce in the critically acclaimed BBC adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' ''

'', receiving an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination. Two years later he played Peter Syme in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

drama serial '' Jekyll'', a modern version of ''

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

''. Lawson also appeared as Captain "Dreadnought" Foster in

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's dramatisations of C.S. Forester's '' Hornblower''. He appeared in ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

'' in which he played the Harold of Winchester. He also appeared in the West End playing the character of Georges in the revival of the musical hit '' La Cage Aux Folles''. No stranger to musical theatre, Lawson previously starred in the London revival of '' Pal Joey''. He starred as the lead in ''Above Their Station'', a sitcom for the BBC written by Rhys Thomas about

Community Support Officer A police community support officer (PCSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol yr heddlu, SCCH), or as written in legislation community support officer (CSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol, SCC) is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wal ...

s; it was made as a pilot but never commissioned, being shown only as a one-off special. Lawson appeared alongside actress

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

in the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

movie based on the life of

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

, playing Kenneth Darrell Waters, a London surgeon who becomes Blyton's second husband. In July 2009 Lawson appeared as Alexander Fleming in a

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

drama called ''Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin'' alongside

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), t ...

. Lawson played the part of Alice's grandfather in ITV1's supernatural crime thriller ''

Marchlands ''Marchlands'' is a British television series developed from the American television drama pilot '' The Oaks'', written and created by David Schulner, broadcast on ITV1 in 2011. A follow-up series, ''Lightfields'', was broadcast in 2013. Each fiv ...

'' which was shown in February 2011. Lawson 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 ...

once more in ''The Acid Test'' by

Anya Reiss Anya Reiss (born in 1991) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Career The youngest writer to have a play staged in London, a graduate of the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, she had her first play '' Spur of the Moment'' staged there ...

in 2011. Lawson replaced

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in ''The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy Fi ...

in the BBC One series ''

'' in its ninth series in 2012. Lawson has said he was asked to reprise his role as Wedge Antilles in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', but reportedly turned down the role because he believed it would have "bored" him. However, Lawson later said he actually declined to appear in ''The Force Awakens'' due to a scheduling conflict, and would have appeared in the film had he been available. Lawson returned to the role in 2019's '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker''.

Personal life

In 1973, he met actress

Diane Fletcher Diane Fletcher (born 17 April 1944) is an English actress. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1966. Fletcher was born in Derby, England. She played Nancy in ''Fairly Secret Army'', and has appeared in other popular British t ...

in a stage production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. They have a son together, Jamie (born 1979). He met his wife, actress

Sheila Gish Sheila Gish (born Sheila Anne Syme Gash; 23 April 1942 – 9 March 2005) was an English actress. For her role in the 1995 London revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical '' Company'', she won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance ...

, on the set of the 1985 film ''That Uncertain Feeling''. They lived together for nearly 20 years before marrying in March 2004 in Antigua; she died of cancer a year later. In 2017, he married Karen Prentice in Italy. His nephew is actor

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Denis 1947 births Living people People educated at Morrison's Academy Scottish male television actors Scottish male film actors People from Crieff Laurence Olivier Award winners Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland