Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he also appeared in many television series in the late 1960s into the 1970s. He is known for his role as Major von Hapen in the 1968 film ''

Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...

''.

Acting career

Often playing villains on screen, Nesbitt's television appearances began in the 1950s, including roles in ''

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a Kn ...

'', ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...

'', '' Man of the World'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'', ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'' and ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

''. He has also appeared in film roles such as a predatory blackmailer of gay men in ''

Victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

'' (1961), a murderous pimp in ''

The Informers ''The Informers'' is a collection of short stories, linked by the same continuity, written by American author Bret Easton Ellis. The collection was first published as a whole in 1994. Chapters 6 and 7, "Water from the Sun" and "Discovering Jap ...

'' (1963), a slimy assassin in ''

Nobody Runs Forever ''Nobody Runs Forever'', also called ''The High Commissioner'', is a 1968 British political neo noir spy thriller action film directed by Ralph Thomas and based on Jon Cleary's 1966 novel '' The High Commissioner''. It stars Rod Taylor as Aus ...

'', and the suspicious Gestapo officer in ''

'' (1968). Nesbitt was keen to be as authentic as possible with his character in ''Where Eagles Dare''. Whilst on location, he requested to meet a former member of the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

to better understand how to play the character and to get the military regalia correct. He was injured on set whilst filming the scene in which his character is killed. The blood squib attached to Nesbitt exploded with such force that he was temporarily blinded, though he made a quick recovery.A Conversation with Derren Nesbitt. "Major von Hapen" in "Where Eagles Dare"
YouTube (10 June 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20. In 2018, Nesbitt played the leading role, as a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

, in a British independent film, ''Tucked''.

Personal life

Nesbitt has been married four times and has five children.http://sussex.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/derren-nesbitt-at-75-19355/ Derren Nesbitt at 75 In 1961, he married his first wife, the actress

Anne Aubrey Anne Aubrey (born 1 January 1937) is a retired English film actress. She was mainly active in Warwick Films in the 1950s and 1960s. She worked with Anthony Newley in such films as '' Idol on Parade'', '' Killers of Kilimanjaro'', '' The Bandit ...

; the couple had a daughter the next year. On 25 January 1973, he was fined £250 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...

in October the previous year. He attacked her with a leather strap after she told him that she was having an affair with another man. He also bruised her by grabbing her clothing the next day when she refused to tell him details about her lover. She divorced him a few months later. His third wife was an Australian beauty queen, and for a time he moved to her country where he taught theatre studies at The Northern Rivers Conservatorium of Arts in Lismore NSW. As of 2014, he lives in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, West Sussex, with his fourth wife, Miranda.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Derren 1935 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors English people convicted of assault Violence against women in England People convicted of domestic violence Male actors from London People from Worthing Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors