John Ogwen (born 25 April 1944) is a Welsh actor.

Early life

Ogwen was born and raised in Sling near Bethesda in the

Ogwen Valley Dyffryn Ogwen, or Ogwen Valley, is a valley mostly located in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The upper section of the valley, east of Llyn Ogwen, lies in the county of Conwy. Geography The valley lies to the south of Bangor. It is bordered on ...

, from which his surname derives. He attended Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, then studied English and Welsh at the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. When told by his agent, "You'll have to make up your mind whether you want to be a nationalist or an actor", he replied, "I'll be a bit of both."

Career

He is best known to British audiences for his starring role in the 1978 drama series ''Hawkmoor'', and appearances in the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series '' The District Nurse'' and the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''

Revelation of the Daleks ''Revelation of the Daleks'' is the sixth and final serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial t ...

'', Ogwen has been a stalwart of

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

television and film since the early 1970s. He has also written plays, presented documentary series and recorded readings of Welsh-language works. In 2004 he was awarded a BAFTA Cymru Special Award for his contribution to Welsh television and film.

Personal life

Ogwen has a keen interest in football, and played as a striker for Bangor City when still in the sixth form at school. Today he is a keen Everton supporter. He is married to Maureen Rhys, one of Wales' most recognisable actresses,Caernarvon Online
and in the past they have frequently worked together in productions. They have three children, and live in Bangor.

Partial filmography

Films

*''Blood Circle'' (1994) *''Oed yr Addewid'' (2002) *''Eldra'' (2002)

Television

*''Hawkmoor'' (1978) *''The District Nurse'' (1984) *'' Doctor Who'' (1985) *''Deryn'' (1985) *''Tomos y Tanc a'i Ffrindiau'' (1986) - narrator (Welsh language version of ''

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'') *''Tylluan Wen'' (1997) *''Belonging'' (2005) *''

Y Gwyll ''Hinterland'' () in the original Welsh language version is a Welsh noir police procedural series broadcast on S4C in Welsh. The main character, DCI Tom Mathias, is played by Richard Harrington. On 27 November 2013, a second series was ...

'' (2015)

References

External links

*
BBC profile (in Welsh)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogwen, John Welsh male television actors Welsh male actors Living people 1944 births People from Gwynedd People educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen Alumni of Bangor University Welsh-speaking actors