Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and '' Chariots of Fire'', respectively.

Early life and education

Davenport was born in Great Shelford,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

, son of Arthur Henry Davenport and Katherine Lucy (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Meiklejohn). His father was an engineer, educated at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...

before being employed as an engineer for the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

, and was later a lecturer in engineering, a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, and the

bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education ...

at his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; he had served for four years in the Royal Engineers during World War I, and was awarded a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. Nigel's great-uncle, Major Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn, was awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

. He grew up in an academic family and was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford,

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

and Trinity College, Oxford. Originally he chose to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics but switched to English on the advice of one of his tutors.Anthony Haywar
"Obituary: Nigel Davenport, character actor sought by directors in all mediums for nearly half a century"
''The Independent'', 30 October 2013 In the 1950s Davenport undertook

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

with the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

as a disc jockey on the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselv ...

in Hamburg>.

Career

Davenport first appeared on stage at the Savoy Theatre and then with the Shakespeare Memorial Company, before joining the English Stage Company, one of its earliest members, 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, England ...

in 1956.Obituary: Nigel Davenport
telegraph.co.uk, 29 October 2013 He began appearing in British film and television productions in supporting roles, including a walk-on in Tony Richardson's film, '' Look Back in Anger'' (1959). Subsequent roles included a theatre manager 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 British stage ...

in the film version of '' The Entertainer'' and a policeman in Michael Powell's ''

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

'' (both 1960). Nigel Davenport Angela Lansbury A Taste of Honey 1960

In the 1962 last episode of the first season of the TV series '' The Saint'', titled "The Charitable Countess", with

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

as Simon Templar and Patricia Donahue as Countess Rovagna, Davenport played a supporting role as the Countess's confidant, Aldo Petri. He made an impression as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), co-starred with Michael Caine in the war movie ''

Play Dirty ''Play Dirty'' is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin. The film's story is inspired by ...

'', and had a major role as Lord Bothwell in ''

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

''. In 1972, he appeared as

George Adamson George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film '' ...

, opposite Susan Hampshire in ''Living Free'', the sequel to '' Born Free''. During the production of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', Davenport read the lines of HAL 9000 off-camera during the computer's dialogues with actors

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include ''David and Lisa' ...

and Gary Lockwood. However, Kubrick thought that Davenport's English accent was too distracting, and after a few weeks he dismissed him, so Canadian actor Douglas Rain was ultimately chosen for the role. Davenport took the leading role in the off-beat '' Phase IV'' (1974), which failed to find an audience. In 1979, he portrayed King George III in ''

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illne ...

''. He appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge's grudging father Silas in the George C. Scott version of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' (1984), and played opposite Michael Caine again in the 1988 Sherlock Holmes spoof '' Without A Clue'', which was Davenport's second-to-last feature film. He portrayed The Duke of Holdernesse in a 1993 BBC Radio dramatization of the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

story " The Adventure of the Priory School". In February 1997, Davenport was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at David Nicholson's stables near Cheltenham. He was president of

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

from 1986 to 1992.

Personal life

Davenport was married twice, first to Helena Margaret White whom he met while he was studying at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. They married in 1951 and had a daughter, Laura, and a son, Hugo. His second wife was actress Maria Aitken with whom he had a second son, Jack, also an actor, best known for appearing in ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with the ...

''. According to

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction. His films include '' Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' ...

, producer of the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, Jack was cast as the

James Norrington This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. __TOC__ Main characters Jack Sparrow Captain Jack Sparrow is the protagonist of the series, portrayed by Johnny Depp. First introduced in the film '' Pi ...

character, partly because of Nigel's involvement in '' A High Wind in Jamaica''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Nigel Davenport
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Nigel 1928 births 2013 deaths Aitken family Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People educated at Cheltenham College Male actors from Cambridgeshire Place of death missing British trade union leaders English trade unionists People from Great Shelford