Frank Grimes (born 1947) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

stage and screen

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 ...

. Grimes was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He achieved his first major success as the young

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

in the 1967 stage adaptation of Behan's autobiography, ''

Borstal Boy ''Borstal Boy'' is a 1958 autobiographical book by Brendan Behan. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan, who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile borstal, softening his radical Irish republican ...

'', at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

. When the production moved to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, Grimes was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for best actor. In 1970 the Italian director,

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

, offered Grimes the lead role of Francis of Assisi in his biopic, ''

Brother Sun, Sister Moon ''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' ( it, Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna) is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is an examination of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Plot Francesco, the sp ...

''. However, director and actor fell out over how the part should be played and Grimes was replaced by

Graham Faulkner Graham Faulkner (born 26 September 1947 in London, UK) is a former British actor. His first and best known role was as Francis of Assisi in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' (1972). After that, he virtually retired from actin ...

.''The Irish Times'', "Frank Grimes", 5 May 1976 In the early 1970s, Grimes moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he came to the attention of director

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for ...

. Anderson offered him a part in his production of

David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...

's play ''The Farm'', the success of which established Grimes' reputation in British theatre. Grimes' most significant film role to date is the part of Major Fuller in Richard Attenborough's ''A Bridge Too Far'' (1977). However, he is probably best known, in his native Ireland at least, for his performance as Father O'Connor in RTÉ's drama series, '' Strumpet City''. In 1981, Grimes received a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

"for his detailed and exceptionally convincing portrayal" of the young priest.''The Irish Times'', "Kee wins award for TV history of Ireland", 11 April 1981 Frank Grimes continues to work in television, films and theatre. Recent TV appearances include the recurrent role of Barry Connor in '' Coronation Street''. In 2013 he appeared as Mrs McCarthy's husband in the ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intui ...

'' episode "The Mayor and the Magician".

Filmography

References

External links

Frank Grimes at Irish Playography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimes, Frank 1947 births Living people Irish male stage actors Irish male film actors Irish male television actors Jacob's Award winners People from Cabra, Dublin