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Denis Lawson

 
Actor: Denis Lawson
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  • Born: 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '70s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Science Fiction
  • Career Highlights: Local Hero, The Chain, The Ambassaor: Series 02
  • First Major Screen Credit: Local Hero (1983)

Biography

Denis Lawson has gone through a good part of his professional career since 1977 being thought of simply as X-Wing fighter pilot Wedge Antilles, a part he first played in Star Wars and reprised (with more screen time each time) in The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. The character is notable for being one of the few X-Wing pilots to survive the various battles.

Lawson has done far more than a bit part in a major movie, however, having had a steady career in theater, television, and film. He co-starred with Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster in Bill Forsyth's Local Hero, and later headed up a pair of miniseries, The Justice Game and The Justice Game II: The Lady From Rome, as affluent Glasgow lawyer Dominic Rossi. As the '90s drew to a close, much was made of the fact that Lawson is the uncle of Ewan McGregor, the actor cast as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the trilogy of Star Wars prequels. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide
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Denis Lawson

Denis Lawson at the 2006 Crieff Highland Games.
Born Denis Stamper Lawson[1]
27 September 1947 (1947-09-27) (age 62)
Crieff, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Occupation Actor
Years active 1969–present
Spouse(s) Sheila Gish (2004-2005) (her death)

Denis Stamper Lawson[1] (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his roles as Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy, John Jarndyce in the TV-series Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero.

Contents

Personal life

Lawson was born in Crieff, Perth and Kinross, the son of Phyllis Neno (née Stamper), who sold sweets, and Laurence Lawson, a watchmaker and Glasgow native.[1] Lawson was educated at Crieff Primary School (then called Crieff Public School). After the 11 plus examination, he went on to Morrison's Academy, which at that time took non-fee-paying pupils as well as fee-paying day pupils and boarders. Also, he attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His sister, Carol Diane McGregor, is a retired teacher who still lives in Perthshire. She is the mother of actor Ewan McGregor who played Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. In 1979, Lawson had a child, Jamie,[2] with actress Diane Fletcher, with whom he had a seven-year relationship after meeting in a stage production of Twelfth Night. He met his wife, Sheila Gish, on the set of the 1985 film That Uncertain Feeling. They lived together for nearly 20 years before marrying in March 2004 (Antigua); she died of cancer a year later (9 March 2005). Her daughter from a previous marriage, Lou Gish, also succumbed to cancer in 2006.

Career

Lawson began his acting career with a small role in a 1969 stage production of The Metamorphosis in London's West End. and has since starred in television dramas such as Rock Follies (1976), Dead Head (1986). He played X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles in all three original Star Wars movies, and later reprised the role, in voiceover form, for the Nintendo GameCube game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2. He has appeared often on the West End stage, most notably in 527-show 1983-1984 run of the musical Mr. Cinders at the Fortune Theatre.[3] In 1999, he directed a production of "Little Malcolm & His Struggle Against the Eunuchs" - first at the Hampstead Theatre before transferring to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. The production starred his nephew Ewan McGregor in the lead role of Malcolm Scrawdyke

He recently appeared on an episode of "Loose Ends" hosted by Ned Sherrin on BBC Radio 4 (10 December 2005), during which his cell phone rang. In 2005, he played the leading role of John Jarndyce in the critically acclaimed BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, receiving an Emmy nomination. As a joke, George Lucas offered him the role of Raymus Antilles (unrelated to Wedge) in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which Lawson declined.

In 2007, he portrayed Peter Syme in the BBC One drama serial Jekyll, a modern version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.[4] Lawson also appeared as Captain "Dreadnought" Foster in one of ITV's dramatisations of C.S. Forester's Hornblower - The second episode in the series, "The Examination for Lieutenant". He recently appeared in the BBC adaptation of Robin Hood, in episode six, For England!, in which he played the Sheriff of Winchester. He is now 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 earning rave reviews.

He has just starred as the lead in 'Above Their Station' a new sitcom for the BBC written by Rhys Thomas about Community Support Officers due to air in 2009. Lawson will appear alongside Academy Award nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter in an upcoming BBC Four movie based on the life of Enid Blyton. Lawson will 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 drama called 'Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin' alongside Dominic West from The Wire.

Filmography

Video games

References

  1. ^ a b c Pendreigh, Brian (1999). Ewan McGregor. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 10-1560252391. 
  2. ^ Jamie_Lawson
  3. ^ www.musical-theatre.net [1]
  4. ^ "An all-star cast to appear in BBC ONE's Jekyll". BBC Press Office. 2006-08-29. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/08_august/29/jekyll.shtml. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 

External links


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