Michael Jayston

Michael Jayston (born Michael A. James 29 October 1935 in Nottingham ^[1]) is an English actor.

Early life

He attended the Becket Grammar School in West Bridgford. He worked briefly as a trainee accountant at the offices of the National Coal Board before obtaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an actor. He made his professional debut, aged 27, in a production of The Amorous Prawn, going on to work on the stage at the Salisbury Repertory, Bristol Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career

He enjoyed success as a classical stage actor before becoming well known on British television. Shakespearean roles on TV include Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice (1973) and Edmund in King Lear (1975). An early recurring television role was as civil servant Dowling in the final series of boardroom drama The Power Game in 1969.

He was once considered for the part of James Bond and he portrayed the character in a radio adaptation of You Only Live Twice, a decade later in 1990. In 1970 he played Henry Ireton in Cromwell. In 1971, he starred as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in the film Nicholas and Alexandra, then in 1973 took the lead role of Mr Rochester in a BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre opposite Sorcha Cusack. He appeared as Gratiano opposite Laurence Olivier as Shylock in the National Theatre's film The Merchant of Venice (1974). He made two appearances in the anthology series Thriller in 1974 and in 1975 played Quiller, a spy who never used a gun, in the British TV series of the same name. He appeared as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Jonathan Mansel in the 1977 BBC adaptation of She Fell Among Thieves. In 1979 he played Peter Guillam opposite Alec Guinness in the mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

In 1986, Jayston played the role of the Valeyard in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the serial The Ultimate Foe, the Valeyard is revealed to be an evil version of the Doctor himself. He later reprised the part of the Valeyard in He Jests at Scars..., an audio play in the Big Finish Productions' Doctor Who Unbound series. He has been a close friend of Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker since they appeared in Nicholas and Alexandra.

Jayston played Neville Badger in the 1989 television adaptation of David Nobbs's comedy of manners A Bit of a Do. In 1991, he appeared as Colonel Mustard in the television series Cluedo and a year later made a guest appearance in the Press Gang episode "UnXpected". Other notable TV appearances include in EastEnders, Coronation Street, Only Fools and Horses, The Darling Buds of May, Tales of the Unexpected, The Bill and most recently played the character of Donald De Souza in Emmerdale.

Voiceover artist

He has also narrated many audio books, including works by P. D. James and John le Carré. He provided the voices for the Wind in the Willows, Story Teller group of tapes from 1983 to 1985, which are now very rare and collectible.

In 2004, he narrated a radio version of Geoffrey Household's thriller Rogue Male, for digital radio station BBC Radio 7 which is regularly repeated. From 2nd February 2009 he could be heard reading a new abridged recording of Geoffrey Household's sequel Rogue Justice also on BBC Radio 7.

He also provided a "voice" for a song by the British group Saint Etienne. He was at one point a prolific voiceover on British television adverts, as well as voicing Capital Radio's station idents. Since 2001, he has been the male station voice on BBC Essex. Michael is now President of the Brighton Little Theatre.

Personal life

Jayston's first wife was actress Lynn Farleigh whom he married in 1965. He married Heather Sneddon in 1970 then Elizabeth Smithson in 1978.

References

External links

• Michael Jayston at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Jayston in Jane Eyre