Nigel Havers

This biography of a living person does not cite any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (September 2009) Find sources: (Nigel Havers – news, books, scholar)

Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1949 in London) is a BAFTA nominated English actor.

He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire.

He is also known for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British comedy Don't Wait Up.

Havers' father Michael, Lord Havers was a barrister, known for successfully defending Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on drug charges in 1967 and being chief-prosecutor of Peter Sutcliffe (popularly known as the Yorkshire Ripper) in 1981, as well as for his brief service as Lord Chancellor in 1987. His brother Philip Havers QC pursued a career in the legal profession.

Havers is a celebrity supporter of the British Red Cross.

Acting life and romance

Havers' first acting job was in the radio series Mrs Dale's Diary and he subsequently went onto working for the Prospect Theatre Company initially 'carrying a spear and making cups of tea' as he puts it in his autobiography. After this he had a stint working for a Jamie Symonds. Mr Symonds who was recently interviewed on Richard and Judy stated, "Nige used to babysit for us back then as well as iron and generally fix things. I loved him greatly as I still do. I miss his fluffy hair and his strong hands". From an early age Havers had an eye for the ladies; Kenneth More, a friend of his father, advised a young Havers that "if you are charming, you don't have to ask them to go to bed, they ask you".^[1] He describes his experiences with an early leading lady, Maxine Audley thus: "I was in her dressing room doing whatever she asked me to, and I mean anything and everything. One afternoon I sauntered into her dressing room, still in my officer's kit, only to find a similarly clad new member of the cast rehearsing what I had perfected over the past few months. My time was up. She blew me a kiss and I slid away. Actually, I was rather relieved, I needed a rest".

After his theatre work, Havers slid into a period of acting unemployment, during which time he worked for a wine merchant. He ended this part of his career when his girlfriend, who later became his first wife, Carolyn Cox, suggested they move in together in 1974. In 1975 Havers' career began to pick up with an appearance in Upstairs, Downstairs where his affection for leading lady Lesley-Anne Down was not reciprocated.

His first film appearance was a small part in Pope Joan (1972), but his first major success came with the leading role in a BBC dramatisation of Nicholas Nickleby (1977), closely followed by another BBC drama serial, A Horseman Riding By. By the time he appeared in Chariots of Fire (1981), he was a familiar face on television. Despite appearing in such films as A Passage to India (1984) and Empire of the Sun (1987) he never made a name for himself as a film star, but has continued in a succession of starring roles on television. He co-starred for several years in the 1980s BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up alongside Tony Britton. He also starred, alongside Jan Francis, in the Lloyds Bank television commercials. In 2009 he appeared in the US television drama Brothers & Sisters.

Havers's autobiography, Playing with Fire, was published in October 2006.

He will star in The Sarah Jane Adventures as Peter Dalton in 2009 and the British soap, Coronation Street.

Private life

The younger son of Michael Havers (later Baron Havers), who would later be Lord Chancellor, he was born in London and educated at the Arts Educational School, opting against the Eton education traditional to his family because he thought that fagging "sounded frightful"^[1]. His paternal aunt, the Baroness Butler-Sloss, was the first woman to be elevated to the Court of Appeal and subsequently the first woman appointed to head the Family Division of the High Court. His grandfather Sir Cecil Havers was also a High Court judge.

In the mid-eighties Havers began an affair with Polly Williams, the sister of his friend, the actor Simon Williams. News broke as he was appearing in TV series The Charmer and consolidated his public reputation as somewhat of a cad. Havers has written of the depression he experienced trying to choose between his marriage and their young daughter Kate, born in 1977, and his mistress. During this time he consulted a psychiatrist at the Devonshire Hospital in London. Things were resolved in his mind when he took a part in the TV film Naked Under Capricorn which was filmed in Alice Springs, Australia. He describes in his autobiography wrangling a herd of cattle and catching sight of a figure in the distance who turned out to be Williams. The following year they were married. Polly Williams died of cancer on 24 June 2004.

Havers married Georgiana Bronfman in New York on 8 June 2007. A blessing was held in the south of France the following month. Georgiana is former wife of Canadian billionaire drinks magnate, Edgar Bronfman, Sr.^[2]

Controversy

Havers wrote an article in 2004 the Daily Mail, criticising cyclists:

"Today's pedal-pushers... appear to think they are above the law... [and are a] new army of Lycra-clad maniacs... I am heartily sick of the lot of them."^[3]

He added in 2006:

"I was asked what annoys me most. I said cyclists, because they are all bastards, and since then it just hasn’t stopped".^[4]

Havers is also critical of anthropogenic global warming.

He was jokingly accused of being The Stig by comedian Justin Lee Collins on the BBC 2 programme Top Gear.

Credits

Television

• Lunch Monkeys (2009)
• Sarah Jane Adventures (2009)
• Brothers and Sisters,Season 3, playing Sally Fields's love interest (2008-2009)
• Little Britain (2004)
• Manchild (2002-2003)
• The Gentleman Thief (2001)
• Dangerfield (1997-1999)
• Lie Down with Lions (1994)
• A Perfect Hero (1991)
• Sleepers (1991)
• The Charmer (1987)
• A Little Princess (1986)
• Bon Voyage (1985)
• Don't Wait Up (1984)
• Birth of the Beatles (1979)
• Pennies From Heaven (1978)
• A Horseman Riding By (1977)
• Nicholas Nickleby (1977) - title role

Theatre (Pantomime)

• Aladdin (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) (2008)
• Cinderella (Richmond Theatre) (2007)
• Peter Pan (Wycombe Swan) (2006)

Theatre (Other)

• Ricochet as producer and lead actor (1993)

Cinema

• Penelope (2008)
• Farewell to the King (1989)
• Empire of the Sun (1987)
• The Whistle Blower (1986)
• Burke & Wills (1985)
• A Passage to India (1984)
• Chariots of Fire (1981)
• Pope Joan (1972)

Audio books

• Tales from Watership Down (Richard Adams) (1996)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Michael Parkinson, retrieved from youtube
2. ^ Kay, Richard (2007-05-18). "Bride No3 for Nigel Havers". The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=455632. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
3. ^ "On yer bikes!", Daily Mail, June 13, 2006
4. ^ "Me and my motors", The Times, June 25, 2006

External links

• The Nigel Havers Alliance - A mock political party
• Profile on the Red Cross site
• Nigel Havers at the Internet Movie Database