Ronald Pickup

Ronald Alfred Pickup (born 7 June 1940) is an English actor who has been active in television and film since 1964.

Early life and training

Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.^[1] Pickup was educated at the King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.

Acting roles

Television

His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert.

In 1982 Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani.

In 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving. He was seen in the 1988 BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as the voice of Aslan, and in 1990 he starred in the short lived sit-com, Not with a Bang.

More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse.

Pickup played a regular part in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. Pickup gave a highly acclaimed performance as a decayed Russian aristocrat in the BBC series Fortunes of War, based on a work by Olivia Manning. He also provided the voice for Aslan in the BBC's adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia and starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly. In February 2010 he also appeared as 'Pegleg' in the BBC's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.

His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne.

Theatre

Ronald Pickup is also an accomplished stage actor. He worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey into Night.

He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 1997 for his performance in Amy's View.

Between March and August 2009, he starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias' production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Simon Callow (Pozzo). The tour opened in Malvern, Worcestershire before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand.

Film

In 1973 he appeared in The Day of the Jackal. Pickup played Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1979 BBC & Time-Life film of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and Friedrich Nietzsche in Wagner (1983; originally a television miniseries).

In 2004, he appeared in the movie Secret Passage alongside John Turturro. In 2005, he had a supporting role in the family-based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby.

In 2011, he was one of the main characters in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Family

Ronald is father to actress Rachel Pickup with whom he has starred in several productions including Midsomer Murders.

References

External links

• Ronald Pickup at the Internet Movie Database