Edward de Souza


Edward James de Souza is a British character actor and graduate of RADA, who is of Portuguese-Indian and English descent.

Early life

De Souza is the only child of Annie Adeline Swift and Edward Valentine De Souza Junior., a graduate of the University of Cambridge who was of Portuguese-Indian descent. De Souza was brought up primarily by his mother because his father died when he was 14.

Career

From 1961 to 1966, he starred in the sitcom Marriage Lines with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. De Souza had roles in the Hammer films The Phantom of the Opera and The Kiss of the Vampire. In the same year, he appeared in "Six Hands Across the Table", an episode of the British television series The Avengers.
De Souza appeared as the lead character, space security agent Marc Cory, in the Doctor Who story "Mission to the Unknown" – the only story ever broadcast in the series not to feature the Doctor in any capacity. In 1967 he joined the BBC oil industry drama The Troubleshooters as Charles Grandmercy. In 1977, he played Sheik Hosein in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. He was solicitor Bonny Bernard in the first series of Rumpole of the Bailey. In the same year, he appeared in "Hearts and Minds", the last episode of The Sweeney to be filmed, which featured the popular comedians Morecambe and Wise. In 1982, he appeared in the final Sapphire & Steel adventure as "The Man". He appeared in Edward the Seventh, After Henry, and Farrington. He had a cameo as Lord Boreal / second high councillor in the 2007 fantasy film The Golden Compass. In succession to Valentine Dyall, the originator of the role, he was The Man in Black on BBC Radio 4 between 1988 and 1992. In 1993, De Souza played the role of Afonso in the One Foot in the Grave special One Foot in the Algarve.
He joined the British soap opera Coronation Street as Colin Grimshaw, making his first appearance on 12 December 2008. His character died in May 2009.

Selected filmography