Nigel Davenport


Arthur Nigel Davenport was an English stage, television and film actor, best known for his film roles as the Duke of Norfolk in A Man for All Seasons, and Lord Birkenhead in Chariots of Fire.
Fandom disney:Nigel_Davenport

Early life and education

Davenport was born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, son of Arthur Henry Davenport and Katherine Lucy. His father was an engineer, educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge before being employed as an engineer for the Midland Railway, and later a lecturer in engineering, a Fellow, and the bursar at his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College. Arthur Davenport also served for four years in the Royal Engineers during World War I, and was awarded a Military Cross. Nigel's great-uncle, Major Maury Meiklejohn, was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War.
He grew up in an academic family and was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford, Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Oxford. Originally he chose to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics but switched to English on the advice of one of his tutors.
In the 1950s Davenport undertook National Service with the Royal Army Service Corps as a disc jockey on the British Forces Broadcasting Service in Hamburg.

Career

Davenport first appeared on stage at the Savoy Theatre and then with the Shakespeare Memorial Company, before joining the English Stage Company, one of its earliest members, at the Royal Court Theatre in 1956. He began appearing in British film and television productions in supporting roles, including a walk-on in Tony Richardson's film, Look Back in Anger. Subsequent roles included a theatre manager opposite Laurence Olivier in the film version of The Entertainer and a policeman in Michael Powell's Peeping Tom.
In the 1962 last episode of the first season of the TV series The Saint, titled "The Charitable Countess", with Roger Moore as Simon Templar and Patricia Donahue as Countess Rovagna, Davenport played a supporting role as the Countess's confidant, Aldo Petri. Davenport appeared again in The Saint in season 3, episode 16 as Charles Voyson.
He made an impression as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in A Man for All Seasons, co-starred with Michael Caine in the war movie Play Dirty, and had a major role as Lord Bothwell in Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1972, he appeared as George Adamson, opposite Susan Hampshire in Living Free, the sequel to Born Free.
During the production of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Davenport read the lines of HAL 9000 off-camera during the computer's dialogues with actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. However, Kubrick thought that Davenport's English accent was too distracting and dismissed him after a few weeks. Canadian actor Douglas Rain was ultimately chosen for the role. Davenport took the leading role in the off-beat Phase IV, which failed to find an audience. In 1979 he starred in the radio serialisation of Prudence, a romance novel by Jilly Cooper, alongside Felicity Kendal. The same years, he portrayed King George III in Prince Regent.
He appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge's grudging father Silas in the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, and played opposite Michael Caine again in the 1988 Sherlock Holmes spoof Without A Clue, which was Davenport's second-last feature film.
He portrayed The Duke of Holdernesse in a 1993 BBC Radio dramatisation of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Priory School".
In February 1997, Davenport was the subject of This Is Your Life when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at David Nicholson's stables near Cheltenham.
He was president of Equity from 1986 to 1992.

Personal life

Davenport was married twice, first to Helena Margaret White whom he met while he was studying at Oxford University. They married in 1951 and had a son and a daughter. His second wife was actress Maria Aitken with whom he had a second son, Jack, also an actor, best known for appearing in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1957–1958The Adventures of Robin HoodSt Peter Marston, Claude the Seneschal, Barty and others7 episodes
1957Mister CharlesworthSergeant Spence6 episodes
1958Big GunsSergeant Spence6 episodes
1962Sir Francis DrakeMiguel Cervantes1 episode
1962-1965The SaintAldo Petri/Charles Voyson2 episodes
1963The Edgar Wallace Mystery TheatreDino Stefano/Larry Mason2 episodes: NB: The Verdict
1964Madame BovaryRodolphe
1966–68The AvengersLord Barnes / Robertson
1969The Name of the GameDavid Windom1 episode
1972The EdwardiansSir Arthur Conan Doyle1 episode
1974South RidingRobert Carne11 episodes
1975Oil Strike NorthJim Fraser13 episodes
1979Prince RegentKing George III8 episodes, TV mini-series
1981MasadaSen. MucianusPart 1
1981A Midsummer Night's DreamTheseusTV movie
1982MinderRay
1982Bird of PreyCharles Bridgnorth
1982–83Don't Rock The BoatJack Hoxton12 episodes, TV mini-series
1985–1990Howards' WaySir Edward Frere29 episodes
1986Ladies in ChargeCount Litvinoff1 episode
1986Lord Mountbatten: The Last ViceroyLord Ismay
1991TrainerJames Brant13 episodes
1993Keeping Up AppearancesThe Commodore1 episode: The Commodore
1994Woof!Mr. Wellesby1 episode
1996The Treasure SeekersLord Blackstock
2000The Adventures of Captain PugwashNarrator26 episodes
2000David CopperfieldDan PeggottyTV movie
2000Midsomer MurdersWilliam Smithers1 episode
2000LongitudeSir Charles PelhamTV movie