Nigel Green
Nigel McGown Green was an English actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.
Early life and education
Nigel Green was born in Pretoria, South Africa, son of pioneering animal health biochemist Henry Hamilton Green, DSc, and Katherine Laura, née McGown, daughter of printer John McGown. In Pretoria, his father was employed as professor of biochemistry and sub-director of the Veterinary Research Laboratories at Onderstepoort. Green's elder brother, Kenneth Gillies Green, was a medical doctor, an adviser to companies including Imperial Chemical Industries, and in 1959 a founder of the Association of Medical Advisers in the Pharmaceutical Industry, now the British Association for Pharmaceutical Physicians.Green was subsequently raised in London, attending King's College School, Wimbledon and the University of London, followed by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During the Second World War he trained as an Observer in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
Stage career
Among early stage appearances, Green was at London's New Theatre in October 1948, playing multiple roles in John Burrell's Old Vic company revival of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. At the Stratford Memorial Theatre in 1950, he was cast as Sir Thomas Lovell in Henry VIII, Abhorson in Peter Brook's production of Measure for Measure, Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar, and — most notably — Edmund in King Lear, starring and co-directed by John Gielgud.Green's subsequent West End appearances included Come Live With Me, Heloise, Vernon Sylvaine's As Long as They're Happy, opposite Jack Buchanan, Félicien Marceau's The Egg ) and Agatha Christie's Go Back for Murder.
In his second volume of autobiography, Michael Powell pointed out that, though the play they collaborated on was a failure, "Nigel Green, with his great face and towering figure, would soon make a name for himself in movies. Who could ever forget him in Zulu? He was an almost mythical figure, like Harry Andrews and Victor McLaglen, and later John Wayne, all of them genuine and generous artists. Among other men they were like Norse gods, mythical, large and gentle, suddenly exploding into rage and performing fabulous feats of strength."
Screen career
Green's early film roles included Reach for the Sky, The Criminal, The League of Gentlemen and Beat Girl. His imposing physique led to his being cast as Little John in the film Sword of Sherwood Forest.Green had one of his most memorable roles as Hercules in Jason and the Argonauts, followed by his co-starring role as Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne in Zulu. He had a leading role as Inspector Sir Denis Nayland Smith in The Face of Fu Manchu and the supporting role of Major Dalby in The Ipcress File. Other roles include Carl Petersen in the Bulldog Drummond film Deadlier Than the Male, as McCune, a devious Australian in the 1967 comedy-adventure The Pink Jungle, Count Contini in the Matt Helm film The Wrecking Crew, and 'Lord Ashley's Whore' in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter. His many military roles included parts in Khartoum, Tobruk, Fräulein Doktor and Play Dirty.
Green also appeared in a number of horror films, including Corridors of Blood, The Masque of the Red Death, The Skull, Let's Kill Uncle and Countess Dracula. His penultimate role was as McKyle the 'Electric Messiah', a mental patient believing himself to be God, in The Ruling Class.
Green's television appearances included The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, The Adventures of William Tell, The Other Man, Danger Man, The Power Game, The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, Jason King, The Protectors and The Persuaders!.