Brian Blessed
Biography
Brian Blessed is an English actor whose bushy beard, booming voice and exuberant style made him a familiar face on stage and screen. Born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, he trained at the Bristol Old Vic theater school after earning a scholarship in 1956. Early television roles included PC Fancy Smith in Z-Cars and Augustus in I, Claudius. He played Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon (1980), Lord Loxley in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and the Duke of Exeter in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989). He appeared as Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and took the roles of Old Deuteronomy and Bustopher Jones in the original London staging of Cats. On television he was King Richard IV in the first run of Blackadder. He provided the voice of Boss Nass for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999) and voiced Clayton in Tarzan (1999). In 2016 he was made an OBE, honored for his arts and charity work.
90years old
Turns 91 on October 9in 362 days
- Born Mexborough
- Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
Movie Career
- Films
- 27
- Career span
- 50 years1971 to 2021
Genres
Share
Did you know?!
A role that slipped away
In 1966, Blessed was offered the title role of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi drama Doctor Who, taking over from William Hartnell, but conflicting projects forced him to decline.
Early training
Blessed served in the RAF Regiment at Bicester, then in 1956 he earned a scholarship to train in drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Getting ready for a role
In Disney's animated Tarzan, Blessed voiced the villainous hunter Clayton, and after Tony Goldwyn proved unable to do the Tarzan yell, Blessed performed it himself.
A first
In 2002, Blessed was the first to play Baron Bomburst in the stage musical of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, directed by Royal Shakespeare Company director Adrian Noble.
Own stunts
Blessed tried three times to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. He reached 28,200 ft in 1993 and 25,200 ft in 1996, but never made it to the summit.
Own stunts
Brian Blessed has finished 800 hours of space training. He did this training at Star City, which is in Russia.
Brian Blessed movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Kenneth Branagh directed three of these films. Ian Richardson appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Ian Richardson's page
Alfred Molina's page
Kenneth Branagh's page
Imelda Staunton's page
James Faulkner's page
Omar Sharif's page
Also two films together17 more actors
- Phyllida LawDay of Wrath (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- Anthony DanielsLego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out (2012) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Nigel HawthorneTarzan (1999) and Freddie As F.R.O.7. (1992)
- Sam J. JonesLife After Flash (2017) and Flash Gordon (1980)
- Richard BriersAs You Like It (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- Oliver Ford DaviesStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) and MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994)
- Richard O'BrienLife After Flash (2017) and Flash Gordon (1980)
- Ahmed BestLego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out (2012) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Gerard HoranAs You Like It (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- Jimmy YuillAs You Like It (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- Melody AndersonLife After Flash (2017) and Flash Gordon (1980)
- Richard CliffordAs You Like It (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- TopolLife After Flash (2017) and Flash Gordon (1980)
- Patrick DoyleAs You Like It (2006) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
- Andy SecombeLego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out (2012) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Peter WyngardeLife After Flash (2017) and Flash Gordon (1980)
- Tony AnholtCosmic Princess (1982) and A Midsummer Nightmare (1975)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Brian Blessed's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$2.3 billion
11 of the 27 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 27 films: 11 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 7 never in cinemas; 8 figure not found.
- 11Worldwide figure
- 1US gross only
- 7Never in cinemas
- 8Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$1.0B46.0% of the total
- 2$448M19.7% of the total
- 3$390M17.2% of the total
- 4$167M7.3% of the total
- 5$123M5.4% of the total
- 6$28M1.2% of the total
- 7$27M1.2% of the total
- 8$23M1.0% of the total
$22.8 millionfrom the other 3 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| Officer of the Order of the British Empire | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.