Esmond Knight
Biography
Esmond Knight was an English actor who established himself on stage in the 1920s and worked in film for decades. Born in East Sheen, Surrey, he played Rosencrantz in John Gielgud's 1930 production of Hamlet. On screen he took the lead as Johann Strauss in Alfred Hitchcock's Waltzes from Vienna (1934) and later appeared in Powell and Pressburger's Contraband (1940). His major breakthrough came as Fluellen in Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), and he also appeared in films for Olivier and for Powell and Pressburger, including A Canterbury Tale (1944), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948) and Hamlet (1948). He starred in Jean Renoir's The River (1951). Later credits included Sink the Bismarck! (1960), in which he played John Leach, the television series A for Andromeda (1961), and Robin and Marian (1976).
80years old at death
- Born East Sheen
- Died London
- Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
- Also credited as Esmond Penington Knight
Movie Career
- Films
- 16
- Career span
- 50 years1934 to 1984
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A role that slipped away
Esmond Knight was cast as the fanatical Nazi Lieutenant Hirth in the 1941 propaganda film 49th Parallel, but Eric Portman took the role because Knight was needed for military training.
Big break
Knight's return to the mainstream came when Laurence Olivier cast him as Fluellen, the eccentric and brave Welsh officer, in Olivier's 1944 film of Henry V.
Esmond Knight movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Michael Powell directed five of these films, Emeric Pressburger four and Laurence Olivier three. Three actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Michael Hordern's page
Laurence Olivier's page
Hay Petrie's page
Ian Holm's page
Richard Burton's page
Jean Simmons's page
All films by Michael Powell
All films by Emeric Pressburger
Also two films together14 more actors
- Felix AylmerHamlet (1948) and Henry V (1944)
- Anthony QuayleAnne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Hamlet (1948)
- Cyril CusackThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and Gone to Earth (1950)
- Leo GennHenry V (1944) and Contraband (1940)
- George ColeGone to Earth (1950) and Henry V (1944)
- Freda JacksonA Canterbury Tale (1944) and Henry V (1944)
- David FarrarGone to Earth (1950) and Black Narcissus (1947)
- Robert HelpmannThe Red Shoes (1948) and Henry V (1944)
- Nora SwinburneAnne of the Thousand Days (1969) and The River (1951)
- Bill ShineThe Red Shoes (1948) and Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
- Charles VictorThe Prince and the Showgirl (1957) and Contraband (1940)
- Harcourt WilliamsHamlet (1948) and Henry V (1944)
- Sybil ThorndikeThe Prince and the Showgirl (1957) and Gone to Earth (1950)
- Russell ThorndikeHamlet (1948) and Henry V (1944)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.