James Cossins

The role which best epitomised James Cossins was the fussy, repressed Brown in Villain (1971). He began movie acting in the mid '60s and featured in such films as Richard Lester's How I Won the War (1967), Hammer's The Lost Continent (1968), the Jack Wild vehicle S.W.A.L.K. (1971) and the aforementioned cult classic Villain (1971) with Richard Burton. He was also particular effective as a driving test examiner in the comedy thriller Otley (1969) with Tom Courtenay. His contribution was usually limited to no more than a few minutes of screentime but he was always effective. On television he was quite prolific putting in appearances in, to name just a few, The Avengers (1961), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973), Bless This House (1971), Bergerac (1981), Minder (1979) and perhaps most memorably, Fawlty Towers (1975). He was a specialist in officious, blustering characters.