Michael Hordern
Biography
Michael Hordern was an English actor known for Shakespearean roles, above all King Lear, who moved from bit parts to leading roles and appeared in nearly 140 films. Born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, he developed his interest in acting at Brighton College. After joining an amateur dramatics company, he came to the notice of Shakespearean directors and played minor roles in Othello and Macbeth. He then worked as a bit-part actor in many films, especially war films. In the early 1950s he came to prominence through a London competition, which led to a season-long Shakespeare contract where he played Caliban in The Tempest and Jaques in As You Like It. At the Old Vic his parts included Polonius in Hamlet and the lead in King John. He received a British Academy Television Award for his acting in The Dock Brief. His films included Scrooge (1951) and The Man Who Never Was (1956).
83years old at death
- Born Berkhamsted
- Died Oxford
- Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
- Michael Murray Hordern (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 48
- Career span
- 43 years1949 to 1992
Genres
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First role
Hordern's first paid role for a theater company was as Ludovico in Othello, staged at the People's Theatre in Mile End. When Stephen Murray, who had the title role, became contractually obliged elsewhere, Hordern took his place for an extra pound a week.
Early training
Hordern had no formal acting training and credited his abilities to watching other actors and directors, calling himself a lazy bugger about preparing for roles.
A first
Hordern's Broadway debut came on 9 October 1959 at the Cort Theatre, in Marcel Aymé's comedy Moonbirds, with Wally Cox. The play flopped, closing after three performances across two nights.
Beyond film
Hordern played Gandalf in the BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in 1981, a 26-episode series that was a hit with audiences and critics.
Michael Hordern movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Richard Lester directed four of these films, Anthony Asquith two and Ronald Neame two. Two actors appear in seven of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Harry Andrews's page
Richard Burton's page
Roy Kinnear's page
James Mason's page
Cyril Cusack's page
Robert Hardy's page
All films by Richard Lester
All films by Anthony Asquith
Ronald NeameDirector, 2 films, 1952 to 1956
All films by Ronald Neame
Also four films together1 more actor
- William SquireAnne of the Thousand Days (1969), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Alexander the Great (1956) and The Man Who Never Was (1956)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Michael Hordern's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$93.6 million
11 of the 48 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 48 films: 11 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 5 never in cinemas; 28 figure not found.
- 11Worldwide figure
- 4US gross only
- 5Never in cinemas
- 28Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 97% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$27M28.4% of the total
- 2$21M22.4% of the total
- 3$13M13.6% of the total
- 4$8.0M8.5% of the total
- 5$7.6M8.1% of the total
- 6$7.2M7.7% of the total
- 7$4.3M4.6% of the total
- 8$3.7M4.0% of the total
$2.4 millionfrom the other 3 films with a worldwide figure, 3% of the total
Awards
Two awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Won | ||
| Knight Bachelor | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.