Paul Copley

Biography

Paul Copley is an English actor who grew up beside a dairy farm in Denby Dale, West Riding of Yorkshire, in a family involved in local amateur dramatic productions. He trained at the Northern Counties College of Education in Newcastle upon Tyne, taught English and drama in Walthamstow, and joined the Leeds Playhouse Theatre-in-education Company in 1971. He took the male lead in the BBC's Days of Hope in 1975, and in 1976 he won a Laurence Olivier Award for his role in For King and Country. He played Corporal Storey in Zulu Dawn (1979) and Mathews in the Hornblower series from 1998 to 2003, and appeared as Mr. Mason in Downton Abbey from 2011 to 2015 and as Arthur Medwin in Coronation Street from 2020 to 2021. He played Geoff Long in the Radio 4 series King Street Junior from 1985 to 1998.

81years old

Turns 82 on November 25in 15 days

Born November 25, 1944Denby Dale
Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
Also credited as Paul Mackriell Copley

Movie Career

Films: 9
Career span: 41 years1979 to 2020

Genres

Drama78%, 7 films
Adventure67%, 6 films
Romance33%, 3 films
War33%, 3 films
Crime22%, 2 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

A change of course
Before turning to acting, Copley taught English and Drama in Walthamstow, then joined the Leeds Playhouse Theatre-in-education Company in 1971.
Beyond film
Copley played Geoff Long in Radio 4's King Street Junior, a role that ran for ten series and about seventy-six episodes from 1985 to 1998.

Paul Copley movies on Netflix

Enola Holmes2020IMDb rating 6.7as Station Master
The Shadow in the North2007IMDb rating 6.4as Paton
Blow Dry2001IMDb rating 6.2as Ken
Hornblower: Retribution2001IMDb rating 8.1as Matthews
Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1as Matthews
Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0as Mathews
Jude1996IMDb rating 6.9as Mr. Willis
The Remains of the Day1993IMDb rating 7.8as Harry Smith
Zulu Dawn1979IMDb rating 6.7as Cpl. Storey

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Enola Holmes2020 Adventure, Crime, Mysteryas Station Master
IMDb rating 6.7255K votes
The Remains of the Day1993 Drama, Romanceas Harry Smith
IMDb rating 7.894K votes
Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998as Matthews
IMDb rating 8.16.6K votes
Jude1996as Mr. Willis
IMDb rating 6.912K votes
Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998as Mathews
IMDb rating 8.05.0K votes
Zulu Dawn1979as Cpl. Storey
IMDb rating 6.78.4K votes
Hornblower: Retribution2001as Matthews
IMDb rating 8.14.2K votes
Blow Dry2001as Ken
IMDb rating 6.29.7K votes

Most often with

Andrew Grieve directed three of these films. Four 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.

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Ioan Gruffudd

Sean Gilder

Robert Lindsay

Paul Copley

Peter Vaughan

Rachel GriffithsAndrew GrieveDirector, 3 films

Films together

Ioan Gruffudd3 films together, 1998 to 2001
Ioan Gruffudd's page
- Hornblower: Retribution2001IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsGruffudd as Horatio Hornblower
- Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsGruffudd as Midshipman Horatio Hornblower
- Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0Copley as MathewsGruffudd as Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
Sean Gilder3 films together, 1998 to 2001
Sean Gilder's page
- Hornblower: Retribution2001IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsGilder as Styles
- Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsGilder as Styles
- Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0Copley as MathewsGilder as Styles
Robert Lindsay3 films together, 1998 to 2001
Robert Lindsay's page
- Hornblower: Retribution2001IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsLindsay as Sir Edward Pellew
- Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsLindsay as Captain Sir Edward Pellew
- Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0Copley as MathewsLindsay as Captain Sir Edward Pellew
Paul Copley3 films together, 1979 to 1998
Paul Copley's page
- Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1Copley as MatthewsCopley as Matthews
- Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0Copley as MathewsCopley as Matthews
- Zulu Dawn1979IMDb rating 6.7Copley as Cpl. StoreyCopley as Cpl. Storey
Peter Vaughan2 films together, 1979 to 1993
Peter Vaughan's page
- The Remains of the Day1993IMDb rating 7.8Copley as Harry SmithVaughan as William Stevens
- Zulu Dawn1979IMDb rating 6.7Copley as Cpl. StoreyVaughan as Q.S.M. Bloomfield
Rachel Griffiths2 films together, 1996 to 2001
Rachel Griffiths's page
- Blow Dry2001IMDb rating 6.2Copley as KenGriffiths as Sandra
- Jude1996IMDb rating 6.9Copley as Mr. WillisGriffiths as Arabella
Andrew GrieveDirector, 3 films, 1998 to 2001
All films by Andrew Grieve
- Hornblower: Retribution2001IMDb rating 8.1Copley as Matthews
- Horatio Hornblower: The Duel1998IMDb rating 8.1Copley as Matthews
- Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship1998IMDb rating 8.0Copley as Mathews
Also two films together6 more actors
- Ian McElhinneyHornblower: Retribution (2001) and Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
- Jamie BamberHornblower: Retribution (2001) and Horatio Hornblower: The Duel (1998)
- Chris BarnesHoratio Hornblower: The Duel (1998) and Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
- Frank BoyceHoratio Hornblower: The Duel (1998) and Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
- Colin MacLachlanHoratio Hornblower: The Duel (1998) and Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
- Simon SherlockHoratio Hornblower: The Duel (1998) and Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship (1998)
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.

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