Peter Firth

Biography

Peter Firth is an English actor who began as a child actor in British television, appearing in The Flaxton Boys and Here Come the Double Deckers! before playing Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer's Equus on stage; he took the part to Broadway and received a Tony Award nomination. He won a Golden Globe and gained an Academy Award nomination for the 1977 film adaptation of the same play. His other films include Aces High (1976), Tess (1979), Lifeforce (1985), Letter to Brezhnev (1985), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Mighty Joe Young (1998) and The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). On television he portrayed Fred Hoyle in Hawking (2004) and Sir Harry Pearce in the spy drama Spooks, the only actor to appear in all ten of its series. He also narrates audiobooks.

72years old

Turns 73 on October 27in 15 days

Born October 27, 1953Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK
Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
Also credited as Peter Macintosh Firth

Movie Career

Films: 16
Career span: 44 years1972 to 2016

Genres

Drama56%, 9 films
Action44%, 7 films
Adventure31%, 5 films
Comedy19%, 3 films
Romance19%, 3 films

First and latest

Photos

Did you know?!

A first
Firth is best known for playing Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One program Spooks, known as MI-5 in some countries. No other actor appeared in all ten series of the program.
First role
Firth's first major adult role came in 1976, when he played the title character in a BBC Television Play of the Month based on Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. John Osborne's stage adaptation supplied the script.
Beyond film
Firth narrated audiobooks including Pat Barker's Regeneration, The Ghost Road and The Eye in the Door, E. M. Forster's Maurice, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong.
Behind the award
Firth received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Bradford in July 2009 for his services to acting, after being nominated by the School of Computing, Informatics & Media.

Peter Firth movies on Netflix

Risen2016IMDb rating 6.4as Pilate
Spooks: The Greater Good2015IMDb rating 6.2as Harry Pearce
The Greatest Game Ever Played2005IMDb rating 7.4as Lord Northcliffe
Hawking2004IMDb rating 7.4as Sir Fred Hoyle
Chill Factor1999IMDb rating 5.3as Colonel Andrew Brynner
Mighty Joe Young1998IMDb rating 5.7as Garth
Shadowlands1993IMDb rating 7.3as Dr Craig
The Hunt for Red October1990IMDb rating 7.5as Ivan Putin
The Rescuers Down Under1990IMDb rating 6.8as Red
Born of Fire1987IMDb rating 6.1as Paul Bergson
Letter to Brezhnev1985IMDb rating 6.7as Peter
Lifeforce1985IMDb rating 6.2as Col. Colin Caine
Tess1979IMDb rating 7.3as Angel Clare
Equus1977IMDb rating 7.1as Alan Strang
Aces High1976IMDb rating 6.6as Lt. Stephen Croft
Brother Sun, Sister Moon1972IMDb rating 7.2

Best known for

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

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The Hunt for Red October1990 Action, Adventure, Thrilleras Ivan Putin
IMDb rating 7.5234K votes
Lifeforce1985 Action, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fias Col. Colin Caine
IMDb rating 6.235K votes
Risen2016as Pilate
IMDb rating 6.434K votes
Spooks: The Greater Good2015as Harry Pearce
IMDb rating 6.225K votes
The Greatest Game Ever Played2005as Lord Northcliffe
IMDb rating 7.436K votes
Tess1979as Angel Clare
IMDb rating 7.320K votes
Mighty Joe Young1998as Garth
IMDb rating 5.733K votes
Equus1977as Alan Strang
IMDb rating 7.19.3K votes

Worked with

Peter Firth shares two films with David Paymer, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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David Paymer

Leigh Lawson

Frank Welker

Jeff Bennett

Malcolm McDowell

Alec BaldwinJohn McTiernanDirector, 1 film

Hendel ButoyDirector, 1 film

Mike GabrielDirector, 1 film

Films together

David Paymer2 films together, 1998 to 1999
David Paymer's page
- Chill Factor1999IMDb rating 5.3Firth as Colonel Andrew BrynnerPaymer as Dr. Richard Long
- Mighty Joe Young1998IMDb rating 5.7Firth as GarthPaymer as Harry Ruben
Leigh Lawson2 films together, 1972 to 1979
Leigh Lawson's page
- Tess1979IMDb rating 7.3Firth as Angel ClareLawson as Alec d'Urberville
- Brother Sun, Sister Moon1972IMDb rating 7.2Lawson as Bernardo
Frank Welker1 film together, 1990
Frank Welker's page
- The Rescuers Down Under1990IMDb rating 6.8Firth as RedWelker as Joanna
Jeff Bennett1 film together, 1990
Jeff Bennett's page
- The Rescuers Down Under1990IMDb rating 6.8Firth as RedBennett as Waiter
Malcolm McDowell1 film together, 1976
Malcolm McDowell's page
- Aces High1976IMDb rating 6.6Firth as Lt. Stephen CroftMcDowell as Maj. John Gresham
Alec Baldwin1 film together, 1990
Alec Baldwin's page
- The Hunt for Red October1990IMDb rating 7.5Firth as Ivan PutinBaldwin as Jack Ryan
John McTiernanDirector, 1 film, 1990
All films by John McTiernan
- The Hunt for Red October1990IMDb rating 7.5Firth as Ivan Putin
Hendel ButoyDirector, 1 film, 1990
All films by Hendel Butoy
- The Rescuers Down Under1990IMDb rating 6.8Firth as Red
Mike GabrielDirector, 1 film, 1990
All films by Mike Gabriel
- The Rescuers Down Under1990IMDb rating 6.8Firth as Red

Box office

What Peter Firth's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$380 million

9 of the 16 films have a worldwide figure.

9Worldwide figure
1US gross only
1Never in cinemas
5Figure not found

Top grosser

The Hunt for Red October1990Ivan Putin$201 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
The Hunt for Red October1990as Ivan Putin
$201M52.8% of the total
2
The Rescuers Down Under1990as Red
$47M12.5% of the total
3
Risen2016as Pilate
$46M12.1% of the total
4
Shadowlands1993as Dr Craig
$26M6.8% of the total
5
Tess1979as Angel Clare
$20M5.3% of the total
6
The Greatest Game Ever Played2005as Lord Northcliffe
$15M4.1% of the total
7
Lifeforce1985as Col. Colin Caine
$12M3.1% of the total
8
Chill Factor1999as Colonel Andrew Brynner
$11M3.0% of the total