1934-08-16 London, England, UK
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004). One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner. He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
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Can You Hear Me? | Ben | 2024-06-14 |
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The Great Escaper | Arthur | 2023-10-06 |
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May… I Have This Dance? | Narrator | 2020-01-18 |
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A Family Affair | Bernard | 2019-06-20 |
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Churchill and the Movie Mogul | Additional Voices | 2019-01-24 |
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The Happy Prince | Dr. Tucker | 2018-04-12 |
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King Lear | Butler | 2018-05-28 |
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The Hippopotamus | Podmore | 2017-03-08 |
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Churchill's Secret | Lord Camrose | 2016-02-29 |
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The Last Resort | Mr. Carpenter (voice) | 2014-10-24 |
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Queen & Country | Grandfather George | 2014-09-14 |
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The Contractor | Sir Anthony | 2007-07-10 |
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I Want Candy | Michael de Vere | 2007-03-23 |
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Consenting Adults | Lord Goddard | 2007-09-04 |
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The Shadow in the North | Webster Garland | 2007-09-15 |
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Scoop | Garden Party Guest | 2006-07-27 |
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V for Vendetta | Lilliman | 2006-02-23 |
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Rabbit Fever | Ally's dad | 2006-09-22 |
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Lassie | French | 2005-12-16 |
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Animal | Dean Frydman | 2005-01-11 |
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A Good Woman | Dumby | 2004-09-15 |
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Shoreditch | Jenson Thackery | 2003-11-28 |
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The Falklands Play | Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary) | 2002-04-10 |
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The Real Jane Austen | Mr. Austen | 2002-12-30 |
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The Gathering Storm | Lord Moyne | 2002-04-22 |
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Pandaemonium | Rev Holland | 2001-06-29 |
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Queen's Messenger | Foreign Secretary | 2001-05-02 |
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Witness to a Kill | Foreign Secretary | 2001-11-08 |
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Longitude | Capt. Proctor | 2000-01-02 |
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The Calling | Jack Plummer | 2000-12-21 |
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Mad Cows | Politician | 1999-10-29 |
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8 ½ Women | Philip Emmenthal | 1999-05-22 |
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Rogue Trader | Peter Baring | 1999-06-25 |
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The Woman In White | Mr. Gilmore | 1997-01-01 |
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Mrs. Dalloway | Richard Dalloway | 1997-09-01 |
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The Man Who Knew Too Little | Embleton | 1997-11-14 |
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Riders | Malise Gordon | 1993-05-01 |
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Chaplin | Butler | 1992-12-17 |
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The Count of Solar | Coudray | 1992-02-02 |
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Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel | Whitfield | 1992-01-19 |
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Night of the Fox | Alan Stacey | 1990-11-27 |
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Chameleons | Henry | 1989-12-20 |
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Dark Holiday | Charnaud | 1989-05-01 |
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The Endless Game | Belfrage | 1989-08-20 |
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Flapjack Floozie | Dr. Kipper | 1988-06-17 |
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Visitors | Jack | 1987-02-22 |
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Nightflyers | D'Branin | 1987-10-23 |
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To Catch a King | The Duke of Windsor | 1984-01-20 |
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The Biko Inquest | Van Rensburg | 1984-11-01 |
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Invitation to the Wedding | 1983-01-01 | |
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Pygmalion | Colonel Pickering | 1983-12-31 |
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Privates on Parade | Captain Sholto Savory | 1983-03-18 |
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The Elephant Man | Fox | 1980-10-09 |
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The Sea Wolves | Finley | 1980-07-03 |
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The Class Of Miss MacMichael | Charles Fairbrother | 1979-01-27 |
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The Legacy | Jason Mountolive | 1978-09-29 |
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The Sinking of the HMS Victoria | Captain Winsloe | 1977-10-12 |
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The Eagle Has Landed | Father Verecker | 1976-12-24 |
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Rogue Male | Major Quive-Smith | 1976-09-22 |
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Au Pair Girls | Buster | 1972-07-01 |
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Zee and Co. | Gordon | 1971-07-01 |
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Wine of India | Russ | 1970-04-15 |
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All the Right Noises | Bernie | 1970-10-16 |
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Charley's Aunt | Jack Chesney | 1969-11-23 |
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A Touch of Love | Roger | 1969-09-01 |
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Torture Garden | Leo Winston (segment 3 "Mr. Steinway") | 1967-11-01 |
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The Psychopath | Mark Von Sturm | 1966-02-04 |
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Walk Don't Run | Julius D. Haversack | 1966-06-29 |
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King Rat | Daven | 1965-10-27 |
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Hot Enough for June | Men's Room Attendant | 1964-01-01 |
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Sharp at Four | Sutcliffe | 1964-01-12 |
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The Iron Maiden | Humphrey Gore-Brown | 1963-06-07 |
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The Wild and the Willing | Arthur | 1962-10-16 |
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A Pair of Briefs | Hubert Shannon | 1962-03-01 |
