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 (voice) | 2019-01-24 |
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King Lear | Butler | 2018-05-28 |
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The Happy Prince | Dr. Tucker | 2018-04-12 |
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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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Consenting Adults | Lord Goddard | 2007-09-04 |
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The Contractor | Sir Anthony | 2007-05-11 |
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The Shadow in the North | Webster Garland | 2007-09-15 |
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I Want Candy | Michael de Vere | 2007-03-23 |
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V for Vendetta | Lilliman | 2006-02-23 |
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Scoop | Garden Party Guest | 2006-07-27 |
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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 Gathering Storm | Lord Moyne | 2002-04-22 |
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The Real Jane Austen | Mr. Austen | 2002-12-30 |
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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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The Calling | Jack Plummer | 2000-12-21 |
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Longitude | Capt. Proctor | 2000-01-02 |
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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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Mad Cows | Politician | 1999-10-29 |
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The Man Who Knew Too Little | Embleton | 1997-11-14 |
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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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Riders | Malise Gordon | 1993-05-01 |
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The Count of Solar | Coudray | 1992-02-02 |
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Chaplin | Butler | 1992-12-17 |
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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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The Endless Game | Belfrage | 1989-08-20 |
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Dark Holiday | Charnaud | 1989-05-01 |
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Chameleons | Henry | 1989-12-20 |
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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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Privates on Parade | Captain Sholto Savory | 1983-03-18 |
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Pygmalion | Colonel Pickering | 1983-12-31 |
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The Sea Wolves | Finley | 1980-07-03 |
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The Elephant Man | Fox | 1980-10-09 |
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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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Nanny's Boy | John Tallwatch | 1977-04-17 |
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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 | 1972-01-21 |
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All the Right Noises | Bernie | 1970-10-16 |
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Wine of India | Russ | 1970-04-15 |
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A Touch of Love | Roger | 1969-09-01 |
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Charley's Aunt | Jack Chesney | 1969-11-23 |
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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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Sharp at Four | Sutcliffe | 1964-01-12 |
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Hot Enough for June | Men's Room Attendant | 1964-01-01 |
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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 |
