1926-08-06 Farnworth, Lancashire, England, UK
Frank received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance as William Shakespeare’s Iago in Stuart Burge’s 1965 film of Laurence Olivier’s staging of Othello. He also won the Best Actor Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He later essayed the definitive screen portrayal of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeer Porthos in three movies for director Richard Lester: The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). Frank’s many other films include The Longest Day; Tony Richardson’s The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner; Martin Ritt’s The Molly Maguires; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Alan Bridges’ The Return of the Soldier (for which he recieved a BAFTA Award nomination); Franco Zeffrelli’s Sparrow; and Eric Styles’ Dreaming of Joseph Lees; and most recently Roman Polanski’s multi-award winning The Pianist and Norma Jewison’s The Statement. His similarly extensive television projects have earned him two BAFTA Awards, for his performances in The Death of Adolf Hitler (starring as Hitler, with Rex Firkin directing); The Adventures of Don Quixote (as Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison, for director Alvin Rakoff); the ground breaking Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Another Bouquet; 84 Charing Cross Road; and recently the critically acclaimed series The Sins. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Finlay had already begun performing on stage when he earned the Sir James Knott Scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Since then he has led theatre companies in London and on Broadway. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1984 New Year’s Honours List, and was presented with his CBE by the Queen in February1984.
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Nothing Like a Dame | Self (archive footage) | 2018-05-02 |
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Fifty Shades of Erotica | (archive footage) | 2015-04-13 |
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The Waiting Room | Roger | 2007-08-18 |
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Lighthouse Hill | Alfred | 2004-05-04 |
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Eroica | Josef Haydn | 2003-10-04 |
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The Statement | Commissaire Vionnet | 2003-12-12 |
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The Pianist | Father | 2002-09-17 |
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Station Jim | Riorden Snr | 2001-12-30 |
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The Martins | Mr Heath | 2001-09-14 |
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For My Baby | Rudi Wittfogel | 2000-10-19 |
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Dreaming of Joseph Lees | Father | 1999-10-29 |
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Stiff Upper Lips | Hudson Junior | 1998-06-12 |
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Mr. Right... zur falschen Zeit | Mike's Dad | 1997-11-01 |
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Tiré à part | John Rathbone | 1997-01-22 |
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A Mind to Murder | Professor Etherege | 1995-01-01 |
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Gospa, The Miracle of Medjugorje | Monsignor | 1995-10-12 |
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Storia di una capinera | Father Nunzio | 1994-02-04 |
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L'uomo che guarda | Nino Rolfe | 1994-01-27 |
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La mansión de los Cthulhu | Chandu | 1992-01-01 |
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The Other Side | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1992-08-29 |
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Stalin | Sergei | 1992-11-21 |
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La montagna dei diamanti | Garrick | 1991-10-09 |
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King of the Wind | Edward Coke | 1990-05-25 |
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The Return of the Musketeers | Porthos | 1989-04-12 |
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Casanova | Razetta | 1987-03-01 |
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Nineteen Nineteen | Sigmund Freud (voice) | 1985-11-14 |
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In the Secret State | Frank Strange | 1985-03-10 |
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Lifeforce | Dr. Hans Fallada | 1985-06-21 |
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Arch of Triumph | Col. Boris Morosov | 1984-12-19 |
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A Christmas Carol | Jacob Marley | 1984-10-09 |
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Royal Variety Performance 1984 | 1984-11-25 | |
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Sakharov | Kravtsov | 1984-06-20 |
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The Return of the Soldier | William Grey | 1983-01-06 |
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The Spanish Civil War | Narrator | 1983-01-07 |
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The Ploughman's Lunch | Matthew Fox | 1983-05-30 |
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La chiave | Nino Rolfe | 1983-10-19 |
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Enigma | Canarsky | 1982-10-15 |
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Mona | Captain Manson | 1982-08-08 |
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Tales from the Thousand and One Nights | Shahriar | 1981-12-30 |
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Dear Brutus | Dearth | 1981-01-27 |
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Murder by Decree | Inspector Lestrade | 1979-02-01 |
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Un ombra nell'ombra | Paul | 1979-10-29 |
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Betzi | Napoleon | 1978-09-23 |
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Saturday, Sunday, Monday | Peppino | 1978-01-01 |
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The Wild Geese | Fr. Geoghagen | 1978-06-28 |
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The Thief of Baghdad | Abu Bakar | 1978-01-10 |
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Count Dracula | Abraham van Helsing | 1977-12-22 |
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Pas de frontières pour l'inspecteur - Le bouc émissaire | Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk | 1975-06-21 |
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84 Charing Cross Road | Frank Doel | 1975-11-04 |
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The Four Musketeers | Porthos | 1974-10-31 |
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Van der Valk und das Mädchen | Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk | 1974-11-27 |
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Shaft in Africa | Vincent Amafi | 1973-06-14 |
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The Death of Adolf Hitler | Adolf Hitler | 1973-01-07 |
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Van der Valk und die Reichen | Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk | 1973-12-26 |
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The Adventures Of Don Quixote | Sancho Panza | 1973-01-07 |
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The Three Musketeers | Porthos / O'Reilly | 1973-12-11 |
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Neither the Sea Nor the Sand | George Dabernon | 1972-11-01 |
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Sitting Target | Marty Gold | 1972-05-01 |
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Danny Jones | 1972-05-01 | |
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The Merchant of Venice | Shylock | 1972-04-16 |
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Assault | Det. Chief Supt. Velyan | 1971-02-11 |
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Gumshoe | William Ginley | 1971-12-01 |
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Cromwell | John Carter | 1970-07-16 |
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The Lie | Andrew Firth | 1970-10-29 |
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The Body | Narrator | 1970-10-09 |
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The Molly Maguires | Davies | 1970-02-08 |
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Julius Caesar | Brutus | 1969-04-13 |
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The Piano Tuner | Wilfred Tilley | 1969-03-08 |
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Blood of the Lamb | Albert | 1969-12-03 |
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Inspector Clouseau | Supt. Weaver | 1968-07-19 |
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Twisted Nerve | Henry Durnley | 1968-12-20 |
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The Shoes of the Fisherman | Igor Bounin | 1968-11-14 |
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I'll Never Forget What's'isname | Chaplain | 1967-12-18 |
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Robbery | Robinson | 1967-08-01 |
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The Jokers | Harrassed Man | 1967-05-15 |
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The Spare Tyres | Council foreman | 1967-01-01 |
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Much Ado About Nothing | Dogberry | 1967-02-05 |
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The Sandwich Man | Second Fish Porter | 1966-07-01 |
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The Deadly Bees | H.W. Manfred | 1966-12-23 |
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Olivier Talks About Othello | (archive footage) | 1965-01-01 |
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Othello | Iago | 1965-12-15 |
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A Study in Terror | Inspector Lestrade | 1965-10-01 |
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The Wild Affair | Drunk | 1965-12-05 |
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Hot Enough for June | British Embassy Porter | 1964-01-01 |
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The Comedy Man | Prout | 1964-09-03 |
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Doctor in Distress | Corsetiere | 1963-07-30 |
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The Informers | Leon Sale | 1963-11-29 |
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Life for Ruth | Teddy's Father | 1962-09-06 |
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The Hard Knock | Franco Angelo | 1962-07-08 |
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The Longest Day | Pvt. Coke (uncredited) | 1962-09-25 |
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The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | Booking Office Clerk (uncredited) | 1962-09-20 |
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Private Potter | Capt. Patterson | 1962-01-01 |
