Acting · Shepard's Bush, London, UK · Born April 8, 1928
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
MovieMorecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
2007
MovieThe Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003
MovieThe Best of Morecambe and Wise
2001
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMessage for Posterity
1994
as James Player
TVThe World of Hammer
1994
as Self (archive footage)
TVPerformance
1991
as James Player
TVThe Return of Sherlock Holmes
1986
as Professor Moriarty
TVOliver Twist
1985
as Fagin
MovieOliver Twist
1985
as Fagin
TVSherlock Holmes
1984
as Professor Moriarty
TVThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984
as Professor Moriarty
TVThe Jewel in the Crown
1984
as Dimitri Bronowsky
MovieA Shilling Life
1982
as Petersham
TVWinston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981
as Neville Chamberlain
MovieThe Sin Bin
1981
as Stanley Wilkinson
MovieLittle Lord Fauntleroy
1980
as Mr. Havisham
MovieHamlet
1980
as Polonius
MovieWhy Didn't They Ask Evans?
1980
as Dr. Nicholson
The Crucible
1980
as Deputy Governor Danforth
MovieChurchill and the Generals
1979
as Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
MovieThe Thirty Nine Steps
1978
as Chief Superintendent Lomas
TVAnna Karenina
1977
as Karenin
MovieThe Winslow Boy
1977
as Arthur Winslow
MovieThe Shetland Experience
1977
as Narrator (voice)
MovieHitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
1976
as Narrator
MovieHennessy
1975
as Tobin
The Final Solution
1975
as Self - Narrator
The Statue and the Rose
1975
as Parnell
Private Affairs
1975
as Charles Stewart Parnell
MovieThe Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
1975
as Narrator
MovieThe Final Solution
1975
as Narrator
MovieCallan
1974
as Hunter
MovieFrom War to Peace
1974
as Narrator
MovieWarrior - World at War Special Presentation
1974
as Narrator
TVPlayhouse
1974
as Petersham
MovieThe Day of the Jackal
1973
as Colonel Rodin
MovieHitler: The Last Ten Days
1973
as Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
MovieThe Belstone Fox
1973
as Asher Smith
MovieAntony and Cleopatra
1972
as Enobarbus
MovieNicholas and Alexandra
1971
as Stolypin
MovieHands of the Ripper
1971
as Dr. John Pritchard
TVPlay for Today
1970
as Stanley Wilkinson
Macbeth
1970
as Macbeth
MovieSeparate Tables
1970
as Major Pollock / John Malcolm
Solo
1970
TVMorecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
1969
as Himself
TVCivilisation
1969
as Macbeth (voice)
MovieThe Lost Continent
1968
as Lansen
TVThe Forsyte Saga
1967
as Soames Forsyte
The Last Invasion
1966
as Harold
MovieKaleidoscope
1966
as Harry Dominion
MovieThe Heroes of Telemark
1965
as Terboven
TVBBC Play of the Month
1965
as Cyrano de Bergerac
MovieThe Wars of the Roses
1965
as Henry VII
TVTheatre 625
1964
as 'Newton'
MovieThe Fall of the Roman Empire
1964
as Julianus
TVTheatre Night
1957
as Vadim Romanoff
Emma
1948
