Acting · Nimes, France · Born August 14, 1934
Vernon Alexandre Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a French-British character actor, who has appeared in over 300 film, television, and stage productions in a career spanning six decades. Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a British mother (Vernon) and a father of Bulgarian descent (Dobtcheff). He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup. One of his many television roles was as the Chief Scientist in the Doctor Who story The War Games in 1969. In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, British actor Rupert Everett describes an encounter with Dobtcheff on the boat train to Paris, and reveals his extraordinary reputation as the "patron saint" of the acting profession, stating that Dobtcheff "was legendary not so much for his acting as for his magical ability to catch every first night in the country". Widely travelled and prone to pop up in the most unlikely of locales, if unable to attend an opening night, Dobtcheff will still endeavour to send the cast a card wishing the production good luck. Description above from the Wikipedia article Vernon Dobtcheff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
MovieDoctor Who: The War Games in Colour
2024
as The Scientist (archive footage)
MovieAlec Guinness: A Class Act
2024
as self
TVThe Gold
2023
as Matteo Constantino
MoviePeter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
2022
as Self
MovieBurning Casablanca
2021
as Corny
MovieThe Haunting of Margam Castle
2020
as Enos
TVThe Witcher
2019
as Older Elf
The Violet Hour
2018
as M. Audran
TVThe Romanoffs
2018
as M. Audran
MovieL'hypothèse de la reine rouge
2018
as Sherlock Holmes
MovieThe Man with the Iron Heart
2017
as Emile Hacha
TVEmerald City
2017
as High Born Man
TVThe Durrells
2016
as Mr. Kralefsky
MovieKilling Jesus
2015
as Isaiah
MovieThe Invisible Boy
2014
as Artiglio
MovieHorsehead
2014
as George
MovieSeven Lucky Gods
2014
as Lawrence
MovieThe Great Beauty
2013
as Arturo
MovieAnother Woman's Life
2012
as Dimitri Speranski
MovieZarafa
2012
as Le vieux sage (voice)
MovieThe Passage
2011
as Vieil homme
TVThe Borgias
2011
as Cardinal Versucci
MovieUndisputed III: Redemption
2010
as Rezo
MovieGodforsaken
2010
as The Surgeon
MovieChanging Climates, Changing Times
2009
as Lucas
TVThe Little Murders of Agatha Christie
2009
as Anatole Deschanel
MovieThe Joy of Singing
2008
as Le lecteur du bar
TVApparitions
2008
MoviePaura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1
2008
as Self
TVLa Légende des 3 clefs
2007
as The anthropologist Gilles Clément
MoviePriceless
2006
as Jacques
MovieCourts mais Gay : Tome 12
2006
as Anthony
For the Time Being
2006
as Anthony
TVSurviving Disaster
2006
MovieAn American Haunting
2005
as Elder #1
MovieEmpire of the Wolves
2005
as Kudseyi
MovieBefore Sunset
2004
as Bookstore Manager
MovieEvilenko
2004
as Bagdasarov
MoviePontormo - Un amore eretico
2004
as Riccio
MovieThank You, Doctor Rey
2003
as François
MovieBrocéliande
2003
as Brennos
MovieThe Red Siren
2002
as Vitali
MovieThe Falklands Play
2002
as Nicanor Costa Méndez (Argentine Minister of External Relations)
MovieDavid Copperfield
2001
as Quinion
MovieFestival in Cannes
2001
as Millie's Escort
MovieThe Order
2001
as Oscar
MovieThe Body
2001
as Monsignor
MovieRevelation
2001
as Curé at Rennes-le-Chateau
TVLargo Winch
2001
as Maurice de Beliveau
TVDavid Copperfield
2000
as Quinion
MovieLe Prof
2000
as Patte Folle
MovieThe Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
2000
as Cleisthenes
TVThe Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
2000
as Cleisthenes
MovieFalling Through
2000
as Father
MovieDreaming of Joseph Lees
1999
as Italian Doctor
TVRelic Hunter
1999
as Anthony Cureton
MovieThe Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
1999
as Art Gallery Lecturer
MovieHilary and Jackie
1998
as Professor Bentley
MovieJinnah
1998
as Lord Willingdon
Movie30 Years to Life
1998
as Sandler
TVHighlander: The Raven
1998
as Count Van Der Meer
MovieVigo
1998
as Papa Lozinska
MovieSpanish Fly
1998
as Carl's Friend
TVMerlin
1998
as 1st Physician
MovieDéjà Vu
1998
as Konstantine
MovieThe Wonderland Experience
1998
as Vincent
MovieSt. Ives
1998
as Bonnefoy
MovieAnna Karenina
1997
as Pestov
MovieThe Hunchback
1997
as Father Michel
MovieThe Ice Princess
1996
as Chancellor
MovieThe Ogre
1996
as Lawyer
MovieSurviving Picasso
1996
as Diaghilev
MovieCatherine the Great
1996
as Naryshkin
MovieJude
1996
as Curator
MovieLe fils de Paul
1995
as Duval
MovieSharpe's Sword
1995
as Don Felipe
TVFather Ted
1995
as Old Nazi
MovieJefferson in Paris
1995
as King's Translator
MovieThe House that Mary Bought
1995
MovieMademoiselle O
1994
as Rouka
MovieFrankenstein
1993
as Chancellor
MovieM. Butterfly
1993
as Agent Etancelin
MovieThe Hour of the Pig
1993
as Apothecary
Temptation of Sainthood
1993
as Freud
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher
1993
as Un Héraut / Un prêtre / Un clerc
TVHighlander: The Series
1992
as Carlo Luchesi
MovieObiettivo indiscreto
1992
as Primo editore
MovieVenice/Venice
1992
as Alexander
MovieSweetheart
1992
as Thurson
MovieThe First Circle
1992
as Riyumin
TVAs Time Goes By
1992
as Dr. Stoker
TVThe Strauss Dynasty
1991
as Hirsch
MovieLet Him Have It
1991
as Clerk of Court
MovieHamlet
1990
as Reynaldo
MovieVincent and Me
1990
as Dr Winkler
MovieMeridian
1990
as Priest
MovieThe Garden
1990
as Old Man at Sauna
MovieThe Krays
1990
as Teacher
MovieThe Plot to Kill Hitler
1990
as Fellgiebel
MovieFlight from Paradise
1990
as Merrill
MovieThe Hostage of Europe
1989
as Hudson Lowe
MovieIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989
as Butler
TVPoor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story
1989
as Jules Glaenzer
MovieMurderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story
1989
as Doctor Webber
MovieNatalia
1989
as Alfred Grabner
MovieSplendor
1989
Berlin-Jerusalem
1989
as Editor
TVAgatha Christie's Poirot
1989
as Simeon Lee
MovieThe Sweet House of Horrors
1989
as The Exorcist
TVWar and Remembrance
1988
as Henri Bulle
MovieTestimony
1988
as Gargolovsky
MoviePascali's Island
1988
as Pariente
MovieCatacombs
1988
as Brother Timothy
MovieLe due croci
1988
as Bischof de Jong
MovieMaigret
1988
as Gannett
TVFortunes of War
1987
as Prince Hadjimoscos
TVCrossbow
1987
MovieThe Name of the Rose
1986
as Hugh of Newcastle
MovieCaravaggio
1986
as Art Lover
TVThe Return of Sherlock Holmes
1986
as Mendelstam
TVMussolini: The Untold Story
1985
as Sebastiani
TVTender Is the Night
1985
as Luis Campion
MovieMata Hari
1985
as Prosecutor
TVA.D.
1985
as Flavius Sabinus
TVMorenga
1985
as Lohmann
MovieMuch Ado About Nothing
1984
as Don John
TVL'Homme de Suez
1984
as Konya, Turkish Colonel, spy in the service of the English
TVSherlock Holmes
1984
as Mendelstam
MovieGwendoline
1984
as Shirko
MovieNight Patrol
1984
as James
The Devil's Lieutenant
1984
as Dr. Goldschmiedt
MovieMon Ami Washington
1984
MovieAn Englishman Abroad
1983
as Guildenstern
TVDramarama
1983
as Mr. Rolyat
MovieThe Scarlet and the Black
1983
as Count Langenthal
MovieNutcracker
1982
as Markovitch
TVMarco Polo
1982
as Pietro De Abano
MovieEnigma
1982
as Minister
MovieThat Night of Varennes
1982
as Judge at the confiscation
MovieTroilus & Cressida
1981
as Agamemnon
MovieL'Amour nu
1981
as John, le patron de Claire
Goldene Zeiten - Bittere Zeiten
1981
as M. Bernard
MovieSredni Vashtar
1981
as Dr. Russell
MovieCondorman
1981
as Russian Agent
MovieLe Beau Monde
1981
as Pablo
MovieSan-Antonio ne pense qu'à ça
1981
as Un tueur russe
TVPrivate Schulz
1981
as Sturmer
TVPeter and Paul
1981
as High Priest of Herod
TVMasada
1981
as Chief Priest
MovieNijinsky
1980
as Sergei Grigoriev
MovieIke
1979
as Gen. Charles DeGaulle
TVIke
1979
as Gen. Charles DeGaulle
TVMazarin
1978
as Pimentel
MovieRomeo and Juliet
1978
as Apothecary
MovieQuestion of Love
1978
as Peter
MovieLast In, First Out
1978
as Le réceptionniste
MovieLittle Girl in Blue Velvet
1978
as Lamberti
TVHolocaust
1978
as Karp
TVBlake's 7
1978
as The Chairman
MovieThe Roads of Exile
1978
as Le peintre Ramsay
TV1990
1977
MovieMarch or Die
1977
as Mean Corporal
MovieThe Spy Who Loved Me
1977
as Max Kalba
MovieJoseph Andrews
1977
as Fop Two
MovieThe Achurch Letters
1977
as Eugene
TVDickens of London
1976
as Legal Gentleman
TVPolice Commissioner Moulin
1976
as Astman
Killers
1976
as Clerk of the Assizes
MovieFrench Without Tears
1976
as Monsieur Maingot
TVMichael Strogoff
1975
as Blount
TVRumpole of the Bailey
1975
as Edward Gandolphini
MovieRumpole of the Bailey
1975
as Magnus Piecan
MovieLovers Like Us
1975
as Coleman
TVDes Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus
1975
as Dr. Canard
MovieOperation: Daybreak
1975
as Pyotr
MovieThe Messiah
1975
as Samuel
The Secret Agent
1975
as Karl Yundt
MovieCat and Mouse
1975
as Germain's accomplice
MovieVan der Valk and the Scapegoat
1975
as Reinders
MovieIndia Song
1975
as Georges Crawn
MoviePlaying with Fire
1975
as A messenger
TVThe Sweeney
1975
as Harry Kretchmar
TVChurchill's People
1974
as De Reynes
MovieScent of a Woman
1974
as Don Carlo (uncredited)
MovieMurder on the Orient Express
1974
as Concierge
TVÀ vous de jouer Milord
1974
as N° 2
TVFather Brown
1974
as Simon Vesty
MovieThe Marseille Contract
1974
as Lazar
TVFall of Eagles
1974
as Count Stookau
TVPlayhouse
1974
as Eugene
TVCartesius
1974
as Astronomo Ciprus
MovieSoft Beds, Hard Battles
1974
as Padre
Nobody Is Norman Wisdom
1973
as Proshnik
MovieImpossible Object
1973
as Private Investigator
MovieThe Day of the Jackal
1973
as Interrogator
TVSome Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973
MovieAn Echo of Theresa
1973
as Bannerheim
TVThe Edwardians
1972
as Benjamin Disraeli
TVCrown Court
1972
as John Maitland-Wilson
TVThe Protectors
1972
as Joe Flynn
TVVan der Valk
1972
as Sebastian Jonge
MovieThe Canterbury Tales
1972
as The Franklin
MovieUp the Front
1972
as Muller
MovieFar from Dallas
1972
TVNew Scotland Yard
1972
as Jacob Harmann
MovieMary, Queen of Scots
1971
as Duc De Guise
MovieNicholas and Alexandra
1971
as Dr. Lazovert
MovieFiddler on the Roof
1971
as Russian Official
TVThe Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
as Molbech
MovieThe Horsemen
1971
as Zam Hajji
MovieThe Beast in the Cellar
1971
as Newsmith
MovieThe Married Couple of the Year Two
1971
as le pasteur
MovieThem
1970
as Brisbane
TVPlay for Today
1970
TVAce of Wands
1970
as Sandor Zandar
MovieDarling Lili
1970
as Otto Kraus
Codename
1970
as Herman Voss
MovieAnne of the Thousand Days
1969
as Mendoza
MovieDoctor Who: The War Games
1969
as Chief Scientist
MovieBaby Love
1969
as Man in Cinema
MovieThe Assassination Bureau
1969
as Baron Muntzof
MovieBeach Head
1969
as N.G. Waldron
TVThe Champions
1968
as Manager
TVThe Name of the Game
1968
as Dedushko
MovieA Dandy in Aspic
1968
TVThe Further Adventures of the Musketeers
1967
as Msgr. de Gondy
MovieThe Taming of the Shrew
1967
as Pedant
TVThe Three Musketeers
1966
as Commissary
Breaking Point
1966
TVMystery and Imagination
1966
as Dr Lutz
MovieThe World of George Orwell: 1984
1965
as Goldstein
TVBBC Play of the Month
1965
as Monsieur Maingot
The Mask of Janus
1965
as Colonel Valenkov
TVThirty-Minute Theatre
1965
as Carpenter
TVOut of the Unknown
1965
as N.G. Waldron
MovieDarling
1965
as Art Critic at Ralph Riggs Exposure (uncredited)
MovieThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
1965
as Member of the French Team
The World of Wooster
1965
as Music Store Assistant
MovieThe Debussy Film
1965
as The Actor
TVTheatre 625
1964
as Priest
The Life of Galileo
1964
as Philosopher
TVThe Protectors
1964
as Cherni
TVMartin Chuzzlewit
1964
TVDoctor Who
1963
as Scientist
Festival
1963
as Philosopher
TVEspionage
1963
as Captain of Police
TVThe Saint
1962
as Vogel
TVThe Scales of Justice
1962
as Mr. Strang
TVThe Avengers
1961
as Spencer
TVDixon of Dock Green
1955
as Counsel for Defence
MovieParlez-nous de l'Amour
