Acting · Farnworth, Lancashire, England, UK · Born August 6, 1926
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.
MovieNothing Like a Dame
2018
as Self (archive footage)
MovieFifty Shades of Erotica
2015
as (archive footage)
TVRosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
2008
as Alexander 'Alex' Combe
TVMerlin
2008
as Anhora
MovieThe Waiting Room
2007
as Roger
TVJohnny and the Bomb
2006
as Tom Maxwell
MovieLighthouse Hill
2004
as Alfred
TVLife Begins
2004
as Eric Thornhill
MovieThe Statement
2003
as Commissaire Vionnet
MovieEroica
2003
as Josef Haydn
TVThe Lost Prince
2003
as Asquith
MovieThe Pianist
2002
as Father
Station Jim
2001
as Riorden Snr
MovieThe Martins
2001
as Mr Heath
TVThe Sins
2000
as Uncle Irwin Green
MovieFor My Baby
2000
as Rudi Wittfogel
TVLongitude
2000
as Admiral Wagner
TVThe Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
1999
as General Bulstrode
MovieDreaming of Joseph Lees
1999
as Father
MovieStiff Upper Lips
1998
as Hudson Junior
TVHow Do You Want Me?
1998
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
1997
as Mike's Dad
TVThe Grand
1997
as Edward Lawrence
MovieLimited Edition
1997
as John Rathbone
MovieVirgin Mary
1995
as Monsignor
MovieA Mind to Murder
1995
as Professor Etherege
TVThe Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
1994
as Professor Coram / Sergius
TVCharlemagne, le prince à cheval
1994
as Alcuin
MovieSparrow
1994
as Father Nunzio
MovieThe Voyeur
1994
as Nino Rolfe
An Exchange of Fire
1993
as Pavel Rhele
MovieStalin
1992
as Sergei
The Other Side
1992
as Arthur Conan Doyle
TVHeartbeat
1992
as Howard Franklin
MovieCthulhu Mansion
1992
as Chandu
MovieMountain of Diamonds
1991
as Garrick
TVMountain of Diamonds
1991
as Garrick
TVPrime Suspect
1991
as Arnold Tennison
TVThe Burning Shore
1991
as Garrick
MovieKing of the Wind
1990
as Edward Coke
MovieThe Return of the Musketeers
1989
as Porthos
TVErebus: The Aftermath
1987
as Justice Peter Mahon
MovieCasanova
1987
as Razetta
TVLovejoy
1986
as Harold Plumb
MovieNineteen Nineteen
1985
as Sigmund Freud (voice)
MovieLifeforce
1985
as Dr. Hans Fallada
MovieIn the Secret State
1985
as Frank Strange
TVScreen Two
1985
as Frank Strange
The Making Of Lifeforce
1985
as Self
MovieArch of Triumph
1984
as Col. Boris Morosov
MovieRoyal Variety Performance 1984
1984
MovieA Christmas Carol
1984
as Jacob Marley
MovieSakharov
1984
as Kravtsov
TVSherlock Holmes
1984
as Professor Coram / Sergius
MovieThe Key
1983
as Nino Rolfe
TVBlackadder
1983
as The Witchsmeller Pursuivant
MovieThe Ploughman's Lunch
1983
as Matthew Fox
TVThe Spanish Civil War
1983
as Self - Narrator
MovieThe Return of the Soldier
1983
as William Grey
MovieEnigma
1982
as Canarsky
MovieMona
1982
as Captain Manson
All for Love
1982
as Captain Manson
TVWogan
1982
as Self
MovieTales from the Thousand and One Nights
1981
as Shahriar
Dear Brutus
1981
as Dearth
MovieRing of Darkness
1979
as Paul
TVTales of the Unexpected
1979
as Arthur Pearson
MovieMurder by Decree
1979
as Inspector Lestrade
Betzi
1978
as Napoleon
MovieThe Wild Geese
1978
as Fr. Geoghagen
MovieThe Thief of Baghdad
1978
as Abu Bakar
MovieSaturday, Sunday, Monday
1978
as Peppino
MovieCount Dracula
1977
as Abraham van Helsing
TVCount Dracula
1977
as Professor Van Helsing
TVAnother Bouquet
1977
TVLaurence Olivier Presents
1976
as Peppino
TVBouquet of Barbed Wire
1976
as Peter Manson
Movie84 Charing Cross Road
1975
as Frank Doel
MovieVan der Valk and the Scapegoat
1975
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
MovieVan der Valk: Gun Before Butter
1974
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
MovieThe Four Musketeers
1974
as Porthos
MovieVan der Valk and the Rich
1973
as Commissaris Simon "Piet" van der Valk
MovieThe Three Musketeers
1973
as Porthos / O'Reilly
MovieShaft in Africa
1973
as Vincent Amafi
MovieThe Death of Adolf Hitler
1973
as Adolf Hitler
MovieThe Adventures Of Don Quixote
1973
as Sancho Panza
MovieNeither the Sea Nor the Sand
1972
as George Dabernon
MovieSitting Target
1972
as Marty Gold
Danny Jones
1972
MovieThe Merchant of Venice
1972
as Shylock
MovieGumshoe
1971
as William Ginley
TVCasanova
1971
as Giovanni Jacopo Casanova
MovieAssault
1971
as Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
MovieThe Lie
1970
as Andrew Firth
TVPlay for Today
1970
MovieThe Body
1970
as Narrator
MovieCromwell
1970
as John Carter
MovieThe Molly Maguires
1970
as Davies
Blood of the Lamb
1969
as Albert
MovieJulius Caesar
1969
as Brutus
The Piano Tuner
1969
as Wilfred Tilley
TVITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Wilfred Tilley
This Happy Breed
1969
as Frank Gibbons
MovieTwisted Nerve
1968
as Henry Durnley
MovieThe Shoes of the Fisherman
1968
as Igor Bounin
MovieInspector Clouseau
1968
as Supt. Weaver
MovieI'll Never Forget What's'isname
1967
as Chaplain
TVLes Misérables
1967
as Jean Valjean
MovieRobbery
1967
as Robinson
MovieThe Jokers
1967
as Harrassed Man
MovieMuch Ado About Nothing
1967
as Dogberry
The Spare Tyres
1967
as Council foreman
MovieThe Deadly Bees
1966
as H.W. Manfred
TVNET Playhouse
1966
as Marcus Brutus
MovieThe Sandwich Man
1966
as Second Fish Porter
MovieOthello
1965
as Iago
MovieThe Wild Affair
1965
as Drunk
TVBBC Play of the Month
1965
as Marcus Brutus
TVThirty-Minute Theatre
1965
as The Man
MovieA Study in Terror
1965
as Inspector Lestrade
Olivier Talks About Othello
1965
as (archive footage)
TVThe Wednesday Play
1964
as Albert
MovieThe Comedy Man
1964
as Prout
TVTheatre 625
1964
as Dr Dee
MovieHot Enough for June
1964
as British Embassy Porter
MovieThe Informers
1963
as Leon Sale
MovieDoctor in Distress
1963
as Corsetiere
MovieThe Longest Day
1962
as Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
MovieThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1962
as Booking Office Clerk (uncredited)
MovieLife for Ruth
1962
as Teddy's Father
The Hard Knock
1962
as Franco Angelo
Studio 4
1962
as Fernand Destayac
TVZ-Cars
1962
MoviePrivate Potter
1962
as Capt. Patterson
You Can't Win
1961
as George Lander
The Younger Generation
1961
as Ross Mayer
Drama 61-67
1961
as Albert Hope
Target Luna
1960
as Conway Henderson
TVArmchair Theatre
1956
as Franco Angelo
TVSunday Night Theatre
1950
as Louis
