Acting · Durban, Natal, South Africa · Born January 1, 1953
Brian Pettifer (born January 1, 1953) is a South African actor who has appeared in many television shows, and also on stage and in film. He is the younger brother of folk musician Linda Thompson. He intended to become a photographer, but pursued a career as an actor. He appeared as a child in the BBC's This Man Craig and Dr Finlay's Casebook, and Madame Bovary (with his friend Alex Norton) which gave him an avid interest in acting on television. His first film role was in Lindsay Anderson's film if.... (1968). He also appeared in Anderson's O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982) playing the same character in all three Anderson films, that of Biles. His other film credits include roles in Amadeus (1984), A Christmas Carol (1984), Gulag (1985), Heavenly Pursuits (1986), Little Dorrit (1987), The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988), Loch Ness (1996), The House of Mirth (2000), Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (2002), The Rocket Post (2004), Vanity Fair (2004) and Lassie (2005). Pettifer was a regular in Rab C. Nesbitt mainly propping up a bar, but was also known as aircraftman Bruce Leckie in Get Some In!, where he was constantly the butt of jokes directed at him by Corporal Marsh. He also played cousin Hughie in the long running Liverpool based 70s sitcom The Liver Birds. He also played Alfred Meyer in the BBC/HBO film Conspiracy and the part of Dr. Cameron in the Radio 4 series entitled Adventures of a Black Bag, after appearing in several episodes of Dr. Finlay's Casebook. He appeared in Hamish Macbeth, as well as guest starring in Still Game. In 2005, he also appeared in the first episode of the BBC drama Bleak House. In 2011 and 2013, he played Father Richards in The Field of Blood. He had the role of Poupart in the BBC One series The Musketeers. In 2012, Brian Pettifer appeared as Archie Milgrow in the episode Old School Ties in the series New Tricks. He has worked extensively in the theatre: writing, directing and acting. He has been in a production of The Fairy-Queen at Glyndebourne, which went to Paris and New York in 2010. In 2015, Pettifer appeared in the crime comedy The Legend of Barney Thomson along with his Hamish Macbeth co-star Robert Carlyle. In 2019, he appeared in an episode of Holby City playing patient Laurie Stocks.
MovieDamaged
2024
as Village Man
MovieThe Last Bus
2021
as Billy (Drunk)
TVGrace
2021
as Hector Hegarty
Go Home
2021
as Mike
MovieMemories of Lindsay Anderson
2019
as Self
MovieGet Duked!
2019
as PC Dougie
MovieThe Flu That Killed 50 Million
2018
as Victor Vaughan
MovieDarkest Hour
2017
as Lord Kingsley Wood
MovieWhisky Galore
2016
as Angus
MovieThe Legend of Barney Thomson
2015
as Charlie
TVJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2015
as Honeyfoot
TVOutlander
2014
as Old Charlie
TVEndeavour
2013
as Jephthah Claypole
TVBlack Mirror
2011
as William Grange, Dentist
TVThe Field of Blood
2011
as Father Richards
MovieHattie
2011
as Ron
MovieDonkeys
2010
as Brian Colburn
TVGarrow's Law
2009
as Robert Boycott
MovieTerror! Robespierre and the French Revolution
2009
as Couthon
MovieA Risk Worth Taking
2008
as Maxwell Borthwick
MovieLassie
2005
as O'Donnell
MovieThe Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle
2005
as Harry How
TVTo the Ends of the Earth
2005
as Wheeler
Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man?
2004
as Self
MovieVanity Fair
2004
as Mr. Raggles
MovieThe Rocket Post
2004
as Reverend Shand
MovieOne Last Chance
2004
as Macgregor
TVHustle
2004
as Tip Jones
TVNew Tricks
2004
as Archie Milgrow
MovieThe Key
2003
MovieDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
2003
as Poole
Snoddy
2002
as Professor Baxter
TVRockface
2002
as Brother Thomas
MovieConspiracy
2001
as Alfred Meyer
MovieThe House of Mirth
2000
as Mr. Bry
TVMonarch of the Glen
2000
as Eric Morton
MovieThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
1999
as the executioner / the torturer of the trial
TVLife Support
1999
as Gordon Travers
MovieVigo
1998
as Fatman
TVThe History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
1997
as Parson Supple
MovieThe James Gang
1997
as Spanner
MovieLoch Ness
1996
as Repairman
The Ghostbusters of East Finchley
1995
as Howard Heights
MovieIn the Bleak Midwinter
1995
as Ventriloquist
MovieEleven Men Against Eleven
1995
as Cliff Tutley
TVHamish Macbeth
1995
as Rory Campbell
In Dreams
1992
as Journalist/Dave
MovieIs That All There Is?
1992
as Self
TVHeartbeat
1992
as Andrew McIntyre
MovieThe Great Escape II: The Untold Story
1988
as Kirby-Green
MovieLucky Sunil
1988
as Cyril
MovieLittle Dorrit
1987
as Clarence Barnacle
TVCity Lights
1986
as Alisdair
MovieHappy the Man
1986
as Andy
MovieHeavenly Pursuits
1986
as Father Cobb
TVFarrington of the F.O.
1986
as Billy Murdoch
TVLovejoy
1986
as Willy Kinross
MovieGulag
1985
as Vlasov
MovieA Christmas Carol
1984
as Ben
MovieAmadeus
1984
as Hospital Attendant
TVCloud Howe
1982
as Dite Peat
MovieBritannia Hospital
1982
as Biles
TVReturn of the Saint
1978
as Bartender
TVClayhanger
1976
as Stifford
TVGet Some In!
1975
as Bruce Leckie
TVBedtime Stories
1974
as Alan
TVLast of the Summer Wine
1973
as The Best Man
Just Your Luck
1972
as Youth at Wedding
MoviePeer Gynt
1972
as Additional cast
TVVillains
1972
as Youth
TVPlay for Today
1970
as Boy in Grounds
Warm Feet, Warm Heart
1970
as Nigel Purvis
Is That Your Body, Boy
1970
as Spratt
MovieLet There Be Light
1970
as Pupil Teacher
MovieThe Right Prospectus
1970
as Boy in Grounds
TVITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Adam Armour
Movieif....
1968
as Biles
This Man Craig
1966
TVThe Vital Spark
1965
TVArmchair Theatre
1956
as Nigel Purvis
