Biography

Eloquent, incisive, consistently compelling Berkshire-born character actor, equally at home portraying paternal benevolence or nefarious villainy. Patrick Malahide's birth name is Patrick Gerald Duggan and he has written screenplays as P.G. Duggan: to date the BBC thriller The Writing on the Wall (1996) and the Screen Two (1984) episode 'Reasonable Force'. He also owns and operates the production company Ryan Films. The change of his stage name to Patrick Malahide came as a consequence of there already being another actor named Patrick Duggan listed in British Equity.

The son of Irish immigrants (his father was a college secretary, his mother a cook), Malahide attended the Catholic Douai boarding School in Woolhampton, Upper Berkshire, where he first developed an aptitude for singing and acting. By the time he was in his early teens, he had also mastered all manner of Irish and English accents and dialects, a skill which was to come in handy as an actor. Malahide gained his first proper acting experience as a member of the University of Edinburgh's dramatic society, leading to two appearances at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Though his uni studies in experimental psychology did not lead to a career in academia, Malahide tried his hand for two years as an English Master, teaching literature and drama at the Forest County Grammar School for Boys in Wokingham. Still undecided about future career prospects, he then worked briefly as a door-to-door salesman, selling English ceramic ware to American forces stationed in Germany.

By 1969, he had overcome his initial reservations about an acting career and joined the Byre Theatre in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, as a stage manager, in addition fulfilling diverse other jobs as carpenter, electrician, sound recordist, prompter, set painter and actor. By the following year, Malahide had worked his way up to artistic director and was able to command leading roles in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Shaw, Miller, among others. In 1972, he made his debut on the London stage. He was a member of the ensemble of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh from 1973 to 1978 and of the Bristol Old Vic repertory company from 1979 to 1980, appearing in classic plays like Crime and Punishment, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Look Back in Anger, The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya.

On screen from 1975, Malahide enjoyed his first popular success in the role of the dour, plodding Detective Sergeant Albert Chisholm (ironically nicknamed "Cheerful Charlie"), Arthur Daley's perpetual nemesis in TV's Minder (1979). He essayed this character in 24 episodes during the first seven seasons (1979 to 1988). Malahide remained connected to the crime genre with guest appearances in The Sweeney (1975), The Professionals (1977), The Chinese Detective (1981), the Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987), Lovejoy (1986) and Poirot (1989). Between 1993 and 1994, he also starred in his own series as a dapper, charismatic sleuth, protagonist of the Alleyn Mysteries (1990), adapted from novels by New Zealand crime author Ngaio Marsh. On the wrong side of the law, Malahide tangled with Luther (2010) (Idris Elba) in the role of genteel, thoroughly ruthless East End crime boss George Cornelius.

Likely stemming from his appreciation of literature, Malahide has similarly excelled in portraying a fascinating gallery of characters in period drama and in adaptations from literary classics. These have ranged from haughty aristocrats and corrupt officers to powerful political/historical figures and leaders of industry. One of his personal favorites (according to his website) was playing the eccentric charlatan and bombast Alfred Jingle in BBC's adaptation of The Pickwick Papers (1985). Other memorable roles include the wealthy, but graceless Reverend Edward Casaubon in Middlemarch (1994); the avaricious miser Ebenezer Balfour in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped (1995); the snide, corrupt Governor Ainslee in the much-maligned swashbuckler Cutthroat Island (1995); Sir Francis Walsingham, the sinister spymaster of Elizabeth I (2005); Sir John Conroy, comptroller to the early household of the future Queen of England in the miniseries Victoria & Albert (2001) and Patrick, the Bronte sisters' father (In Search of the Brontës (2003)). More recent appearances saw him in recurring roles as shrewd businessman Lord Glendenning invested in The Paradise (2012) and as Governor-General of India Lord Willingdon in Indian Summers (2015). Malahide was at his commanding best as the gaunt, intractable (and rather unpleasant) Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, in HBO's epic blockbuster series Game of Thrones (2011).

Malahide's presence on the big screen has included the James Bond thriller The World Is Not Enough (1999) (as a Swiss banker), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) (as a German officer), A Month in the Country (1987) (the pompous Reverend J.G. Keach), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) (CIA Director Leland Perkins) and Mortal Engines (2018) (Magnus Crome). He has also lent his voice to a number of audio recordings and narrations. His radio play 'Pleas and Directions' (written as P.G. Duggan) aired on BBC4 in October 2002.

An avid sailor, Malahide is a member of the Royal Fowey Yacht club on the south coast of Cornwall. He has been married twice. His first wife was Rosi Wright (divorced 1970). His second wife is the photographer Jo Ryan.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis