- Besides Patrick Macnee, he is the only actor to appear in both The Avengers (1961) and the subsequent film adaptation The Avengers (1998).
- He was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2007 Queens New Years Honors List for his services to drama.
- He was awarded the 1991 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in King Lear.
- He once surprised an interviewer by claiming that the two biggest influences on his acting were Jean-Louis Barrault and Jerry Lewis.
- Although he was 65 when he played King Edward IV of England in Richard III (1995), his character was only 40 years old when he died on April 9, 1483.
- He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of the 1997 season for his performance in "The Invention of Love", at the Royal National Theatre: Cottesloe and Lyttelton stages.
- He appeared in two productions which depicted the Russian Revolution from the perspective of the Romanovs: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and Rasputin (1996). He played Colonel Kobylinsky in the former and Ptoyr Stolypin in the latter.
- Was cast by director Robert Altman to appear in the Old Vic's early 2006 production of the Arthur Miller play "Resurrection Blues" but dropped out before previews and was replaced by James Fox.
- Although he played Maggie Smith's son in Richard III (1995), he was more than four years her senior in real life.
- Won Broadway's 1976 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Travesties." He was also nominated in 1968, as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," and in 1975, as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Sherlock Holmes".
- Lived in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England at the time of his death.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content