Richard Griffiths

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Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – March 28, 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage.

He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, both for his role in The History Boys.

Griffiths was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2006 for his 2006 film version. Vernon Dursley appeared in the Harry Potter film series Uncle Monty (1987), Dr.

Albert Meinheimer in The Smell of Fear (1991), Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997), Protetnic Vogon Jeltz in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: In The Smell of Fear (1991), Protesters of the Future (2006).

In Richard Attenborough's Academy Award-winning film Gandhi (1982), he appeared in supporting roles as British journalist Collins in his career.

Early years

Richard Thomas Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, Yorkshire's North Riding of Yorkshire, to Jane Ann (née Denmark, 1899-1956) and Thomas Griffiths (1915–1976). His father, a steelworker who also worked in bars for money, died in pubs, and his mother's occupation was described as "bagger." He had an elder sister and two elder brothers, both of whom died in infancy before he was born. He was born as a Roman Catholic.

When he was a boy, he was so thin he was given radiation therapy on his pituitary gland. This slowed his metabolism permanently, making him suffer with obesity for the remainder of his life.

At an early age, his parents were both deaf and he became fluent in British Sign Language. He attempted to run away from home several times throughout his childhood. At the age of 15, he dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-on-Tees and spent a short time as a porter for Littlewoods, but his boss eventually refused to send him back to school. He wanted to take a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College. He continued his drama training at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre (now Manchester School of Theatre) at the same time as Bernard Hill.

Personal life

In 1973, Griffiths married Heather Gibson, who later married in 1980. They had no children. In the 2008 New Year Honours, Griffiths received an honorary degree from Teesside University in 2006 and was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

He was Jack Whitehall's godfather.

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Career

Griffiths earned a job with BBC Radio Drama Company after graduating. He has also worked in small theatres, sometimes acting and occasionally managing. He began playing the Kings in Love's Labour's Lost and in Henry VIII, earning him a reputation as a Shakespearean clown with portrayals of Pompey in Measure for Measure and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He eventually settled in Manchester and began to play lead roles in plays. He went from there to television and then got his big break in film In It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1976). He was chosen for the lead role in Bird of Prey, the first computer-conspiracy thriller in the early 1980s. Henry Jay's character was reprised in Bird of Prey 2 (1984). In 1981, he made a memorable appearance as William Beausire, Chilean unidentified policeman, in an edition of the BBC Prisoners of Conscience series. Griffiths went on to support roles in a number of major films, including The French Lieutenant's Woman, Chariots of Fire, and Gandhi. He appeared on stage in 1985-1996, as Verdi in Julian Mitchell's After Aida in Wales and the Old Vic Theatre in London. He appeared in The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.

Griffiths' film appearances included in both modern and period pieces, including Gorky Park (1983), Withnail and I (1987), and Sleepy Hollow (1999). In five of the eight films, Potter's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows was later shown as Harry Potter's nefarious uncle Vernon Dursley.

In Pie in the Sky, a job that was never intended for him, he appeared as Inspector Henry Crabbe, disillusioned policeman and pie chef extraordinaire. He made an extended appearance in Charles Dickens' Bleak House in 2005. Hector (the instructor) in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner, received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 2005. During the play's run in the United States, he received a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Tony Award. He reprised his role in the film version, which was first released in October 2006. Emma Watson and Gemma Jones co-stars in Ballet Shoes in 2007.

Daniel Radcliffe, a Harry Potter co-star, appeared in a stage revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus at the Gielgud Theatre in London and later in a short run of the performance at the Broadhurst Theatre in Broadway, which concluded in February 2009. Before the premiere of The Habit of Art at the National Theatre in 2009, Michael Gambon replaced him as W. H. Auden. He was later directed by Hytner.

Following Tom Baker's departure in 1981, Griffiths had been considered for the role in Doctor Who, but he was unobtainable. If the show continued past 1989, he was strongly considered to reprise his role as the Eighth Doctor. He appeared in adaptations of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as the voice for Slartibartfast on the radio version of Life, the Universe, and Everything, as well as playing the Vogon Jeltz in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He appeared in Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler and as a special guest in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.

After her phone rang three times, he begged a member of the audience to leave a performance of Heroes. This occurrence of a performance due to audience disruption happened three times in his career.

Griffiths appeared in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Julian Bullard appeared in the first episode of the television series Episodes as Julian Bullard. Griffiths appeared in a revival of the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys in April 2012. Danny DeVito joined them. The Savoy Theatre opened on May 27th and is playing a limited 12-week season until July 28th.

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