Freddie Jones

British character actor 'Freddie Jones' (qv) came to the acting profession after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant and acting in amateur theater on the side. To kick off his mid-life career change, Jones attended Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Kent, England, on a scholarship. He then worked in repertory theater, later joining up with the Royal Shakespeare Company and gaining recognition as an actor of exceptional cleverness, intelligence and perception.His theatrical film debut came in 1967 in 'Peter Brook' (qv)'s critically acclaimed, _Marat/Sade (1967)_ (qv). Two years later, Jones made his mark on the acting world playing "Claudius" in the six-part television miniseries, _The Caesars (1968)_ (qv). Based on this performance, he was named "The World's Best Television Actor of the Year" at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 1969. Also, around this time, Jones gave one of his most touching film performances, that of the "monster" in _Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)_ (qv), in which he displayed pathos reminiscent of 'Boris Karloff' (qv)'s monster.Critical acclaim led him into more prominent roles in television, e.g., _The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1976)_ (qv), _Children of the Stones (1977)_ (qv), and _Pennies from Heaven (1978)_ (qv), as well as in film, e.g., _The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)_ (qv), _Antony and Cleopatra (1972)_ (qv), _All Creatures Great and Small (1975)_ (qv) and _Zulu Dawn (1979)_ (qv). He achieved international recognition as a film actor after appearing in such Hollywood films as 'Clint Eastwood' (qv)'s _Firefox (1982)_ (qv) and 'David Lynch' (qv)'s _The Elephant Man (1980)_ (qv), _Dune (1984)_ (qv) and _Wild at Heart (1990)_ (qv).Arguably one of his most endearing roles was the frequently drunk reporter "Orlando" in 'Federico Fellini' (qv)'s _And the Ship Sails On (1983)_ (qv). His theatrical acting also went well as he was well suited for literary dramas, e.g., _Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)_ (qv), _Nicholas Nickleby (1977)_ (qv), _Silas Marner (1985)_ (qv), _Screen One: Adam Bede (1992)_ (qv), _David Copperfield (2000)_ (qv) and _The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)_ (qv).::Lyn Hammond