Actor Nigel Davenport, who appeared in a succession of classic British films and TV dramas, has died at the age of 85.
The star father to Jack Davenport, who is now appearing in ITV series Breathless was well known for his role in Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, in which he portrayed Lord Birkenhead.
However, for many TV viewers in the late 1980s he will be best remembered for his performance as tycoon Sir Edward Frere in BBC1’s Howard’s Way, the popular Sunday night drama set in the wealthy yachting set.
Oxford-educated Davenport began his career as a stage actor but in the late 1950s and 1960s he was increasingly clocking up film roles, including the dark cult movie Peeping Tom, and he made a breakthrough with his performance in A Man For All Seasons in 1966.
Other films included The Virgin Soldiers and its sequel, and an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Davenport was president of actor’s union Equity for six years.
“His performances over the years were powerful and moving. His voice, the envy of many an aspiring actor, was a joy to listen to,” his agent Nicholas Young said.
Davenport was married and divorced twice his second to Maria Aitken, the actress and director who is mother to Jack. He had two children from his first marriage to Helena White: Hugo, a writer, and Laura, an actress.