Brian Blessed
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1936-10-09
Place of Birth
Mexborough, Yorkshire, England, UK
Brian Blessed
Biography
Brian Blessed OBE ( born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in Z-Cars; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of I, Claudius; King Richard IV in the first series of Blackadder; Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon; Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre; Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, in Henry V; Boss Nass in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; and the voice of Clayton and the Tarzan yell in Disney's Tarzan. In 2016, Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts and charity. Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of William Blessed, a socialist coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team, and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99. Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg, Lincolnshire; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg. Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF, in Bicester, before enrolling at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1956.
Also Known For
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Feb 03, 2007
Devil's Harvest
Jan 01, 2003
Hamlet
Dec 25, 1996
Flash Gordon
Sep 01, 1980
Henry V
Oct 05, 1989
Back in Business
Feb 09, 2007
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Jun 14, 1991
Much Ado About Nothing
May 07, 1993
Into Infinity
Dec 09, 1975
A Christmas Carol
Dec 24, 1977
Old Rococo: The Life of Gioacchino Rossini
Jan 01, 1992
The Last Valley
Jan 28, 1971
Till Death Us Do Part
Jan 01, 1969
Tarzan
Jun 18, 1999
Wine of India
Apr 15, 1970
The Trojan Women
May 01, 1971
The Mumbo Jumbo
Oct 24, 2000
Cosmic Princess
Dec 01, 1982
The Conclave
Feb 16, 2007
Catherine the Great
Apr 28, 1996
MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis
May 14, 1994
The Castle of Adventure
Apr 19, 1990
Henry VIII and His Six Wives
Jul 13, 1972
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Mar 12, 2012
The Dark Side of Everest
Jan 01, 2003
The Queen: 70 Glorious Years
Feb 06, 2022
Exam Conditions
Jul 03, 1992
Kidnapped
Nov 05, 1995
Freddie as F.R.O.7.
Aug 14, 1992
Brotherly Love
Jan 07, 1970
The Master of Ballantrae
Jan 31, 1984
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Nov 26, 2022
Wojtek: The Bear That Went to War
Oct 22, 2011
Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Nov 07, 1998
Prisoner of Honor
Nov 02, 1991
The Seventeenth Kind
Jul 01, 2014
Macbeth
May 16, 1997
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return
May 08, 2014
High Road to China
Mar 18, 1983
Galahad of Everest
Dec 07, 1991
Man of La Mancha
Dec 12, 1972
The Bruce
Apr 12, 1996
Bug-Eyed Monsters Invade the Earth!
Oct 07, 2022
Day of Wrath
Jun 27, 2006
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
Sep 24, 2012
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
May 19, 1999
Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots
Feb 14, 2015
Genius: Pythagoras
Feb 22, 1996
The Old Man Of The Mountain
Jan 01, 1989
The Greatest Store in the World
Dec 24, 1999
Tales of Television Centre
May 17, 2012
The Double Agent
May 12, 1969
The Eagle Has Landed
Dec 24, 1976
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Jan 01, 1975
The Christmas Tree
Dec 02, 1966
Brian Cox: Space, Time & Videotape
Nov 09, 2014
Back in the USSR
Feb 07, 1992
Blood and Dust
Sep 06, 1992
Alexander
Nov 21, 2004
King Lear
Jan 01, 1999
Mr. Bojagi
Mar 05, 2010
Peppa's Cinema Party
Feb 07, 2024
Chasing the Deer
Dec 16, 1994
The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
Sep 01, 1995
As You Like It
Sep 01, 2006
So You Want To Be A Pirate!
Jul 09, 2012
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Nov 03, 1983
Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy
Aug 04, 2006
Shed of the Dead
May 20, 2019
Life After Flash
Oct 02, 2017
448 BC: Olympiad of Ancient Hellas
Dec 12, 2004
Robin Hood: The Rebellion
Nov 05, 2018
David Macaulay: Roman City
Feb 15, 1994
David Macaulay: Pyramid
Jan 04, 1989
David Macaulay: Castle
Jan 01, 1983
David Macaulay: Cathedral
Apr 30, 1986
The Legend of the Tamworth Two
Apr 12, 2004
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord
Sep 30, 2008
Eugenius!
Mar 20, 2020
I, Claudius: A Television Epic
Sep 30, 2002
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Jul 21, 2021
Doctor Who: Mindwarp
Oct 25, 1986
Dear Mr. Burton
Sep 07, 2020
A Midsummer Nightmare
Sep 16, 1975
Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments
Oct 16, 2008
Son of Man
Apr 16, 1969
Agent Crush
Jan 01, 2008
Peppa Pig: Wedding Party!
Mar 27, 2024
The Bristol Entertainment
Dec 03, 1971
The Sweeney
Jan 02, 1975
Thriller
Apr 14, 1973
Soccer AM
Aug 12, 1995
Family Guy
Jan 31, 1999
Blake's 7
Jan 02, 1978
Doctor Who
Nov 23, 1963
Tales of the Unexpected
Mar 24, 1979
The Avengers
Jan 07, 1961
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Jun 08, 2002
The Paul O'Grady Show
Oct 11, 2004
The Underdog Show
Sep 21, 2008
Minder
Oct 29, 1979
Survivors
Apr 16, 1975
I, Claudius
Sep 20, 1976
I, Claudius
Sep 20, 1976
Lovejoy
Jan 10, 1986
The Aphrodite Inheritance
Jan 03, 1979
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Dec 24, 1951
Blackadder
Jun 15, 1983
Peppa Pig
May 31, 2004
Shirley's World
Apr 07, 1972
The Expert
Jul 05, 1968
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
May 21, 1967
Notorious Woman
Nov 03, 1974
Boy Dominic
Mar 24, 1974
Pebble Mill
Oct 14, 1991
The Heaven and Earth Show
Sep 06, 1998
A Question Of Entertainment
Apr 24, 1988
BBC Play of the Month
Oct 19, 1965
Fun at the Funeral Parlour
Jan 01, 2001
Natural World
Oct 30, 1983
GMTV
Jan 01, 1993
The Three Musketeers
Nov 13, 1966
All Star Mr & Mrs
Apr 12, 2008
Fee Fi Fo Yum
Sep 09, 2010
Fantasy World Cup
Jun 09, 1998
Britain's Got More Talent
Jun 09, 2007
The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
Nov 09, 1997
Z-Cars
Jan 02, 1962
Z-Cars
Jan 02, 1962
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
Apr 05, 1986
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Feb 25, 1982
The Kumars
Jan 15, 2014
Who Do You Think You Are?
Oct 12, 2004
The Day After Tomorrow
Dec 09, 1975
Danger Mouse
Sep 28, 2015
Justice
Oct 08, 1971
Would I Lie to You?
Jun 16, 2007
The Last Days of Pompeii
May 06, 1984
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
Apr 02, 1996
Wizards vs Aliens
Oct 29, 2012
Sooty & Co.
Sep 06, 1993
Sooty
Sep 05, 2011
The Royal
Jan 19, 2003
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Sep 04, 2022
The Amazing World of Gumball
May 03, 2011
Close Enough
Jul 09, 2020
QI
Sep 11, 2003
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Sep 21, 1969
Johnny and the Dead
Apr 04, 1995
Cold Comfort Farm
Jun 22, 1968
Blankety Blank
Oct 02, 2021
The Little World of Don Camillo
Jan 08, 1981
The Russell Howard Hour
Sep 21, 2017
Z-Cars
Jan 02, 1962
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
Oct 24, 2011
My Family and Other Animals
Oct 17, 1987
Public Eye
Jan 23, 1965
Arthur of the Britons
Dec 06, 1972
The Troubleshooters
Jul 07, 1965
Space: 1999
Sep 04, 1975
Space: 1999
Sep 04, 1975
Take Me Out
Jan 02, 2010
Saving Planet Earth UK
Jul 04, 2007
The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything
Jan 02, 2000
The Avengers
Jan 07, 1961
Best & Bester
Jun 27, 2022
Have I Got News for You
Sep 28, 1990
