Michael Jayston (born Michael A. James 29 October 1935 in Nottingham ) is an English actor.
He worked briefly as a trainee accountant at the offices of the National Coal Board before obtaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an actor. He made his professional debut, aged 27, in a production of The Amorous Prawn, going on to work on the stage at the Salisbury Repertory, Bristol Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He enjoyed success as a classical stage actor before becoming well known on British television. Shakespearean roles on TV include Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) and Edmund in King Lear (1975). An early recurring television role was as civil servant Dowling in the final series of boardroom drama The Power Game in 1969.
He was once considered for the part of James Bond (both his looks and manner somewhat resemble Daniel Craig) and he portrayed the character in a radio adaptation of You Only Live Twice. In 1970 he played Henry Ireton in Cromwell. In 1971, he starred as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in the film Nicholas and Alexandra, then in 1973 took the lead role of Mr Rochester in a BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre opposite Sorcha Cusack. He appeared as Gratiano opposite Sir Laurence Olivier as Shylock in the National Theatre's film The Merchant of Venice (1974). He made two appearances in the anthology series Thriller in 1974 and in 1975 played Quiller, a spy who never used a gun, in the British TV series of the same name. He appeared as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Jonathan Mansel in the 1977 BBC adaptation of She Fell Among Thieves. In 1979 he played Peter Guillam opposite Alec Guinness in the mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
In 1986, Jayston played the role of the Valeyard in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the serial The Ultimate Foe, the Valeyard is revealed to be an evil version of the Doctor himself. He later reprised the part of the Valeyard in He Jests at Scars..., an audio play in the Big Finish Productions' Doctor Who Unbound series. He has been a close friend of Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker since they appeared in Nicholas and Alexandra.
Jayston played Neville Badger in the 1989 television adaptation of David Nobbs's comedy of manners A Bit of a Do. In 1991, he appeared as Colonel Mustard in the television series Cluedo and a year later made a guest appearance in the Press Gang episode "UnXpected". Other notable TV appearances include in EastEnders, Coronation Street, The Darling Buds of May, Tales of the Unexpected, The Bill and is currently playing the character of Donald De Souza in Emmerdale.
He has also narrated many audio books, including works by P. D. James and John le Carré. He provided the voices for the Wind in the Willows, Story Teller group of tapes from 1983 to 1985, which are now very rare and collectible. In 2004, he narrated a gripping radio version of Geoffrey Household's thriller Rogue Male, for digital radio station BBC 7.
He also provided a "voice" for a song by the British group Saint Etienne. He was at one point a prolific voiceover on British television adverts, as well as voicing Capital Radio's station idents. Since 2001, he has been the male station voice on BBC Essex. Michael is now President of the Brighton Little Theatre.
Jayston's first wife was actress Lynn Farleigh.
References
^ GRO Register of Births: DEC 1935 7b 397 NOTTINGHAM - Michael A. James, mmn = Medcalfe
External links
Michael Jayston at the Internet Movie Database
Michael Jayston in Jane Eyre
Persondata
NAME
Jayston, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
James, Michael A.
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Actor
DATE OF BIRTH
1935-10-29
PLACE OF BIRTH
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jayston"
Categories: 1935 births | Audio book narrators | English television actors | English voice actors | English film actors | Living people | English soap opera actors | People from Nottingham | Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
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This page was last modified on 29 July 2008, at 09:18.
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