Born:
June 01, 1944
in
Salford
Best Known For:
Jesus of Nazareth and The Thirty Nine Steps.
Early-life:
Robert Thomas Powell was born on June 1, 1944, in Salford, Manchester, the youngest of three children. After leaving school, Powell studied law at Manchester University, where he became hooked on acting. The director of a student play advised him to ditch his plans to become a solicitor and try treading the boards instead. He left university so he could hone his craft at a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, before moving to London in 1964.
Career:
Powell made his film debut in 1967's Robbery, and had a small part in 1969's The Italian Job. A role in spooky TV show Doomwatch made him a star in the UK, but he quit after a year to tackle different projects. Roles in such productions as Asylum, The Edwardians, Mahler, and Tommy followed. In 1977 he landed the lead in epic miniseries Jesus of Nazareth, which introduced him to an international audience. Powell followed it with remakes of The Four Feathers and The Thirty-Nine Steps. Since then, he's continued to work steadily, appearing in the likes of The Detectives, Hannay, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Colour Me Kubrick. In 2005, he joined the cast of Holby City as surgeon Mark Williams, where he remained for six years.
Quote:
"I did say about 30 years ago that I would not be acting all my life. It's extraordinary how wrong I was."
Trivia:
In December 2014, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in a Radio 4 adaptation of A Christmas Carol.