James Villiers

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James Michael Lyle Villiers (born September 29, 1933 , † January 18, 1998 in Arundel (West Sussex) ) was a British film and television actor .

Life

The descendant of George Villiers , the Duke of Buckingham, was not admitted to military service for health reasons. Instead, he studied at Wellington College and RADA and made his debut as a stage actor in 1955. The aristocratic Villiers quickly made a name for himself through numerous appearances in London's West End . His performance in a production of Noël Coward's Private Lives (1972) alongside Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens received special attention .

He also found an extensive field of activity in film and television, although v. a. in supporting roles. He got his first film role in 1958 in Carry On Sergeant . Often he was cast in either weak, witty and elegant roles or in arrogant and unpleasant roles. He played "Lord Kilbannock" in Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honor , King Charles II in The First Churchills , an unscrupulous murderer in the guise of a decadent nobleman in The Murders of the Lord ABC after Agatha Christie , Fortunes of War (with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson ) and the Prime Minister's unstable brother in the television satire A House of Cards (starring Ian Richardson as a scheming careerist). He was also seen in several television series, for example in 1966 in Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone .

James Villiers died of cancer on January 18, 1998 at the age of 64 in Arundel, West Sussex .

Filmography (selection)

Remarks

  1. Philip Purser, “Patrician actor with a touch of class,” in: Guardian, January 30, 1998.

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