Richard Griffiths

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Richard Griffiths (2007)

Richard Griffiths , OBE , (born July 31, 1947 in Thornaby-on-Tees , North East England , † March 28, 2013 in Coventry , West Midlands ) was a British actor . He played his most famous role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films.

Life

As the son of deaf parents, Griffiths learned sign language early on in order to communicate with them and developed a flair for dialects , which helped him in many acting roles. Griffiths had been married to Heather Gibson since 1980.

1974 Richard Griffiths made his first appearance on a television series. In the following decades, the overweight actor played supporting roles in numerous successful films. He embodied roles in The Lover of the French Lieutenant alongside Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons , in Tess and her Bodyguard alongside Shirley MacLaine and Nicolas Cage or in Sleepy Hollow alongside Johnny Depp and Miranda Richardson . In the comedy Die Nackte Kanone 2½ he played a double role as a professor in a wheelchair and his doppelganger. In the British cult film Withnail & I , the actor played the homosexual Uncle Monty, who is visited by his nephew, aka Richard E. Grant , and who for a short time turns his life upside down. In The History Boys - Learning For Life , Griffiths played a homosexual man again, this time the teacher Hector, whom he had played in the successful play The History Boys . He received several awards for the role of Hector in the play.

His most famous role was that of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films . In contrast to Harry Melling , who plays his son Dudley Dursley in the film , Griffiths did not have to wear a so-called fat suit to portray the grouchy uncle of the wizarding student . On December 31, 2007, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain .

Richard Griffiths died on March 28, 2013 of complications following heart surgery. He was active as an actor until the end.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 2004: Evening Standard Award: Best Actor (in The History Boys )
  • 2005: Laurence Olivier Award : Best Actor (in The History Boys )
  • 2005–2006: Theater World Award (for role in the play The History Boys )
  • 2006: Drama Desk Award: Outstanding Actor in a Play (Outstanding Actor in a play (The History Boys) )
  • 2006: Tony Award : Best Actor (in The History Boys )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexandra Topping: Richard Griffiths, uncle to Withnail and Harry Potter, dies aged 65 . In: The Guardian , March 29, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Potter and Withnail actor Richard Griffiths dies . In: BBC Online , March 29, 2013. 
  3. ^ A b Richard Griffiths, Raised in Silence, Exults in Applause . In: The New York Times , June 11, 2006
  4. ↑ a b c "I've always hated the way I look" . In: The Guardian
  5. ↑ a b imdb.com
  6. ↑ Richard Griffiths. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved October 27, 2018 .
  7. ↑ thefreelibrary.com: 'PASS IT ON, BOYS' ON, OFF SCREEN, GRIFFITHS PROVIDES AN EDUCATION.
  8. ↑ uk.dvd.ign.com
  9. ↑ Harry Potter actor Richard Griffiths dies. BBC News, March 29, 2013, accessed March 29, 2013 .
  10. ^ Evening Standard Awards in the English language Wikipedia
  11. ↑ BBC News: Top gong for West End's Producers
  12. ^ The Independent , January 21, 2005 Blockbuster musicals top list for Laurence Olivier Awards
  13. ↑ theatreworldawards.org: Award
  14. ^ Drama Desk Award in the English language Wikipedia
  15. ↑ dramadesk.com ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dramadesk.com
personal data
SURNAME Griffiths, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Thornaby-on-Tees , England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 2013
Place of death Coventry , England, UK