Scottish born actor Kenneth Cranham is one of the most recognisable character actors in Britain. Having trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA, Cranham first came to prominence as Noah Claypole in the 1968 Carol Reed musical Oliver! In the late '70s, Cranham memorably played Sapper Salt in Euston Films' Danger UXB, before taking the title role in the popular postwar set period comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. His most famous film role from around this time was Dr. Philip Channard in Hellraiser II. In more recent years he has starred in the HBO series Rome, as well as the films Hot Fuzz, Layer Cake, Valkyrie, Made in Dagenham, Maleficent and Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool. Among many stage credits are West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, An Inspector Calls (both transferring to Broadway), The Ruffian on the Stair, The Birthday Party and Gaslight (at the Old Vic). For his role as Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2016, Cranham won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Andre in Florian Zeller's The Father. The play originated at the Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio in the Autumn of 2014, before touring the country and transferring to the West End in the Summer of 2015, and returning to the Duke of York's Theatre in Spring 2016. The play received an unprecedented five star review from every leading national press publication, and Cranham's performance was described as "the performance of his life" His first wife was actress Diana Quick. He has two daughters: Nancy Cranham with actress Charlotte Cornwell, and Kathleen Cranham with his second wife, actress Fiona Victory, whom he met on the set of Shine on Harvey Moon.
Movie | National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard | Firs | 2023 |
Movie | Cherry Orchard | Firs | 2022 |
Series | Finding Alice | Gerry | 2021-01-17 |
Series | Hatton Garden | Brian Reader | 2019-05-20 |
Movie | Official Secrets | Judge Hyam | 2019-08-30 |
Movie | Mr. Jones | Lloyd George | 2019-10-03 |
Movie | Born a King | Lord Curzon | 2019-04-25 |
Movie | Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desires | Leopold Czihaczek | 2018-11-10 |
Movie | Joe Orton Laid Bare | Himself | 2017-11-25 |
Movie | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | Joe Turner | 2017-11-17 |
Movie | Dark Ditties Presents: The Offer | The Host | 2017-08-01 |
Series | The White Princess | John Morton | 2017-04-16 |
Series | Bancroft | Charlie Haverstock | 2017-12-11 |
Series | Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories | Unknown | 2016-05-26 |
Series | War and Peace | Uncle Mikhail | 2016-01-03 |
Movie | Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Self | 2015-06-18 |
Movie | Maleficent | King Henry | 2014-05-28 |
Series | 37 Days | John Burns | 2014-03-06 |
Series | Inside No. 9 | Rupert | 2014-02-05 |
Movie | The Legend of Hercules | Lucius | 2014-01-10 |
Series | In the Flesh | Vicar Oddie | 2013-03-17 |
Movie | Flying Blind | Victor | 2013-04-12 |
Movie | Closed Circuit | Cameron Fischer | 2013-08-28 |
Movie | Panto! | Jerry | 2012-12-26 |
Movie | Suspension of Disbelief | Bullock | 2012-11-01 |
Movie | Graffiti Wars | Narrator (Voice) | 2011-08-14 |
Movie | National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard | Firs | 2011-06-30 |
Movie | The Night Watch | Horace Mundy | 2011-04-04 |
Movie | Made in Dagenham | Monty Taylor | 2010-10-01 |
Movie | Harold Pinter: A Celebration | Self | 2010-01-24 |
Movie | Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen | MJ O'Loughlin | 2009-08-05 |
Series | Moving On | Mike | 2009-05-18 |
Series | The Addictions of Sin: WH Auden in His Own Words | W H Auden | 2009-05-17 |
Series | Tess of the D'Urbervilles | Mr Clare | 2008-09-14 |
Movie | Valkyrie | Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel | 2008-12-25 |
Series | Merlin | Aulfric | 2008-09-20 |
Series | Heroes and Villains | 2007-11-11 | |
Movie | Sinking of the Lusitania | Captain Turner | 2007-05-12 |
Movie | Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea | Captain Turner | 2007-05-12 |
Movie | Hot Fuzz | James Reaper | 2007-02-14 |
Series | Lilies | Health Inspector | 2007-01-12 |
Movie | A Good Year | Sir Nigel | 2006-09-09 |
Series | The Line of Beauty | Sir Maurice Tipper | 2006-05-17 |
Movie | Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare | Narrator | 2006-05-05 |
Movie | The Lavender List | Harold Wilson | 2006-03-01 |
Series | Rome | Gnaeus Pompey Magnus | 2005-08-28 |
Series | New Tricks | Unknown | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Man Dancin' | D.I. Walter 'Pancho' Villers | 2004-02-20 |
Series | Hustle | Unknown | 2004-02-24 |
Series | The Genius of Mozart | Leopold Mozart | 2004-03-19 |
Movie | Trauma | DC Jackson | 2004-09-17 |
Movie | Layer Cake | Jimmy Price | 2004-09-30 |
Movie | Sparkling Cyanide | George Barton | 2003-10-05 |
Movie | Blackball | Chairman Collins | 2003-05-18 |
Series | Murder Investigation Team | Unknown | 2003-05-03 |
Movie | Killing Hitler | Brigadier Sir Stewart Menzies | 2003-03-30 |
Movie | Pollyanna | Mr. Pendleton | 2003-01-01 |
Movie | Two Men Went To War | Sgt. Peter King | 2002-11-01 |
Series | Believe Nothing | Unknown | 2002-07-14 |
Movie | Night Flight | Ted Atwell | 2002-02-02 |
Movie | Women Talking Dirty | George | 2001-12-07 |
Movie | Lady Audley's Secret | Sir Michael Audley | 2000-05-17 |
Movie | Kevin & Perry Go Large | Vicar | 2000-04-20 |
Movie | Kevin And Perry Go Large | Vicar | 2000-04-20 |
Movie | Gangster No. 1 | Tommy | 2000-06-09 |
Movie | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades | Colonel Schmidt | 2000-07-12 |
Movie | Born Romantic | Barney | 2000-09-14 |
Movie | Shiner | Gibson | 2000-09-22 |
Series | Without Motive | DCS Derek Henderson | 2000-10-02 |
Series | The Sins | Unknown | 2000-10-24 |
Movie | The Murder of Stephen Lawrence | Michael Mansfield QC | 1999-02-18 |
Movie | Vigo | The Producer | 1998-09-14 |
Series | Our Mutual Friend | 1998-03-09 | |
Movie | RPM | Biggerman | 1998-06-23 |
Movie | Midnight Man | Brig. Charles Ferguson | 1997-08-20 |
Movie | The Boxer | Matt MaGuire | 1997-12-31 |
Movie | On Dangerous Ground | Brig. Charles Ferguson | 1996-05-13 |
Series | Dalziel and Pascoe | Tommy Collingwood | 1996-03-16 |
Movie | Bed of Roses | Simon | 1996-01-26 |
Movie | Deep in the Heart | Robert Flaherty | 1996-10-10 |
Series | The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Reverend Millward | 1996-11-17 |
Series | Kavanagh QC | Unknown | 1995-01-03 |
Movie | Requiem Apache | Tony | 1994-10-11 |
Movie | Royal Celebration | Douglas | 1993-09-26 |
Movie | Tale of a Vampire | Edgar | 1993-02-05 |
Movie | Monkey Boy | Hennessey | 1992-12-31 |
Series | Between the Lines | Unknown | 1992-09-04 |
Series | Heartbeat | Unknown | 1992-04-10 |
Movie | Prospero's Books | Sebastian | 1991-08-30 |
Series | Chimera | Hennessey | 1991-07-07 |
Movie | Under Suspicion | Frank Vance | 1991-09-27 |
Series | Murder Most Horrid | Unknown | 1991-11-14 |
Series | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | Pastor Finch | 1990-01-10 |
Movie | A Master of the Marionettes | Teddy | 1989-04-18 |
Movie | Just Another Secret | Brosch | 1989-01-01 |
Movie | Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Dr. Philip Channard / Channard Cenobite | 1988-12-23 |
Movie | The Black and Blue Lamp | 1988-09-07 | |
Movie | Stealing Heaven | Vice Chancellor Suger | 1988-05-20 |
Movie | Chocolat | Boothby | 1988-05-18 |
Movie | The Party | Joe Shawcross | 1988-03-08 |
Series | Inspector Morse | Unknown | 1987-01-06 |
Movie | Making Waves | Joe Nash | 1987-01-01 |
Movie | The Birthday Party | Stanley Webber | 1987-06-21 |
Series | A Sort of Innocence | 1986-12-01 | |
Series | Casualty | James Lawrence | 1986-09-06 |
Series | Lovejoy | Unknown | 1986-01-10 |
Movie | Dead Man's Folly | Insp. Bland | 1986-01-08 |
Movie | Lady Windermere's Fan | Lord Darlington | 1985-09-15 |
Series | Natural World | Unknown | 1983-10-30 |
Series | Shine on Harvey Moon | 1982-01-08 | |
Series | Brideshead Revisited | Sergeant Block | 1981-10-12 |
Movie | The Caretaker | Aston | 1981-06-07 |
Movie | The Sin Bin | Alan Grieves | 1981-03-17 |
Movie | The Merchant of Venice | Gratiano | 1980-12-17 |
Movie | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore | Giovanni | 1980-05-07 |
Series | Thérèse Raquin | Camille Raquin | 1980-03-12 |
Movie | Donkeys' Years | Bill Taylor | 1980-01-01 |
Series | Danger UXB | L / Corporal Salt | 1979-01-08 |
Series | Enemy at the Door | Unknown | 1978-01-28 |
Series | BBC Television Shakespeare | Unknown | 1978-12-03 |
Movie | Butterflies Don't Count | Tom | 1978-11-28 |
Movie | Joseph Andrews | The Wicked Squire | 1977-03-09 |
Movie | Robin and Marian | Jack's Apprentice | 1976-03-11 |
Movie | Vampira | Paddy | 1974-10-10 |
Movie | The Changeling | Antonio | 1974-01-20 |
Movie | Achilles Heel | Gordon | 1973-03-18 |
Series | Crown Court | Unknown | 1972-10-11 |
Series | Van der Valk | Unknown | 1972-09-13 |
Movie | Brother Sun, Sister Moon | Paolo | 1972-03-03 |
Series | Budgie | Unknown | 1971-04-09 |
Movie | Fragment of Fear | Joe | 1970-09-03 |
Movie | All the Way Up | Tom Midway | 1970-06-01 |
Movie | Sling Your Hook | Roland | 1969-04-02 |
Movie | Otley | Kid | 1969-03-11 |
Movie | Oliver! | Noah Claypole | 1968-09-26 |