Frank Finlay
He later essayed the definitive screen portrayal of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeer Porthos in three movies for director Richard Lester: The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). Frank’s many other films include The Longest Day; Tony Richardson’s The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner; Martin Ritt’s The Molly Maguires; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Alan Bridges’ The Return of the Soldier (for which he recieved a BAFTA Award nomination); Franco Zeffrelli’s Sparrow; and Eric Styles’ Dreaming of Joseph Lees; and most recently Roman Polanski’s multi-award winning The Pianist and Norma Jewison’s The Statement.
His similarly extensive television projects have earned him two BAFTA Awards, for his performances in The Death of Adolf Hitler (starring as Hitler, with Rex Firkin directing); The Adventures of Don Quixote (as Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison, for director Alvin Rakoff); the ground breaking Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Another Bouquet; 84 Charing Cross Road; and recently the critically acclaimed series The Sins. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Finlay had already begun performing on stage when he earned the Sir James Knott Scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Since then he has led theatre companies in London and on Broadway.
He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1984 New Year’s Honours List, and was presented with his CBE by the Queen in February1984.
Filmography (139 Appearances)
Nothing Like a Dame
Fifty Shades of Erotica
Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons
Merlin
The Waiting Room
Johnny and the Bomb
Lighthouse Hill
Life Begins
The Statement
Eroica
The Lost Prince
The Pianist
Station Jim
The Martins
The Sins
For My Baby
Longitude
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
Stiff Upper Lips
How Do You Want Me?
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
The Grand
Limited Edition
Virgin Mary
A Mind to Murder
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval
Sparrow
The Voyeur
An Exchange of Fire
Stalin
The Other Side
Heartbeat
Cthulhu Mansion
Mountain of Diamonds
Mountain of Diamonds
Prime Suspect
The Burning Shore
King of the Wind
The Return of the Musketeers
Erebus: The Aftermath
Casanova
Lovejoy
Nineteen Nineteen
Lifeforce
In the Secret State
Screen Two
The Making Of Lifeforce
Arch of Triumph
Royal Variety Performance 1984
A Christmas Carol
Sakharov
Sherlock Holmes
The Key
Blackadder
The Ploughman's Lunch
The Spanish Civil War
The Return of the Soldier
Enigma
Mona
All for Love
Wogan
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
Dear Brutus
Ring of Darkness
Tales of the Unexpected
Murder by Decree
Betzi
The Wild Geese
The Thief of Baghdad
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Another Bouquet
Laurence Olivier Presents
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
84 Charing Cross Road
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
Van der Valk: Gun Before Butter
The Four Musketeers
Van der Valk and the Rich
The Three Musketeers
Shaft in Africa
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
The Death of Adolf Hitler
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
Sitting Target
Danny Jones
The Merchant of Venice
Gumshoe
Casanova
Assault
The Lie
Play for Today
The Body
Cromwell
The Molly Maguires
Blood of the Lamb
Julius Caesar
The Piano Tuner
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
This Happy Breed
Twisted Nerve
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Inspector Clouseau
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Les Misérables
Robbery
The Jokers
Much Ado About Nothing
The Spare Tyres
The Deadly Bees
NET Playhouse
The Sandwich Man
Othello
The Wild Affair
BBC Play of the Month
Thirty-Minute Theatre
A Study in Terror
The Wednesday Play
The Comedy Man
Theatre 625
Hot Enough for June
The Informers
Doctor in Distress
The Longest Day
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Life for Ruth
The Hard Knock
Studio 4
Z-Cars
Private Potter
You Can't Win
The Younger Generation
Drama 61-67
Target Luna
Armchair Theatre
Sunday Night Theatre