John Standing
Known for Acting · 132 credits
- Born
- 1934-08-16 (age 91)
- Place of birth
- London, England, UK
- Also known as
- Джон Стэндинг · Sir John Ronald Leon, 4t baronet · John Ronald Leon
Biography
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London
Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004).
One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner. He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Known For
TV Shows (57)
Game of Thrones
2011
as Jon Arryn
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Charles Rust / Will Tunstall
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
as Colonnel Toby Luttrell
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Arthur Constable / Chief Daniel Trent
The Crown
2016
as Imbert-Terry
The Avengers
1961
Hunter
1984
as George Franklin
Screen Two
1985
as Jack
The Wednesday Play
1964
as Russ
Hart to Hart
1979
L.A. Law
1986
as Nigel Morris
The Saint
1962
as Gendarme
BBC Play of the Month
1965
as Jack Chesney / Cléante
Hotel
1982
Lexx
1997
as Count Dracul
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
as Captain Winsloe
ITV Playhouse
1967
Space: 1999
1975
as Pasc
Drama 61-67
1961
as Ronald Brook
Van der Valk
1972
as Ehrlich
The Main Chance
1969
as Lord Radchester
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Captain Bluntschli
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
as Lord Amberley
Civil Wars
1991
as Terrence Hemnings
The Vice
1999
as Paul Weir
Patrick Melrose
2018
as George Watford
Eerie, Indiana
1991
as Professor Nigel Zirchon
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
1979
as Sam Collins
Borgia
2011
Gulliver's Travels
1996
as Admiral Bolgolam
A Dance to the Music of Time
1997
as Nicholas Jenkins (older)
Jubilee 1977
1977
as John Tallwatch
Longitude
2000
as Captain Proctor
Joan of Arc
1999
as Archbishop
Keen Eddie
2003
In Deep
2001
as Ritchie
King Solomon's Mines
2004
as Dr. Sam Maitland
Tonight at 8.30
1991
as Toby Cartwright
The Line of Beauty
2006
as Lord Kessler
Shillingbury Tales
1981
as Dick Firman
The Frighteners
1972
as Tony Wardle
Love in a Cold Climate
2001
as Lord Montdore
The Other 'Arf
1980
Armchair Theatre
1956
as Sutcliffe
Paddington Bear
1989
as Mr. Brown
Lime Street
1985
as Edward Wingate
Murphy's Law
1988
Trust
2003
as Teresa's Father
Fallen Angel
2007
as Voice of Francis Youlgreave
The Endless Game
1989
as Belfrage
Rosamunde Pilcher: The Other Wife
2012
as Lord George Meriot
The Choir
1995
as Bishop Robert Young
Look at the State We're In!
1995
as Dr Smith
The First Churchills
1969
as Sidney Godolphin
The Woman In White
1997
as Mr. Gilmore
Beryl Reid
1977
The Old Boy Network
1992
Movies (75)
V for Vendetta
2006
as Lilliman
The Elephant Man
1980
as Fox
The Contractor
2007
as Sir Anthony
Chaplin
1992
as Butler
The Eagle Has Landed
1976
as Father Verecker
Scoop
2006
as Garden Party Guest
The Happy Prince
2018
as Dr. Tucker
King Lear
2018
as Butler
The Great Escaper
2023
as Arthur
The Man Who Knew Too Little
1997
as Embleton
8 ½ Women
1999
as Philip Emmenthal
Chameleons
1989
as Henry
Lassie
2005
as French
The Sea Wolves
1980
as Finley
The Gathering Storm
2002
as Lord Moyne
Visitors
1987
as Jack
Rogue Trader
1999
as Peter Baring
A Touch of Love
1969
as Roger
A Good Woman
2004
as Dumby
Nightflyers
1987
as D'Branin
Night of the Fox
1990
as Alan Stacey
Mrs. Dalloway
1997
as Richard Dalloway
The Shadow in the North
2007
as Webster Garland
The Hippopotamus
2017
as Podmore
The Woman In White
1997
as Mr. Gilmore
Pandaemonium
2001
as Rev Holland
I Want Candy
2007
as Michael de Vere
Invitation to the Wedding
1983
Longitude
2000
as Capt. Proctor
The Iron Maiden
1963
as Humphrey Gore-Brown
Queen & Country
2015
as Grandfather George
Au Pair Girls
1972
as Buster
The Legacy
1978
as Jason Mountolive
Shoreditch
2003
as Jenson Thackery
Churchill's Secret
2016
as Lord Camrose
Torture Garden
1967
as Leo Winston (segment 3 "Mr. Steinway")
Charley's Aunt
1969
as Jack Chesney
The Calling
2000
as Jack Plummer
Zee and Co.
1972
as Gordon
To Catch a King
1984
as The Duke of Windsor
Hot Enough for June
1964
as Men's Room Attendant
Walk Don't Run
1966
as Julius D. Haversack
Witness to a Kill
2001
as Foreign Secretary
The Endless Game
1989
as Belfrage
King Rat
1965
as Daven
Wine of India
1970
as Russ
Rogue Male
1976
as Major Quive-Smith
A Family Affair
2019
as Bernard
The Wild and the Willing
1962
as Arthur
The Psychopath
1966
as Mark Von Sturm
The Real Jane Austen
2002
as Mr. Austen
All the Right Noises
1970
as Bernie
Rabbit Fever
2006
as Ally's dad
Riders
1993
as Malise Gordon
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
2019
as Additional Voices (voice)
Consenting Adults
2007
as Lord Goddard
Animal
2005
as Dean Frydman
Nanny's Boy
1977
as John Tallwatch
Can You Hear Me?
2025
as Ben
Privates on Parade
1983
as Captain Sholto Savory
The Falklands Play
2002
as Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary)
Dark Holiday
1989
as Charnaud
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel
1992
as Whitfield
The Class Of Miss MacMichael
1978
as Charles Fairbrother
The Biko Inquest
1984
as Van Rensburg
Mad Cows
1999
as Politician
The Count of Solar
1992
as Coudray
May… I Have This Dance?
2020
as Narrator
Queen's Messenger
2001
as Foreign Secretary
The Sinking of the HMS Victoria
1977
as Captain Winsloe
Pygmalion
1983
as Colonel Pickering
Sharp at Four
1964
as Sutcliffe
A Pair of Briefs
1962
as Hubert Shannon
Flapjack Floozie
1988
as Dr. Kipper
The Last Resort
2014
as Mr. Carpenter (voice)
About John Standing
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire… With 132 credits spanning from 1956 to 2025, John Standing has appeared in 75 films and 57 TV shows.
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Most Popular John Standing Movies
- V for Vendetta (2006) — as Lilliman
- The Elephant Man (1980) — as Fox
- The Contractor (2007) — as Sir Anthony
- Chaplin (1992) — as Butler
- The Eagle Has Landed (1976) — as Father Verecker
Where to Watch John Standing Films
Most John Standing movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring John Standing, check our movies catalogue and browse page.