Ronald Pickup
Known for Acting · 147 credits
- Born
- 1940-06-07
- Died
- 2021-02-25
- Place of birth
- Chester, England, UK
- Also known as
- Рональд Альфред Пикап · Ronald Alfred Pickup
Biography
Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.
His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert and also appeared in The Day of the Jackal. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and in 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, in 1988 in the BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988 TV Serial) as the voice of Aslan, and in 1990 he starred in the short lived sit-com, Not with a Bang. More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse. He is also a regular character in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne.
Pickup gave a highly acclaimed performance as a decayed Russian aristocrat in the BBC series Fortunes of War, based on a work by Olivia Manning. He also provided the voice for Aslan in the BBC's adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia and starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly.
He is also an accomplished stage actor. He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 1997 for his performance in Amy's View.
Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani. In 2005, he had a supporting role in the family-based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby.
Known For
TV Shows (62)
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Rupert Smythe-Webster / Ernest Balliol
The Crown
2016
as Archbishop of Canterbury
Play for Today
1970
as Richard Massingham
Casualty
1986
as Martin / Reginald Freeborn
Silent Witness
1996
Doctor Who
1963
as Physician
Vera
2011
as Mr. Kipford
Sherlock Holmes
1984
as Barrymore
Matlock
1986
as Sir Alec Moore
Downton Abbey
2010
as Sir Michael Reresby
BBC Play of the Month
1965
as Mercutio / Ariel / Brother Martin Ladvenu / Edgar
Screen Two
1985
as Brian Silcott
Foyle's War
2002
as Sir Giles Messinger
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
as Ian / Norman Reynolds
New Tricks
2004
as Sir Wilfred Felspar
Hustle
2004
as Harry Holmes
Lewis
2007
as Fr Moreno Mancini
Bergerac
1981
as Sir Antony Villiers
Waking the Dead
2001
as Charles Sutton
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
as Chief Inspector Moore
Inspector Morse
1987
as Ian Matthews
ITV Playhouse
1967
as Graham
Dalziel and Pascoe
1996
as Walter Wulfstan
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
2002
as Sir Stuart Stinhurst
Performance
1991
as King Henry IV / Siegfried Shrager / Richard Browning
Lovejoy
1986
as Edwin Felt
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
1996
as Lester Rose
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Edmund Tyrone
Hornblower
1998
as Don Massaredo
Lark Rise to Candleford
2008
Atlantis
2013
as Orpheus
The Chronicles of Narnia
1988
as Aslan (voice)
Father Brown
1974
as Kalon
The Jury
2002
as Jeffrey Livingstone
The BBC Television Shakespeare
1978
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Scarlett
1994
as Whitlock
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Jean
Sea of Souls
2004
as Alex Galt
Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
2001
as Sir John Starr
Unnatural Causes
1986
as James Tripp
Pramface
2012
Sharing Time
1984
as Philip
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
1974
as Randolph Churchill
The Worst Week of My Life
2004
as Fraser
Fortunes of War
1987
as Prince Yakimov
Ivanhoe
1997
as Waldemar Fitzurse
Cambridge Spies
2003
as Colonel Winter
The Lively Arts
1976
as Self
Romance
1977
as Rory Balneath
El C.I.D.
1990
as Jack
Verdi
1982
as Giuseppe Verdi
Feather Boy
2004
as Ernest Sorrel
The Riff Raff Element
1994
as Roger Tundish
Behaving Badly
1989
Albert Einstein
1984
as Albert Einstein
The Rector's Wife
1994
as Daniel Byrne
A Time to Dance
1992
as Andrew Powell
The Dragon's Opponent
1973
as Charles "Mad Jack" Howard
Black Hearts in Battersea
1995
as Duke Of Battersea
Moving
1985
Movies (85)
Lolita
1997
as Young Humbert's Father
Darkest Hour
2017
as Neville Chamberlain
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2010
as King Sharaman
Never Say Never Again
1983
as Elliott
The Day of the Jackal
1973
as The Forger
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2012
as Norman Cousins
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby
2005
as Cecil Johnson
The Mission
1986
as Hontar
Ivanhoe
1982
as Prince John
The Happy Prince
2018
as Judge
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2015
as Norman Cousins
Absolute Hell
1991
as Siegfried Shrager
Evilenko
2004
as Aron Richter
Milner
1994
as Jocelyn Fry
Danny the Champion of the World
1989
as Captain Lancaster
A Murder of Quality
1991
as Felix D'Arcy
A Dry White Season
1989
as Louw
The Fourth Protocol
1987
as Wynne-Evans
Zulu Dawn
1979
as Lt. Harford
Mahler
1974
as Nick
Ladies' Night
1986
as James Tripp
The Thirty Nine Steps
1978
as Bayliss
Dark Floors
2008
as Tobias
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
2004
as Monsieur Moitessier (uncredited)
Waters of the Moon
1983
as Julius Winterhalter
The Time of Their Lives
2017
as Frank
Romeo and Juliet
1967
as Mercutio
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1988
as Barrymore
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
1974
as Lord Randolph Churchill
The Have-Nots
2016
as Bentham
Much Ado About Nothing
1967
as Don Pedro
Camille
1984
as Jean
Theatreland
2009
as Self
Pope John Paul II
1984
as Jan Tyranowski
Chekhov in Yalta
1988
as Konstantin Stanislavski
Eleni
1985
as Spiro
The Untitled
1998
as Robert Kennings
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
1989
as Aslan (voice)
All Good Men
1974
Bethune: The Making of a Hero
1993
as Alan Coleman
Joseph Andrews
1977
as Mr. Wilson
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story
2003
as Monsieur Moitessier
Cherished
2005
as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
Message for Posterity
1994
as Richard Browning
A Very Open Prison
1995
as Brian Silcott
Supernova
2005
as Dr. Malcolm Handey
A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper
2005
as Monsieur Moitessier
Benefit to Mankind
2004
as Professor Quentin Tapscott
Schadenfreude
2025
as The Gambler
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
2007
as William McDowell
Stealing Silver
2017
as Udo
In The Cold Light Of Day
1994
as Morris
The War That Never Ends
1991
as Diodotus
Henry VIII
1979
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Nijinsky
1980
as Igor Stravinsky
King Lear
1975
as Edgar
Three Sisters
1970
as Baron Tusenbach
The Golden Years
1992
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
1990
as Aslan (voice)
Journey of Honor
1991
as Capt. Crawford
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964
as Physician
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
1999
as Don Massaredo
My Friend Walter
1992
as Sir Walter Raleigh
Der Blinde
1996
as Dr. Bartnik
Jekyll & Hyde
1990
as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
Henry IV
1995
as Henry IV
End of Term
2021
as Damian Self
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
1988
as Aslan (voice)
For Tea on Sunday
1978
as Ian
The Letter
1982
as Howard Joyce
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis
1997
as Percy Stone
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
1996
as Narrator
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish
2005
as Monsieur Moitessier
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1973
as Edmund Tyrone
Testimony
1988
as Marshall Tukhachevsky
Secret Passage
2004
as Da Monte
Breathtaking
2000
as Dr. Maclaren
Puccini
1984
as Giulio Ricordi
The Philanthropist
1975
as Philip
Verdi
1982
as Giuseppe Verdi
...but the clouds...
1977
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road
2014
as Bearded Man
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
1983
as George Orwell
In England's Green and Pleasant Land
1979
as Norman Reynolds
Ghost Trio
1977
About Ronald Pickup
Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA. His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama… With 147 credits spanning from 1951 to 2025, Ronald Pickup has appeared in 85 films and 62 TV shows.
Fans searching for Ronald Pickup movies, Ronald Pickup filmography, or the latest projects starring Ronald Pickup can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Ronald Pickup Movies
- Lolita (1997) — as Young Humbert's Father
- Darkest Hour (2017) — as Neville Chamberlain
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) — as King Sharaman
- Never Say Never Again (1983) — as Elliott
- The Day of the Jackal (1973) — as The Forger
Where to Watch Ronald Pickup Films
Most Ronald Pickup 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 Ronald Pickup, check our movies catalogue and browse page.