Bernard Hepton

Bernard Hepton was an actor who became one of the most well-respected thespians on stage and screen in his native England during his life. Born on October 19, 1925 in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Hepton grew up working class: his father was an electrician, and his mother was a mill-worker. When the second world war broke out, Hepton was unable to enlist in the army due to being short-sighted, so he instead trained as an aircraft engineer and draughtsman alongside firewatching duties. Once the war ended, Hepton trained at the Bradford Civic Playhouse under director Esme Church. By 1952, he had extensive stage work under his belt, and joined the Birmingham Repertory company, and rose through the ranks, becoming the artistic director in 1957. He later joined the Liverpool Playhouse, becoming director in 1963, but ended up resigning before the season ended. Hepton got his big break when he played Caiaphas in a TV adaptation of Dennis Potter's play "Son of Man" (BBC1, 1969). He followed this up with a cameo on the popular fantasy series "Catweazle" (ITV, 1970-71), before taking on a supporting role alongside Michael Caine in the British gangster classic "Get Carter" (1971). Hepton soon returned to TV, co-starring as the Kommandant on the wartime POW thriller series "Colditz" (BBC1, 1972-74). Following a brief cameo in Stanley Kubrick's classic period piece "Barry Lyndon" (1975), Hepton co-starred as Milton Goldsmith in "Voyage of the Damned" (1976). Hepton's next role would be a defining one: he played Toby Esterhase in the TV adaptation of John le Carré's classic novel, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (BBC, 1979), starring Alec Guinness as le Carré's most famous creation, veteran spook George Smiley. He would later reprise the role for a sequel, "Smiley's People" (BBC, 1982). After appearing in a TV adaptation of Susan Hill's gothic ghost story "The Woman in Black" (ITV, 1989), Hepton slowed down considerably, though he would continue to act on and off on both stage and TV until his death, at age 92, on July 27, 2018.