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John Thaw

Highest Rated: 73% Cry Freedom (1987)

Lowest Rated: 59% Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Birthday: Jan 3, 1942

Birthplace: West Gorton, Manchester, England, UK

The actor John Thaw was born into modest working-class circumstances. His mother took off when he was seven; a dozen years passed before he saw her again. But he gained acceptance into one of the world's finest acting programs, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London; one of his classmates was Tom Courtenay, with whom Thaw worked in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of Allan Sillitoe's landmark angry-young-man drama, "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner." Thaw's more substantial roles were to come on TV, however, and he was working in the genre for which he is most often associated--the crime drama--as early as the mid 1960s. One of his breakout roles was as an alcoholic constable on "Z-Cars," but he navigated his first star turn on "Redcap," in which he transplanted the angry young man onto the military police force. That was still a decade shy of his role as shady Detective Inspector Jack Regan on "The Sweeney," a show that imported the ambiguous, street-wise ethic of "Dirty Harry" and "Get Carter" to British television. Thaw is most beloved, however, for his extended, if not nearly as biting, portrayal of a curmudgeonly Oxford detective-aesthete in "Inspector Morris"; his performance made him the toast of the BAFTA Awards for over a decade. In the meantime, he managed to get some roles on the big screen. His working relationship with the epic-spinner Richard Attenborough resulted in Thaw's being cast in the civil-rights drama "Cry Freedom" and the biopic "Chaplin."

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Highest rated movies

73% 87% Cry Freedom
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73% 85% The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
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61% 81% Chaplin
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59% 57% Dr. Phibes Rises Again
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Inspector Morse: The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
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Inspector Morse: Twilight of the Gods
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Fat Chance
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Inspector Morse: The Way Through the Woods
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The Bofors Gun
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The Last Enemy
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Buried Treasure Harry Jenkins (Character) - 2001
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Plastic Man Unknown (Character) - 1999
No Score Yet 78% Goodnight Mister Tom Tom Oakley (Character) - 1998
No Score Yet No Score Yet Into the Blue Harry Barnett (Character) - 1997
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Twilight of the Gods Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Daughters of Cain Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: The Way Through the Woods Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Absence of War George Jones (Character) - 1995
61% 81% Chaplin Fred Karno (Character) $8.3M 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Absolute Conviction Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Cherubim & Seraphim Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dead on Time Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: The Death of the Self Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Happy Families Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fat Chance Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Promised Land Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Who Killed Harry Field? Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Second Time Around Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Infernal Serpent Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: The Sins of the Fathers Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet Driven to Distraction Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ghost in the Machine Unknown (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Last Enemy Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Secret of Bay 5B Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet Last Bus to Woodstock Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Settling of the Sun Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet Last Seen Wearing Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet 40% The Sign of Four Jonathan Small (Character) - 1987
73% 87% Cry Freedom Kruger (Character) $4.9M 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Business as Usual Kieran Flynn (Character) $28.0K 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: The Wolvercote Tongue Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inspector Morse: Service of All the Dead Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Dead of Jericho Chief Inspector Morse (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Grass Is Singing Dick Turner (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet 62% Sweeney 2 Det. Insp. Jack Regan (Character) - 1978
No Score Yet 45% Sweeney! Regan (Character) - 1977
No Score Yet No Score Yet Regan Det. Insp. Jack Regan (Character) - 1973
59% 57% Dr. Phibes Rises Again Shavers (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Bofors Gun Featherstone (Character) - 1968
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dead Man's Chest David Jones (Character) - 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Five to One Alan Roper (Character) - 1963
73% 85% The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Bosworth (Character) - 1962

TV

Credit
No Score Yet 78% Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse (Character) 1987-1993 1995-1998 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet Masterpiece Theatre Unknown (Character) 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mystery! Unknown (Character) 1994 1997 1999
No Score Yet 98% The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Unknown (Guest Star) 1987
No Score Yet 87% The Avengers Unknown (Guest Star) 1964