Kenneth Colley
British character actor Kenneth Colley will be recognizable to "Star Wars" devotees, and even casual viewers, for his stateside role as Admiral Piett in the 1980 sci-fi sequel "The Empire Strikes Back" and the 1983 finale, "Return of the Jedi. Well before gaining that modicum of fame, Colley made numerous appearances on British television -- many of them BBC productions -- going all the way back to the early '60s, with recurring parts on the drama series "The Wednesday Play" and the educational series "Look and Read." He made his film debut in 1964 with a small role in the British family film "Seventy Deadly Pills," a title that perhaps foreshadowed his future connection with "Monty Python" lynchpin Terry Gilliam, who has a penchant for psychedelic imagery. In 1977, Gilliam cast Colley in his fantasy comedy "Jabberwocky," which starred Michael Palin, and then in 1979, Colley was cast as Jesus in the Python classic "Life of Brian," a role which, while not huge, lived memorably within a context of unparalleled religious satire. In the early '80s, between his two "Star Wars" appearances, Colley found a key supporting role in Clint Eastwood's thriller "Firefox," a successful if forgettable action film about a fighter pilot with a covert mission into the Soviet Union. Back in the U.K., Colley's standout TV work included a lead on the ensemble comedy "Moving Story" (from 1994 to 1995) and guest stints on the dramas "EastEnders" and "Holby Blue" in the '00s.
Photos
Kenneth Colley
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Dan Hawk Psychic Detective | Thaddeus Moncrief (Character) | - | 2024 |
No Score Yet |
|
Scar Tissue | Weaver (Character) | - | 2013 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Greetings |
Ken (Character), Director, Writer |
- | 2007 |
No Score Yet |
|
Like Father Like Son | Rawsthorne (Character) | - | 2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Midsomer Murders: Electric Vendetta | Lloyd Kirby (Character) | - | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hold Back the Night | Uncle Bob (Character) | - | 1999 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Robert Rylands' Last Journey | Archdale (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Solomon and Sheba | Nathan (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Unnatural Causes | Inspector Gerry Reckless (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kremlin Farewell | Sergej (Character) | - | 1992 |
No Score Yet |
|
Prisoner of Honor | Capt. Dreyfus (Character) | - | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Second Time Around | Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson (Character) | - | 1991 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Plot to Kill Hitler | Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Last Island | Nick (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet |
|
I Hired a Contract Killer | The Killer (Character) | - | 1990 |
63% |
|
The Rainbow | Mr. Brunt (Character) | $22.2K | 1989 |
80% |
|
A Summer Story | Jim (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet |
|
Return to Waterloo | The Traveller (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | And Nothing but the Truth | Martin (Character) | - | 1982 |
No Score Yet |
|
Measure for Measure | Duke Vincentio (Character) | - | 1979 |
96% |
|
Life of Brian | Jesus (Character) | $150.2K | 1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Three Days in Szczecin | Edmund Baluka (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet |
|
Flame | Tony Devlin (Character) | - | 1975 |
75% |
|
Mahler | Krenek (Character) | - | 1974 |
38% |
|
Hitler: The Last Ten Days | Boldt (Character) | - | 1973 |
61% |
|
The Music Lovers | Modeste Tchaikovsky (Character) | - | 1971 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
92% | 80% | Misfits | Old Rudy 2 (Character) | 2013 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Queen | Prince Philip (Character) | 2009 |
No Score Yet | 96% | Foyle's War | Brian Jones (Character) | 2007 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Holby City | Don Lawson (Character) | 2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Like Father Like Son | Rawsthorne (Character) | 2005 |
No Score Yet | 64% | Relic Hunter | Professor Lamenza (Character) | 2002 |
No Score Yet | 87% | Midsomer Murders | Lloyd Kirby (Character) | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Heartbeat | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mystery! | Unknown (Character) | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Between the Lines | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1993 |
No Score Yet | 79% | Inspector Morse | Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson (Character) | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | War and Remembrance | SS Col. Paul Blobel (Guest Star) | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Protectors | Devlin (Character) | 1973 |
No Score Yet | 87% | The Avengers | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1963 |