Peter Egan

A familiar face to British TV audiences, actor Peter Egan is best known for playing free-spirited next-door neighbor Paul Ryman on the popular BBC sitcom "Ever Decreasing Circles." Egan, a London native, first came to prominence with a lead role in the gritty 1969 crime miniseries "Big Breadwinner Hog." Earning rave reviews for his portrayal of the ruthless gangster Hogath, Egan went on to become a fixture of British series television in the 1970s, essaying a range of historical and literary figures, from Oscar Wilde in the 1978 period serial "Lillie" to King George IV in the 1979 costume drama "Prince Regent." But it was his four-year stint on the TV comedy "Ever Decreasing Circles" that established the actor as a household name in the U.K. Egan went on to play well-received supporting roles in feature films, including the 1981 Oscar-winner "Chariots of Fire," and the Frank Oz-directed dark comedy "Death at a Funeral" (2007).