Ronald Pickup
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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. Between March and August 2009, he starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias' production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Simon Callow (Pozzo). The tour opened in Malvern before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand. In February 2010 he also appeared as 'Pegleg' in the BBC's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ronald Pickup, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Credits
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 Mission (1986)
as Hontar
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
as Norman Cousins
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
as Norman Cousins
The Fourth Protocol (1987)
as Wynne-Evans
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988)
as Barrymore
The Happy Prince (2018)
as Judge
Jekyll & Hyde (1990)
as Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
Zulu Dawn (1979)
as Lt. Harford
Evilenko (2004)
as Aron Richter
Ivanhoe (1982)
as Prince John
A Dry White Season (1989)
as Louw
Dark Floors (2008)
as Tobias
Absolute Hell (1991)
as Siegfried Shrager
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005)
as Cecil Johnson
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004)
as Monsieur Moitessier (uncredited)
The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)
as Bayliss
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003)
as Monsieur Moitessier
Mahler (1974)
as Nick
Milner (1994)
as Jocelyn Fry
The Time of Their Lives (2017)
as Frank
The Have-Nots (2016)
as Bentham
Danny the Champion of the World (1989)
as Captain Lancaster
Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1993)
as Alan Coleman
Journey of Honor (1991)
as Capt. Crawford
A Murder of Quality (1991)
as Felix D'Arcy
Camille (1984)
as Jean
Theatreland (2009)
as Self
Joseph Andrews (1977)
as Mr. Wilson
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007)
as William McDowell
Three Sisters (1970)
as Baron Tusenbach
Supernova (2005)
as Dr. Malcolm Handey
A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper (2005)
as Monsieur Moitessier
Nijinsky (1980)
as Igor Stravinsky
Schadenfreude (2025)
as The Gambler
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (1990)
as Aslan (voice)
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2005)
as Monsieur Moitessier
Much Ado About Nothing (1967)
as Don Pedro
King Lear (1975)
as Edgar
Pope John Paul II (1984)
as Jan Tyranowski
Ladies' Night (1986)
as James Tripp
The Letter (1982)
as Howard Joyce
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1988)
as Aslan (voice)
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (1974)
as Lord Randolph Churchill
Eleni (1985)
as Spiro
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (1999)
as Don Massaredo
Romeo and Juliet (1967)
as Mercutio
Henry VIII (1979)
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Waters of the Moon (1983)
as Julius Winterhalter
The War That Never Ends (1991)
as Diodotus
Secret Passage (2004)
as Da Monte
Henry IV (1995)
as Henry IV
End of Term (2021)
as Damian Self
Der Blinde (1996)
as Dr. Bartnik
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror (1964)
as Physician
My Friend Walter (1992)
as Sir Walter Raleigh
A Very Open Prison (1995)
as Brian Silcott
All Good Men (1974)
Actor
Testimony (1988)
as Marshall Tukhachevsky
Chekhov in Yalta (1988)
as Konstantin Stanislavski
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989)
as Aslan (voice)
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997)
as Percy Stone
The Golden Years (1992)
Actor
The Philanthropist (1975)
as Philip
Breathtaking (2000)
as Dr. Maclaren
Stealing Silver (2017)
as Udo
Puccini (1984)
as Giulio Ricordi
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told (1996)
as Narrator
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1973)
as Edmund Tyrone
The Roses of Eyam (1973)
as Reverend William Mompesson
Benefit to Mankind (2004)
as Professor Quentin Tapscott
Message for Posterity (1994)
as Richard Browning
For Tea on Sunday (1978)
as Ian
In The Cold Light Of Day (1994)
as Morris
...but the clouds... (1977)
Actor
Verdi (1982)
as Giuseppe Verdi
Cherished (2005)
as Professor Sir Roy Meadow
The Untitled (1998)
as Robert Kennings
In England's Green and Pleasant Land (1979)
as Norman Reynolds
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road (2014)
as Bearded Man
Ghost Trio (1977)
Actor
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura (1983)
as George Orwell