Michael Bryant

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Michael Dennis Bryant 5 April 1928 25 April 2002 was a British stage and television actor Bryant attended Battersea Grammar School and after service in the Merchant Navy and Army he attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage He made his film debut in 1955 His greatest role was Mathieu in BBC2s 1970 adaptation of JeanPaul Sartres Roads to Freedom trilogy His guest star appearance as Wing Commander Marsh who feigns insanity in the Tweedledum episode of the BBC drama series Colditz 1972 is still widely remembered Bryant was chosen by Orson Welles to play the lead role in The Deep Welless adaptation of the Charles Williams novel Dead Calm The production frequently ran out of money and following the death of actor Laurence Harvey in 1973 Welles stopped production and announced the movie which had been completed except for one special effects shot of a ship exploding would not be released The novel was finally adapted to film in 1989 In 1969 Bryant took his love of the stage on a strange trip into the realm of cult films playing a clever male prostitute who outwits a delusional family of killers in the dark comedy Mumsy Nanny Sonny and Girly an adaptation of a play by Maisie Mosco Due to poor marketing and a lack of faith in the film by the distributor the film quickly sank into obscurity even before it could develop a cult following One of Bryants most memorable performances was in the classic BBC television play The Stone Tape 1972 in which he plays the leader of a team of scientists who investigate ghost sightings in a brooding gothic mansion Bryant also had a supporting role as a sadistic psychiatrist in the cult classic black comedy The Ruling Class with Peter OToole and Alastair Sim He also appeared in Richard Attenboroughs Gandhi 1982 as a British diplomat Having played Lenin in the film Nicholas and Alexandria Bryant would later reprise the role in Robert Bolts play State of Revolution 1977 He had previously costarred in Bolts unsuccessful Gentle Jack The 1977 production of a Bolt play though was significant for featuring the first role he performed at the National Theatre where he was a constant presence for a quarter of a century Bryant described by Michael Billington as rocksolid company man had earlier performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1964 including the premiere production of Harold Pinters The Homecoming 1965 in which he played Teddy the returning academic In 1980 Michael Bryant won the London Drama Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor and his other theatrical performances were equally well thought of Bryant won Laurence Olivier Awards in 1988 and 1990 and was nominated twice more Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Bryant actor licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia