Ron Cook

Ron Cook (born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom) is a British actor, who has been active in the theatre, film and television since the 1970s.

On stage, he appeared in the original 1988 production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's play Our Country's Good. He was also nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor in 2000 for his role in Juno and the Paycock at the Donmar Warehouse.

He has performed in a large number of television productions, including guest roles in episodes of drama series such as Bergerac (1988), Sharpe (1994) and Doctor Who: The Idiot's Lantern (2006). He has also had major roles in more prestigious one-off productions and serials, including several instalments of the BBC's The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (1982–83). He appeared as one of the unnamed "mysterious men" haunting the imagination of Michael Gambon's hospitalised writer in Dennis Potter's acclaimed 1986 serial The Singing Detective, and has featured in several costume dramas, including Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince (2002, as David Lloyd George), an adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002, as Barrymore), Anthony Trollope adaptation He Knew He Was Right (2004, as Bozzel), and Russell T. Davies's Casanova (2005, as the prisoner in the cell next to Casanova's). He also played the role of iconic Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the BBC's Great Icons of The Industrial Age.

He has played Napoleon Bonaparte twice, in his 1994 guest appearance in Sharpe and again in the 2000 feature film Quills. Other film roles have included parts in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Secrets & Lies (1996), Chocolat (2000), Charlotte Gray (2001), 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Thunderbirds (2004, as Parker).