Ron Cook

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Ron Cook (born in 1948) 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 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 recently appeared in a new play by Connor McPherson, The Seafarer, at the Royal National Theatre.

He has performed in a large number of television productions, including guest roles in episodes of drama series such as The Black Adder where he played "Sean the Irish bastard" (1983), 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), most notably as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III in Jane Howell's repertory treatment of the Henry VI plays and Richard III. 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, as Mews), Secrets & Lies (1996), Chocolat (2000), Charlotte Gray (2001), 24 Hour Party People (2002, as Derek Ryder) and Thunderbirds (2004, as Parker).

Cook is from in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. He bears a close physical resemblance to the late British actor Kenneth Connor, although the two are not related.

[edit] External link

• Ron Cook at the Internet Movie Database