Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, 8th Count Bentinck und Waldeck Limpurg (born 1 June 1953) is an English peer and member of the House of Bentinck. He is usually known as Tim Bentinck and is an actor, most widely known for his long-running role as David Archer in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers.
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The son of the non-conformist intellectual Henry Bentinck, Bentinck was born on a sheep station in Tasmania. He was brought home to England when he was two and grew up in the Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted. He attended a local prep school and Harrow School, then attended the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he spent most of his time at its drama society before receiving a BA degree in the History of Art. After graduation, he then trained for an acting career at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Bentinck has been an actor since 1982 and is best known for the roles of David Archer in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers and Tom Lacey in the BBC drama series "By the Sword Divided" (1983-85). He is also a voice-over artist, having provided the voice of James Bond for the video-game "The World Is Not Enough."[1] Bentinck has many theatre, television and film credits. He played a pirate in The Pirates of Penzance on film and stage, understudying, and eventually taking over from Tim Curry, the role of the Pirate King in the London production.
He is also an inventor with several patents to his name, as well as a programmer/web site designer, musician, and writer.
In 1990, Victor Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland died, and Tim's father Henry, sixth cousin of Victor, succeeded to the earldom of Portland. In 1997, Tim Bentinck succeeded his father. Although he took his seat in the unreformed upper house, Tim did not speak there before losing the right to do so as a result of the House of Lords Act 1999, and apart from a lecture tour of the United States on English Eccentrics, he has not used this title.
On 29 December 1732, the Hon. William Bentinck, Baron Bentinck of the Duchy of Guelders (second surviving son of Hans Willem Bentinck) was made a Count of the Holy Roman Empire (Graf Bentinck [2]) by Imperial Letters Patent. This title continues to be held by Tim Bentinck and his heirs.
Bentinck is descended from King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan.[3]
Bentinck's roles on television include episodes of The Thick of It, Doctors, Broken News, Shadow Play, The Armando Iannucci Shows, A Prince Among Men, Grange Hill, Made in Heaven, Square Deal, and By the Sword Divided.[4]
Bentinck married the milliner Judith Emerson in 1979, and they have two sons:
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| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Bentinck |
Earl of Portland 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| German nobility of the Holy Roman Empire |
||
| Preceded by Henry Bentinck |
Count Bentinck und Waldeck Limpurg 1997–present |
Incumbent |