# Martin Jarvis (actor)

Martin Jarvis OBE (born 4 August 1941) is an English actor. Described by the BBC as "one of Britain's most distinguished and versatile actors", he has had a varied career in theatre, film and television, and is particularly noted for radio acting and voicing audiobooks.

## Early life and education

Jarvis was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, to Denys Harry Jarvis and Margot Lillian Scottney, and grew up in South Norwood and Sanderstead, north Surrey.
Jarvis was educated at Whitgift School, an independent school in Croydon, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he won the Vanbrugh Award and the silver medal.

## Career
### Theatre work

Jarvis has acted in many stage productions in London and abroad, including alongside Diana Rigg and Natascha McElhone in Joanna Murray-Smith's Honour at London's Wyndham's Theatre in 2006. His other stage work includes Woman in Mind and Henceforward... by Alan Ayckbourn, Other Places by Harold Pinter, Exchange by Michael Frayn, and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (opposite Judi Dench).
Jarvis appeared on Broadway in 2001 as P. G. Wodehouse's character Jeeves in the musical By Jeeves, a performance for which he was awarded a Theatre World Award.

### Radio work

Jarvis has had a long association with the BBC, particularly BBC Radio 4. In the 1980s Michael Frayn's columns for The Guardian and The Observer, described by some as models of the comic essay, were adapted and performed in many voices for BBC Radio 4 by Jarvis. He read a four part adaptation of John Gordon's The Giant Under the Snow in 1981. He performs regularly in radio dramas and readings, both comic and serious. In David Mamet's Mind Your Pantheon he played the actor Strabo. He is known for his long series of readings of Richmal Crompton's Just William stories, which show his characteristic and flexible reading voices. He has also narrated the Billy Bunter series by Frank Richards. As a result of this extensive work, Jarvis has been satirised in the radio show Dead Ringers by Mark Perry, highlighting his seeming ubiquity in Radio 4 programmes.
Jarvis has performed the role of Jeeves in multiple radio dramas based on P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, including the 1997 L.A. Theatre Works adaptation of The Code of the Woosters, the 2014 BBC radio adaptation of Ring for Jeeves, and the 2018 BBC radio adaptation of Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves. He performs live dramatic readings of some of the stories in the intermittent radio series Jeeves Live! (2007–2020).
In America, Jarvis and his wife Rosalind Ayres perform frequently in audio drama with the L.A. Theater Works and Hollywood Theater of the Ear.
In 2011, Jarvis appeared in a Radio 4 production of Terence Rattigan's In Praise of Love.

### Television work

Jarvis's first television appearance was in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who as Hilio, captain of the butterfly-like Menoptra, in The Web Planet (1965). He returned to Doctor Who as the scientist Dr. Butler in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974) and as the beleaguered governor of the planet Varos in Vengeance on Varos (1985). He became a familiar face on television when he played Jon in the BBC's landmark 1967 adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, the title role in a BBC serial of Nicholas Nickleby (1968), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1970) and Uriah Heep in the 1974 BBC version of David Copperfield, and when he was the male lead in the sitcom Rings on Their Fingers (1978–80) with Diane Keen. In 1993, he starred with Ewan McGregor and Rachel Weisz in a BBC adaptation of Scarlet and Black. He also appeared in the 2002 BBC children's miniseries Bootleg.
Jarvis appeared as a guest on 161 episodes of Channel 4's Countdown between 1990 and 2008.
Jarvis's appearances on American television include such series as Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, and more recently Stargate Atlantis and Numb3rs. He also made a brief appearance as George VI in the ABC television miniseries Ike: The War Years.
Jarvis was the subject of BBC television's This Is Your Life in 1999.
Jarvis appeared in ITV 1's The Bill in July 2008. In March 2010, it was announced that he would appear in the BBC soap opera EastEnders playing journalist Harvey Freeman.
Jarvis appeared in a 2014 episode of Law & Order: UK as Eddie Stewart, a man arrested and charged with murder. In September 2022, Jarvis appeared alongside his wife in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as John Chilton.

### Voice work

Among his work, Jarvis did the voiceovers for the 2010 BBC series Just William and voices the animal characters, as well as Voltaire the wise Weather-Cock (who acts as the narrator), in the 1993 children's television series Fourways Farm. He has also voiced various characters in animated series such as The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. In the former, he inherited the role of the character Nergal from his Titanic co-star David Warner. In 2000, Jarvis voiced John Dread in the TV series Max Steel. He has also voiced all the characters in the children's stop-motion animated series Huxley Pig and narrated "The Tempest" in Shakespeare: The Animated Tales.
Jarvis has also undertaken audiobooks of P. G. Wodehouse's works, and won the Audie Award for these. He is the narrator of the 2011 audiobook of The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. Further work in 2011 includes an audiobook of the Wilbur Smith novel The Leopard Hunts in Darkness. He has also appeared in Jubilee, a Doctor Who spin-off audio drama by Big Finish Productions, alongside his wife. Focus on the Family used Jarvis' voice for two of their audio dramas, Ben-Hur and a Father Gilbert Mystery entitled The Play's the Thing. In film, Jarvis appeared in Disney's 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph as Saitine, one of the video game villains who attends the Bad Anon self-help groups with Ralph (John C. Reilly).
Jarvis has also performed voiceovers for video games, beginning in 2007 as the role of The Chronicler in the Spyro the Dragon video game series. He also provided the voice of Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib in Mass Effect 2 (2010) and Mass Effect 3 (2012). Also in 2011, Jarvis also performed a voice-over part for the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. Jarvis also voiced Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman: Arkham series of video games. He first voiced the character in the 2011 video game Batman: Arkham City and returned for the 2013 video game Batman: Arkham Origins, the 2014 DC Universe animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham, and the 2015 video game Batman: Arkham Knight.
Jarvis read Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities for the Chivers Audio Books production on cassette, later released on CD by Barnes & Noble Audio Classics.

## Personal life

Jarvis married Rosalind Ayres on 23 November 1974 in Ealing; he has two sons by a previous marriage. He met Ayres when they played in Hamlet together; she played Ophelia. Together with his wife, Jarvis runs the radio production company "Jarvis & Ayres Productions", frequently used by BBC Radio 4.
Jarvis was awarded the OBE in 2000. He has also published a book of memoirs titled Acting Strangely: A Funny Kind of Life (ISBN 0413728501 hardback, ISBN 0-413-74550-3 paperback). Jarvis has homes in West Hollywood and London.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Secrets of a Windmill Girl | Mike, Windmill Stage Manager | |
| 1970 | The Last Escape | Lt. Donald Wilcox | |
| 1970 | Taste the Blood of Dracula | Jeremy Secker | |
| 1988 | Buster | Inspector Mitchell | |
| 1992 | Emily's Ghost | Papa | |
| 1993 | Calliope | O'Brien, Dover's Agent | Short film noir, co-starring with Phil Collins |
| 1996 | Police Story 4: First Strike | Australian Group #8 | Alongside his real life wife Rosalind Ayres as "Australian Group #1" |
| 1997 | Titanic | Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon | Alongside Rosalind Ayres as Lady Duff-Gordon |
| 1999 | The Kid with X-ray Eyes | Mr. X | Direct-to-video film |
| 2001 | Beginner's Luck | Old luvvie | |
| 2002 | Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War | JB | |
| 2006 | Eragon | (voice) | |
| 2008 | Framed | Richard | |
| 2011 | Neander-Jin: The Return of the Neanderthal Man | Peter Blodnik | |
| 2011 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Birger | |
| 2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | Saitine (voice) | |
| 2014 | Batman: Assault on Arkham | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video film |
| 2014 | United Passions | Sir Stanley Rous | |
| 2023 | Brave the Dark | Henry V (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling | Little Mildred | Episode 25: "The Man Who Was" |
| 1965 | Doctor Who | Hilio | Series 2; episodes 19–21 |
| 1965 | The Rise and Fall of César Birotteau | Maxime de Trailles | Episodes 1 & 3: "Chavalier of the Legion" and "Land Near the Madeleine" |
| 1965 | ITV Play of the Week | Ernest (as a young man) | Series 10; episode 50: "The Way of All Flesh" |
| 1966 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Chris | Series 2; episode 8: "Wife in a Blonde Wig" |
| 1967 | Jackanory | Himself - Storyteller | Series 3; episodes 26–30: "Tom's Midnight Garden: Parts 1–5" |
| 1967 | Emergency Ward 10 | Alan Brown | Series 3; episode 17: "A Matter of Will" |
| 1967 | The Forsyte Saga | Jolyon 'Jon' Forsyte | 8 episodes |
| 1967 | Escape | Peter | Episode 4: "Private Enterprise" |
| 1967 | ITV Playhouse | David Bryant | Series 1; episode 14: "A Whistle and a Funny Hat" |
| 1968 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Father Ramon | Series 4; episode 10: "The Last Victim" |
| 1968 | Nicholas Nickleby | Nicholas Nickleby | Mini-series; episodes 1–13 |
| 1968 | Detective | Robert Macrae | Series 2; episode 11: "Cork on the Water" |
| 1969 | W. Somerset Maugham | Dr. Naughton | Series 1; episode 7: "P. and O." |
| 1969 | Paul Temple | Larry | Series 1; episode 4: "Missing Penny" |
| 1970 | BBC Play of the Month | Aircraftman Dickinson | Series 6; episode 2: "Ross" |
| 1970 | Little Women | John Brooke | Mini-series; episodes 1–9 |
| 1971 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Lutzke | Series 6; episode 27: "Death's Head" |
| 1972 | The Moonstone | Godfrey Ablewhite | Episodes 1–3 & 5 |
| 1972 | Omnibus | Alan | Series 5; episode 22: "Actor, I Said" |
| 1972 | Crime of Passion | Daniel | Series 3; episode 2: "Daniel" |
| 1972 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Godfrey Footman | Series 5; episode 5: "The Samaritan" |
| 1972 | Full House | Actor in After Liverpool | Episode 4 |
| 1973 | Jackanory Playhouse | Prince Fustian | Episode: "The Long-Nosed Princess" |
| 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Philip Marsden | Series 2; episode 2: "Five Hundred Carats" |
| 1973 | Arthur of the Britons | Karn | Series 2; episode 1: "The Swordsman" |
| 1974 | Doctor Who | Butler / Voice in Reminder Room | Series 11; episodes 6–10 |
| 1974 | The Pallisers | Frank Greystock | Mini-series; episodes 12–14 |
| 1974 | David Copperfield | Uriah Heep | Mini-series; episodes 2–5 |
| 1974–1987 | Jackanory | Himself - Storyteller | Series 12–25; 47 episodes |
| 1975 | Dixon of Dock Green | Vic Hallan | Series 21; episode 8: "The Hired Man" |
| 1975 | Zigger Zagger | Les | Episodes 1–3 |
| 1975 | Softly, Softly: Task Force | Mr. Davenant | Series 7; episode 7: "And with What Measure?" |
| 1975 | Jackanory Playhouse | Sir Cleges | Episode: "The Christmas Cherries" |
| 1976 | Killers | Alfred Arthur Rouse | Episode 5: "The Blazing Car Murder" |
| 1976 | Within These Walls | Peter Flynn | Series 4; episode 2: "The Man with the Magic Touch" |
| 1976 | Play from 'A' | The Journalist | Episode 3: "Initiative Test" |
| 1977 | Seven Faces of Woman | James Thurley | Series 2; episode 6: "She: The Barfly" |
| 1977 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Klaus | Series 1; episode 5: "True Patriot" |
| 1977 | The Savage | (voice) | Television film |
| 1977 | Play for Today | Sir Fergus / Sir James | Series 8; episode 9: "Charades" |
| 1978 | The Sunday Drama | The Narrator | Series 2; episode 4: "The Marrying Kind" |
| 1978–1980 | Rings on Their Fingers | Oliver Pryde | Series 1–3; 20 episodes |
| 1979 | Ike | King George VI | Mini-series; episode 2: "Part II" |
| 1980 | Enemy at the Door | Nils Borg | Series 2; episode 12: "The Education of Nils Borg" |
| 1980 | Breakaway | Detective Inspector Sam Harvey | Episodes 1–12 |
| 1981 | The Dick Emery Show | | Series 19; episode 4 |
| 1981 | The Bunker | Johannes Hentschel | Television film |
| 1981 | Sunday Night Thriller | Stone | Episodes 6 & 7: "The Business of Murder: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1984 | Mr. Palfrey of Westminster | Armitage | Series 1; episode 4: "A Present from Leipzig" |
| 1984 | Who Dares Wins | | Series 1; episode 4 |
| 1984 | Let's Parlez Franglais | | Episode 8 |
| 1985 | Doctor Who | Governor | Series 22; episodes 3 & 4 |
| 1985 | Juliet Bravo | Clive Markham | Series 6; episode 5: "Friends and Neighbours" |
| 1985 | The Black Tower | Wilfred Anstey | Mini-series; episodes 1–6 |
| 1986 | Artists and Models | (voice) | Episodes 1 & 2: "The Passing Show" and "Slaves of Fashion" |
| 1987 | Theatre Night | Frank Prosser | Series 2; episode 4: "Make and Break" |
| 1987 | The Reluctant Dragon | Narrator / Boy / Father (voice) | Television film |
| 1988 | Rumpole of the Bailey | Canon Timothy Donkin | Series 5; episode 3: "Rumpole and the Age of Miracles" |
| 1989 | Chelworth | Keith Shedden | Mini-series; episodes 1–4 |
| 1989–1990 | Huxley Pig | Narrator (voice) | Series 1 & 2: 26 episodes |
| 1990 | The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship | Sharp Shooter / Lightening (voice) | Television film |
| 1991 | Inspector Morse | Randall Rees | Series 5; episode 4: "Greeks Bearing Gifts" |
| 1991 | Murder Most Horrid | Maurice Howling | Series 1; episode 2: "The Girl from Ipanema" |
| 1992 | Casualty | Bartholomew Clements | Series 7; episode 11: "Making Waves" |
| 1992 | The Good Guys | Charles Longmuir | Series 1; episode 2: "Easier for a Camel" |
| 1992 | Woof! | Dr. Phelps | Series 4; episode 4: "At the Hospital" |
| 1992 | Boon | Malcolm Ashforth | Series 7; episode 6: "Message in a Bottle" |
| 1992 | Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Narrator (voice) | Series 1; episode 2: "The Tempest" |
| 1993 | Noel's House Party | Himself - Special Guest | Series 2; episode 12 |
| 1993 | Scarlet and Black | Monsieur de Renal | Episode 1 |
| 1994 | Lovejoy | Adam Bailey | Series 6; episode 7: "Breaking the Broker" |
| 1994–1995 | Fourways Farm | Narrator (voice) | Episodes 1–25 |
| 1995 | Screen Two | Linus Frank | Series 11; episode 5: "The Absence of War" |
| 1995 | The All New Alexei Sayle Show | | Series 2; episode 3 |
| 1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Cyril Ruddy Giles Havelock | Series 11; episode 20: "Another Killing in Cork" Series 12; episode 9: "Deadly Bidding" |
| 1996 | A Touch of Frost | Harvey Wade | Series 4; episode 4: "Fun Times for Swingers" |
| 1996 | Jackanory | Himself - Storyteller | Series 34; episodes 19 & 20: "Fantastic Mr. Fox: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1996 | Space: Above and Beyond | Major Cyril MacKendrick | Episode 18: "Pearly" |
| 1996 | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Moses / God (voice) | Episode 1: "Moses" |
| 1996 | Richie Rich | Cadbury the Butler / Bascomb (voice) | Episodes 1–6 |
| 1996 | The Tick | Breadmaster (voice) | Series 3; episode 7: "Tick vs. Europe" |
| 1996 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Colin Draper | Series 5; episode 12: "The Deadliest Man Alive" |
| 1997 | Extreme Ghostbusters | (voice) | Episode 21: "The Luck of the Irish" |
| 1998 | Space Island One | Professor Jarvis | Series 2; episode 6: "Mayfly" |
| 1998 | Supply & Demand | Farmlow | Mini-series; episodes 3 & 4: "Golden Goose: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1999 | Sex 'n' Death | Neil Biddle | Television film |
| 2000 | Lorna Doone | Baron de Whichehalse | Mini-series; episodes 1–3 |
| 2000–2001 | Max Steel | John Dread (voice) | Series 1 & 2; 8 episodes |
| 2001 | By Jeeves | Jeeves | Television film |
| 2001 | Micawber | Lord Macefield | Episode 2: "Micawber and the Theatre" |
| 2002 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Cowfrey Pitt | Series 1; episode 1: "Well Schooled in Murder" |
| 2002 | Jackie Chan Adventures | (voice) | Series 2; episode 34: "The Chan Who Knew Too Much" |
| 2002 | Bootleg | Mr. Blades | Mini-series; episodes 1–3 |
| 2003 | The Queen's Nose | Frank (voice) | Series 7; episodes 1–6 |
| 2003–2007 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Nergal / Old Man (voice) | Series 1–4 & 6; 6 episodes |
| 2004 | Doctors | Brian Tennant | Series 6; episode 30: "Monstrous Regiment" |
| 2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told | Leonard | Mini-series; episode 1: "Much Ado About Nothing" |
| 2005, 2006 | The Life and Times of Juniper Lee | William / Bortek / King Teddy (voice) | Series 1; episode 12, and series 2; episode 9 |
| 2006 | Sally Lockhart Mysteries: The Ruby in the Smoke | Captain Lockhart (voice) | Television film (Shown as an episode in Masterpiece series in the U.S.) |
| 2007 | NUMB3RS | Taylor Ashby | Series 3; episode 24: "The Janus List" |
| 2007 | Stargate: Atlantis | Davos | Series 4; episode 8: "The Seer" |
| 2008 | The Bill | Leslie Downey | Series 24; episode 52: "Seize the Day" |
| 2008 | Underfist: Halloween Bash | Nergal / Police Officer / Jarvis (voice) | Television film |
| 2009 | Doctors | Dan Blythe | Series 11; episode 139: "Worst Critic" |
| 2009 | Taking the Flak | David Bradburn | Episodes 1–7 |
| 2010 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Vincent Hogg | Series 5; episode 4: "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" |
| 2010 | EastEnders | Harvey | 9 episodes |
| 2010 | Just William | Narrator (voice) | Episodes 1–4 |
| 2013 | Phil Spector | British TV Interviewer | Television film |
| 2013 | Endeavour | Henry Broom | Series 1; episode 3: "Rocket" |
| 2013 | By Any Means | Paul Hollander | Mini-series; episode 1 |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Captain Warburton | Series 13; episode 3: "Dead Man's Folly" |
| 2014 | Law & Order: UK | Eddie Stewart | Series 8; episode 4: "Pride" |
| 2014 | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Sir Humphry Davy (voice) | Documentary series; episode 10: "The Electric Boy" |
| 2017 | Casualty | Martin Rawlinson | Series 31; episode 25: "It Starts with the Shoes" |
| 2017 | Election Spy | Brian | Episodes 1–9 |
| 2017 | 2017: A Year in the Life of a Year | Himself | Television film |
| 2022 | Doctors | John Chilton | Series 23; episode 80: "Mustn't Grumble" |
| 2025 | Father Brown | Graham Snow | Series 12; episode 4: "The Invisible Friends" |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role (voice) | Notes |
| 2003 | Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown | Sheriff of Nottingham | |
| 2006 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Nergal | |
| 2007 | The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night | The Chronicler | |
| 2008 | The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon | The Chronicler | |
| 2009 | The Lord of the Rings: Conquest | Gandalf | |
| 2009 | Dragon Age: Origins | Avernus | Warden's Keep DLC |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib | |
| 2011 | Cars 2: The Video Game | Finn McMissile | |
| 2011 | Batman: Arkham City | Alfred Pennyworth | |
| 2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Dorian / Inquisitor Zyn / Lord Alaric | |
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Various characters | |
| 2012 | Kinect Rush: A Disney–Pixar Adventure | Finn McMissile | |
| 2013 | Star Wars: The Old Republic - Rise of the Hutt Cartel | Energy Center Scientist | Expansion pack for Star Wars: The Old Republic |
| 2013 | Disney Infinity | Finn McMissile | |
| 2013 | Batman: Arkham Origins | Alfred Pennyworth | Cold, Cold Heart DLC (2014) |
| 2014 | Cars: Fast as Lightning | Finn McMissile | |
| 2015 | Batman: Arkham Knight | Alfred Pennyworth | |
| 2023 | Harry Potter: Magic Awakened | (voice) | |
| 2024 | Batman: Arkham Shadow | Alfred Pennyworth | |

### Other credits

* The War of the Worlds (BBC Audiobooks) (1967) - Ogilvy (voice)
* Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - The Original Radio Drama (radio series) (Episode: "Fast Friends") (1996) - Barada (voice)
* Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures (podcast series) (Episode: "Jubilee") (2003) - Nigel Rochester (voice)
* Muffin the Mule (audiobooks) (2005) - Narrator (voice)
* Doctor Who: Target Novelisation Audiobooks (audiobooks) (Episode: "Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion") (2007) - Narrator (voice)
* Dr. No: The Radio Play (radio play) (2008) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas (radio drama) (Episode: "Passage on the Lady Anne") (2009) - Alan Ransome (voice)
* Goldfinger: The Radio Play (radio play) (2010) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* From Russia with Love: The Radio Play (radio play) (2012) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* On Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Radio Play (radio play) (2014) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Diamonds Are Forever: The Radio Play (radio play) (2015) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Thunderball: The Radio Play (radio play) (2016) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Moonraker: The Radio Play (radio play) (2018) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves: The Radio Play (radio play) (2018–2020) - Jeeves (voice)
* Live and Let Die: The Radio Play (radio play) (2019) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Doctor Who: Target Novelisation Audiobooks (audiobooks) (Episode: "Vengeance on Varos") (2019) - Narrator (voice)
* The Man with the Golden Gun: The Radio Play (radio play) (2020) - Ian Fleming (voice)
* Dust (podcast series) (Episode: "Homecoming: Seat 29F") (2020)
* Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls (podcast series) (2021) - Sweeney Todd