# Marshall Napier

James Marshall Napier (22 October 1951 – 14 August 2022) was a New Zealand-born character actor, playwright and graphic artist. He is known for a succession of strong supporting roles in Australasian films and television shows. He also had a notable stage career.

## Biography

Napier grew up in the city of Lower Hutt and was educated at Hutt Valley High School. He is the father of James Reuben Napier, actress Jessica Napier, and Rose Napier. He is the uncle of film director James Napier Robertson.
Before becoming an actor, Napier worked variously as a labourer, factory hand, and truck driver. He also spent a year studying graphic design at the Wellington Polytechnic. He landed his first professional acting job in 1975, at Wellington's Downstage Theatre.
In 1988, he moved with his wife and two young children to Australia, hoping to further his acting career. He soon became an established name in film, theatre, and television. His play Freak Winds has been performed in Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada; other plays have been broadcast on Australia's ABC radio.
His starring role in Bellbird (2019) resulted in the film receiving awards at several international film festivals.

## Death

Napier died from brain cancer on 14 August 2022 in Canberra at the age of 70.

## Theatre
### As performer

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1971 | Marat/Sade | Jaques Roux | Studio Workshop |
| 1972 | The Day Flanagan Died | Berney Flanagan | Studio Workshop |
| 1973 | Major Barbara | Bill Walker | Unity Theatre, Wellington |
| 1975 | Bully | Pete | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1976 | Ubu Roi | Captain MacNure | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1976 | Three Sisters | Rode | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1976 | Othello | Soldier | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1976 | Happy Birthday, Wanda June | Colonel 'Looseleaf' Harper | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1977 | The Tooth of Crime | Hoss | Unity Theatre, Wellington |
| 1978 | Twelfth Night | Sir Toby Belch | Centrepoint Theatre, NZ |
| 1978 | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Gigi / Dogsborough | Circa Theatre, NZ |
| 1978 | The One Day of the Year | Alf | Four Seasons Theatre |
| 1978 | Huffers | | Tour |
| 1979 | Stiff Bix Kabaret | Various | Rock Theatre |
| 1980 | Steel Heels | Various | Unity Theatre, Wellington |
| 1981 | The Dumb Waiter | Ben | Tour |
| 1982 | The Duchess of Malfi | Ferdinand | Circa Theatre, NZ |
| 1983 | Tooth and Claw | Mime | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1984 | Insignificance | The Senator | Circa Theatre, NZ |
| 1985 | Country Cops | Waddell | Circa Theatre, NZ |
| 1986 | Loose Connections | Rick Thomas | Downstage Theatre, NZ |
| 1991 | Diving for Pearls | Den | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1994 | All Souls | Joe | Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company |
| 1996 | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1996 | Simpatico | Carter | Wharf Theatre with STC |
| 1996 | Speaking in Tongues | Leon / Nick | Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company |
| 1997 | The Herbal Bed | Dr John Hall | Wharf Theatre with STC |
| 1997 | Waiting for Godot | Vladimir / Estragon | Q Theatre |
| 2000 | Alarms and Excursions | Actor A | Ensemble Theatre |
| 2000 | Freak Winds | Ernest | Old Fitzroy Theatre with Hydra Theatre Company |
| 2002 | Angel City | Wheeler | Old Fitzroy Theatre |
| 2006 | Freak Winds | Ernest | Arclight Theater, New York |
| 2008 | Frost/Nixon | Nixon | Fairfax Studio with MTC |
| 2009 | The Birthday Party | Goldberg | Fairfax Studio with MTC |
| 2010 | The Power of Yes | Howard Davies & various | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 2010 | The Schelling Point | Kubrick | Old Fitzroy Theatre |
| 2011 | In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) | Mr Daldry | Sydney Opera House, Southbank Theatre Melbourne, Riverside Theatres Parramatta with STC |
| 2011 | Stainless Steel Rat | Mark Stephens / Eric J Holder Jnr / Journalist | Seymour Centre with Harrison Productions |
| 2012 | The Gift | Ed | Auckland Theatre Company |
| 2013 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Daddy | Belvoir Street Theatre, Theatre Royal, Sydney |
| 2013 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | Eternity Playhouse, Sydney , Darlinghurst Theatre |
| 2015–17 | The Present | Ivan | Chekhov's Platonov adapted by Andrew Upton with STC & Broadway tour |

### As crew

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2006 | Freak Winds | Director / Playwright | Arclight Theater, New York |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | Northspur | Summers | |
| 2020 | Earl's Town | Earl | Short film |
| 2019 | Bellbird | Ross | Feature film |
| 2019 | Little Monsters | Army General | Feature film |
| 2016 | The Light Between Oceans | Mr Couglan | Feature film |
| 2016 | Down Under | Graham Sheather | Feature film |
| 2013 | Inside | The Visiting Doctor | Short film |
| 2012 | Jack Irish: Bad Debts | Father Gorman | TV movie |
| 2011 | Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here | Chief Commissioner Neil Comrie | TV movie |
| 2011 | Panic at Rock Island | Paul Thorpe | TV movie |
| 2010 | Griff the Invisible | Benson | Feature film |
| 2010 | The Clinic | Officer Marvin Underwood | Feature film |
| 2010 | I Love You Too | Mechanic | Feature film |
| 2009 | I'm Not Harry Jenson | Tom | Feature film |
| 2007 | The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep | Sgt Strunk | Feature film |
| 2004 | Sold Out | J. Edgar Crippen | Short film |
| 2004 | Get Rich Quick | Turf O'Keefe | |
| 2003 | Travelling Light | Don Ferris | Feature film |
| 2003 | Bad Eggs | Doug Gillespie | Feature film |
| 2002 | Stuffed Bunny | Priest | Short film |
| 2002 | Black and White | Prison Warden | Feature film |
| 2002 | New Skin | Captain Jip | |
| 2001 | My Husband, My Killer | John Radij | TV movie |
| 2001 | Jet Set | Mr Birkin | |
| 2000 | The Shirt | Mike Hughes | |
| 2000 | Muggers | Charles Lawrence | Feature film |
| 1999 | Airtight | Norscrum | TV movie |
| 1999 | In a Savage Land | Geoffrey Hallerton | Feature film |
| 1999 | Strange Planet | Robert | Feature film |
| 1998 | 13 Gantry Row | Blake | TV movie |
| 1998 | The Sugar Factory | Mr Berne | Feature film |
| 1998 | Meteorites | Cass Cassidy | TV movie |
| 1997 | Diana & Me | Bank Manager | Feature film |
| 1996 | Dead Heart | Sgt. Oakes | Feature film |
| 1996 | Children of the Revolution | Brendan Shaw | Feature film |
| 1996 | Race the Sun | Mr Cronin | Feature film |
| 1995 | Swimming Lessons | Jim | TV movie |
| 1995 | Babe | Chairman of Judges | Feature film |
| 1994 | Spider and Rose | Henderson | Feature film |
| 1994 | Paperback Romance (aka Lucky Break) | George LePine | Feature film |
| 1993 | Shotgun Wedding | Dave Green | Feature film |
| 1991 | Flirting | Mr. Rupert Elliott | Feature film |
| 1990 | The Big Steal | Desmond Clark | Feature film |
| 1988 | The Grasscutter | Det. Inspector Cross | TV movie |
| 1988 | The Navigator | Searle | Feature film |
| 1988 | Georgia | Frank Le Mat | Feature film |
| 1988 | The Clean Machine | Keith Reid | Feature film |
| 1985 | Came a Hot Friday | Sel Bishop | Feature film |
| 1984 | Pallet on the Floor | Joe Voot | Feature film |
| 1983 | Wild Horses | Andy | Feature film |
| 1982 | Carry Me Back | Airforce Guard | |
| 1982 | Battletruck | Poole | Feature film |
| 1981 | Inside Every Thin Girl | | TV movie |
| 1981 | Bad Blood | Trev Bond | Feature film |
| 1980 | Beyond Reasonable Doubt | Wyllie | Feature film |
| 1980 | Goodbye Pork Pie | Police Driver | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2021 | Doctor Doctor | Bill | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2020 | Grey Nomads | Don Boyce | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 2016 | Janet King | Magistrate Schaeffer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2014–15 | Love Child | Greg Matheson | TV series, season 2, 8 episodes |
| 2014 | The Moodys | Howard Benson | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Auckland Daze | Arnold | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2012 | Rake | Prosecution | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2009 | Chandon Pictures | Basil | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2006–10 | City Homicide | Detective Senior Sergeant Wilton Sparkes | TV series, seasons 1-2 & 4, 11 episodes |
| 2006–01 | McLeod's Daughters | Harry Ryan | TV series, 87 episodes |
| 2001 | Stingers | Eddie Thomas | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Head Start | John Allott | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 2001 | Farscape | General Grynes | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | The Farm | Peter Collins | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2000 | The Lost World | Drakul | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1999–01 | All Saints | Ian Hanrahan / Mick Mason | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1999–96 | Water Rats | Joe da Silva | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1997–99 | Blue Heelers | John Scanlan / Jim Jamieson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Twisted Tales | Ray | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | The Beast | Commander Wallingford | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Blue Murder | Tony Eustace | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The Mcgregor Saga | Charlie Dunn | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Halifax f.p. | Dale | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994–93 | Secrets | Gary O'Leary | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1993 | Stark | Private Detective | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Seven Deadly Sins | Tom | TV miniseries, 1 episode: "Greed" |
| 1993 | Time Trax | Oscar | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1992 | South Pacific Adventures | Captain Johnson | |
| 1989–92 | Police Rescue | Fred 'Frog' Catteau | TV series, 19 episodes |
| 1991–92 | G.P. | Stan Brodie | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1992 | The Girl from Tomorrow | Draco | TV series, 12 episodes |
| 1989 | Rafferty's Rules | Alex Reed | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1989 | Mission Impossible | Talbot | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1989 | E Street | Bernie | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1988 | Always Afternoon | Bill Kennon | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1987 | Starlight Hotel | Det. Wallace | Feature film |
| 1986 | Dangerous Orphans | Hobbes | Feature film |
| 1986 | Adventurer | Mason | TV series, 12 episodes |
| 1986 | Seekers | Wright | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1986 | Footrot Flats | Hunk Murphy | Animated feature film |
| 1985 | Roche | Snatch | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Lie of the Land | Huddy | |
| 1985 | Heart of the High Country | Hary | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Inside Straight | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Mortimer's Patch | Lance Harris | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | The Neville Purvis Family Show | Larry Lucas | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1977 | The Governor | Richard Seddon | TV series, 1 episode |

## Activism

In 2002, he and his daughter, Jessica Napier, won $64,000 in the Australian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for a South Australian animal rights group. Both are animal rights supporters and vegetarians.