# Michael Bryant (actor)

Michael Dennis Bryant CBE (5 April 1928 – 25 April 2002) was a British stage and television actor. An eight-time Olivier Award nominee, Bryant won three. He was also a three-time British Academy Television Award nominee for Best Actor.

## Biography

Bryant attended Battersea Grammar School and, after service in the Merchant Navy and the Army, attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage. He made his film debut in 1955. He had a role as Mathieu in the BBC2 serial The Roads to Freedom, a 1970 adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's trilogy of the same name. His guest star appearance as Wing Commander Marsh, who feigns insanity in the 'Tweedledum' episode of the BBC drama series Colditz (1972), is still widely remembered.
Bryant was chosen by Orson Welles to play the lead role in The Deep, Welles's adaptation of the Charles Williams novel Dead Calm. The production frequently ran out of money, and following the death of actor Laurence Harvey in 1973, Welles stopped production and announced the movie – which had been completed except for one special effects shot of a ship exploding – would not be released. (The novel was finally adapted to film in 1989.)
In 1969 Bryant took his love of the stage on a strange trip into the realm of cult films, playing a clever male prostitute who outwits a delusional family of killers in the dark comedy Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly, an adaptation of a play by Maisie Mosco. Due to poor marketing and a lack of faith in the project by the distributor, the film quickly sank into obscurity.
One of Bryant's most memorable performances was in the classic BBC television play The Stone Tape (1972), in which he plays the leader of a team of scientists who investigate ghost sightings in a brooding Gothic mansion. Equally memorable is his later performance in an adaptation of M. R. James's The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974).
Bryant also had a supporting role as a sadistic psychiatrist in the cult classic black comedy The Ruling Class, with Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim. He also appeared in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) as a British diplomat.
Having played Vladimir Lenin in the film Nicholas and Alexandra, Bryant later reprised the role in Robert Bolt's play State of Revolution (1977), having previously co-starred in Bolt's unsuccessful Gentle Jack. State of Revolution was significant for featuring the first role Bryant performed at the National Theatre, where he went on to be a constant presence for a quarter of a century. Described by Michael Billington as a "rock-solid company man", he had earlier performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1964, including the premiere production of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming (1965), in which he played Teddy, the returning academic.
In 1980, Bryant won the London Drama Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor, and his other theatrical performances were equally well-thought-of. He won Laurence Olivier Awards in 1988 and 1990 and was nominated twice more.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1955 | Passage Home | Stebbings | |
| 1956 | Uranium Boom | | |
| 1958 | A Night to Remember | Sixth Officer James Moody | |
| 1962 | Life for Ruth | John's counsel | |
| 1963 | The Mind Benders | Dr. Danny Tate | |
| 1966 | The Deadly Affair | Gaveston | Uncredited |
| 1967 | Torture Garden | Colin Williams | (segment 1, "Enoch") |
| 1969 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Max Staefel | |
| 1970 | Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly | New Friend | |
| 1970 | The Deep | John Ingram | |
| 1971 | Nicholas and Alexandra | Vladimir Lenin | |
| 1972 | The Ruling Class | Dr. Herder | |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Rachkovsky | |
| 1974 | Caravan to Vaccares (film) | Zuger | |
| 1982 | Gandhi | Principal Secretary | |
| 1984 | Sakharov | Syshchikov | |
| 1992 | Bikini Summer II | Sammy | |
| 1996 | Hamlet | Priest | |
| 2000 | The Miracle Maker | God / The Doctor | Voice (final film role) |

## Stage credits

This table contains selected known professional theatrical roles for Bryant.
| Production | Date | Theatre (London, unless otherwise noted) | Role |
| The Homecoming | June 1965 | Aldwych Theatre | Teddy |
| The Return of A.J.Raffles | December 1975 | Aldwych Theatre | Captain von Blixen |
| State of Revolution | May 1977 | Lyttleton Theatre | Vladimir Lenin |
| Brand | April 1978 | Olivier Theatre | Pastor Brand |
| Strife | November 1978 | Olivier Theatre | David Roberts |
| As You Like It | July 1979 | Olivier Theatre | Jacques |
| The Wild Duck | December 1979 | Olivier Theatre | Gregers Werle |
| Othello | March 1980 | Olivier Theatre | Iago |
| The Mayor of Zalamea | August 1981 | Cottesloe Theatre | Pedro Crespo |
| Uncle Vanya | May 1982 | Lyttleton Theatre | Vanya |
| The Ancient Mariner | October 1984 | Olivier Theatre | Ancient Mariner |
| Love for Love | November 1985 | Lyttleton Theatre | Sir Sampson Legend |
| The American Clock | July 1986 | Cottesloe Theatre | Moe Baum |
| King Lear | December 1986 | Olivier Theatre | Earl of Gloucester |
| Antony and Cleopatra | April 1987 | Olivier Theatre | Enobarbus |
| The Tempest | April 1988 | Cottesloe Theatre | Prospero |
| Hamlet | March 1989 | Olivier Theatre | Polonius |
| The Voysey Inheritance | June 1989 | Cottlesloe Theatre | Peacey |
| Racing Demon | February 1990 | Cottesloe Theatre | Reverend Henderson |
| The Crucible | May 1990 | Olivier Theatre | Giles Corey |
| The Wind in the Willows | December 1990 | Olivier Theatre | Badger |
| Pygmalion | April 1992 | Olivier Theatre | Alfred Doolittle |
| Richard II | May 1995 | Cottesloe Theatre | Duke of York |
| John Gabriel Borkman | July 1996 | Lyttleton Theatre | Vilhelm Foldal |
| King Lear | March 1997 | Cottesloe Theatre | Fool |
| The Invention of Love | September 1997 | Cottesloe Theatre | Charon |
| Money | May 1999 | Olivier Theatre | Old Member |
| Summerfolk | August 1999 | Olivier Theatre | Semyon Dvoetochie |
| The Cherry Orchard | September 2000 | Cottesloe Theatre | Firs |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1971 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | The Roads to Freedom (TV serial) | Nominated |
| 1973 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Stage 2: The Duchess of Malfi / Colditz | Nominated |
| 1975 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | ITV Playhouse: Mr Axelford's Angel | Nominated |
| 1977 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Actor of the Year in a New Play | State of Revolution | Won |
| 1978 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | The Double Dealer | Nominated |
| 1979 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Actor of the Year in a Revival | Strife | Nominated |
| 1979 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Undiscovered Country | Nominated |
| 1987 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | King Lear / Antony and Cleopatra | Won |
| 1990 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | Hamlet / The Voysey Inheritance / Racing Demon | Won |
| 1998 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | King Lear | Nominated |
| 2000 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Summerfolk | Nominated |