# Denis Lawson

Denis Stamper Lawson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–1983) and as John Jarndyce in the television miniseries Bleak House (2005), the latter of which earned him BAFTA Award and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also appeared in the television series The Kit Curran Radio Show (1984–1986), Holby City (2002–2004, 2019), and New Tricks (2012–2015), and reprised the role of Antilles in the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). On the stage, he is a three-time Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical nominee, winning in 1983 for Mr Cinders.

## Early life

Lawson was born on 27 September 1947 in Glasgow, but grew up in Crieff, Perthshire, after his family moved there when he was three years old. He is the son of Phyllis Neno (née Stamper), a merchant, and Laurence Lawson, a watchmaker. Lawson was educated at Crieff Public School (now called Crieff Primary School). After the 11-plus examination, he attended Morrison's Academy as a day pupil before attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, having first unsuccessfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He then sold carpets and did amateur theatre work for a year in Dundee before auditioning again at RADA in London and successfully at RSAMD in Glasgow.

## Career

Lawson began his acting career with a small role in a 1969 stage production of The Metamorphosis in London's West End. and has since starred in television dramas such as The Merchant of Venice (1973) opposite Laurence Olivier as Shylock, Rock Follies (1976) and Dead Head (1986).
Lawson played X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles in all three films of the original Star Wars trilogy. In 1983, he played Gordon Urquhart, in Local Hero. In 2001, he reprised the role of Wedge Antilles in voiceover form, for the GameCube game Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and did the same for I Am Your Mother, an episode made by Aardman Animations for the Disney+ animated series Star Wars: Visions, in 2023.
He has appeared often on the West End stage, notably in the musical Mr. Cinders at the Fortune Theatre from 1983 to 1984.
In 1985, Lawson appeared in two episodes of Victoria Wood As Seen on TV; in one episode performing a spoof love song with Wood called So Pissed off with Love.
In 1999, Lawson directed a production of Little Malcolm & His Struggle Against the Eunuchs which was first staged at the Hampstead Theatre before transferring to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End starring his nephew Ewan McGregor in the lead role of Malcolm Scrawdyke.
He appeared on an episode of Loose Ends hosted by Ned Sherrin on BBC Radio 4 on 10 December 2005.
In 2005, he played the leading role of John Jarndyce in the critically acclaimed BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, receiving an Emmy nomination. Two years later he played Peter Syme in the BBC One drama serial Jekyll, a modern version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Lawson also appeared as Captain "Dreadnought" Foster in ITV's dramatisations of C. S. Forester's Hornblower. He appeared in Robin Hood in which he played the Harold of Winchester.
He also appeared in the West End playing the character of Georges in the revival of the musical hit La Cage Aux Folles. No stranger to musical theatre, Lawson previously starred in the London revival of Pal Joey.
He starred as the lead in Above Their Station, a sitcom for the BBC written by Rhys Thomas about Community Support Officers; it was made as a pilot but never commissioned, being shown only as a one-off special. Lawson appeared alongside actress Helena Bonham Carter in the BBC Four movie based on the life of Enid Blyton, playing Kenneth Darrell Waters, a London surgeon who becomes Blyton's second husband. In July 2009 Lawson appeared as Alexander Fleming in a BBC Four drama called Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin alongside Dominic West. Lawson played the part of Alice's grandfather in ITV1's supernatural crime thriller Marchlands which was shown in February 2011.
Lawson appeared at the Royal Court Theatre once more in The Acid Test by Anya Reiss in 2011.
Lawson replaced James Bolam in the BBC One series New Tricks in its ninth series in 2012.
Lawson has said he was asked to reprise his role as Wedge Antilles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but reportedly turned down the role because he believed it would have "bored" him. However, Lawson later said he actually declined to appear in The Force Awakens due to a scheduling conflict, and would have appeared in the film had he been available. Lawson returned to the role in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

## Personal life

In 1973, he met actress Diane Fletcher in a stage production of Twelfth Night. They have a son together, Jamie (born 1979).
He met his wife, actress Sheila Gish, on the set of the 1985 film That Uncertain Feeling. They lived together for nearly 20 years before marrying in March 2004 in Antigua; she died of cancer a year later.
In 2017, he married Karen Prentice in Italy.
His nephew is actor Ewan McGregor, who went on to portray Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Star Wars | Wedge Antilles | |
| 1977 | Holocaust 2000 | Stevens | |
| 1977 | Providence | Dave Woodford | |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Wedge Antilles | |
| 1983 | Bitter Cherry | | Short film |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Wedge Antilles | |
| 1983 | Local Hero | Gordon Urquhart | |
| 1984 | The Chain | Keith | |
| 1988 | The Zip | Eric | Short film |
| 1996 | Cervellini fritti impanati | | |
| 2001 | Leonard | Leonard | Short film |
| 2006 | Dolls | Monsieur Nicholas | Short film |
| 2011 | Perfect Sense | Restaurant Owner | |
| 2012 | Broken | Mr Buckley | |
| 2013 | The Wee Man | Willie | |
| 2013 | The Machine | Thomson | |
| 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Wedge Antilles | |

### Television

| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Andy Donald | 1 episode: "Action, Dr. Cameron" |
| 1973 | The Merchant of Venice | Launcelot Gobbo | |
| 1973 | Beryl's Lot | Peter Jaret | 1 episode: "Getting Up" |
| 1974 | Ms or Jill and Jack | Jerry | |
| 1975 | Survivors | Norman | 1 episode: "The Future Hour" |
| 1975 | Rock Follies | Ken Church | |
| 1976 | Play for Today: The Jumping Bean Bag | Snare | |
| 1977 | Providence | Dave Woodford | |
| 1977 | Seven Faces of Woman | Jerome | 1 episode: "She: Anxious Anne" |
| 1977 | Rock Follies of '77 | Ken Church | |
| 1977 | The Man in the Iron Mask | Claude | |
| 1978 | Armchair Thriller: The Girl Who Walked Quickly | David Cooper | |
| 1978 | Play of the Week: Fearless Frank | Ernest Dowson/Prof Byron Smith | |
| 1979 | Diary of a Nobody | Frank Mutlar | |
| 1980 | Play for Today: The Flipside of Dominick Hide | Felix | |
| 1980 | If Winter Comes | | |
| 1980 | The Good Companions | Albert Tuggridge | 2 episodes: "Stumbling Chronicles" "In Which We Meet the Company" |
| 1982 | Crown Court | John Dickens | 1 episode: "Talking to the Enemy" |
| 1983 | Bergerac | Giroux | 1 episode: "A Miracle Every Week" |
| 1984 | The Kit Curran Radio Show | Kit Curran | |
| 1985 | Victoria Wood As Seen on TV | Phiilip and Singer | 2 episodes: Series 1, Episode 2 and 5 |
| 1985 | That Uncertain Feeling | John Aneurin Lewis | |
| 1986 | Kit Curran | Kit Curran | |
| 1986 | Dead Head | Eddie Cass | |
| 1987 | Love After Lunch | Miles | |
| 1989 | Screen One: One Way Out | Bernard | |
| 1989 | The Justice Game | Dominic Rossi | |
| 1990 | Boon | James Marian | 1 episode: "Bully Boys" |
| 1991 | Bejewelled | Alistair | |
| 1992 | El C.I.D. | | 1 episode: "My Brother's Keeper" |
| 1992 | Screen One: Born Kicking | Victor Grace | |
| 1992 | Natural Lies | James Towne | |
| 1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Frank | |
| 1996 | A Royal Scandal | Henry Brougham | |
| 1997 | Pie in the Sky | Nick Spencer | 1 episode: "In the Smoke" |
| 1998 | Cold Feet | Alex Welch | 1 episode: Series 1, Episode 4 |
| 1998 | Hornblower | Captain 'Dreadnought' Foster | 1 episode: "The Examination for Lieutenant" |
| 1998 | The Ambassador | John Stone | |
| 1998 | The Round Tower | Arthur Brett | |
| 1999 | Bob Martin | Greg | |
| 2000 | Other People's Children | Tom | Series 1, Episodes 2 and 3 |
| 2001 | The Fabulous Bagel Boys | DI Morris Rose | TV film |
| 2002–2004, 2019 | Holby City | Tom Campbell-Gore | Regular character |
| 2003 | The Ride | Tommy | |
| 2003 | A World in Arms | Narrator | |
| 2003 | Lucky Jim | Julius Gore-Urquat | |
| 2005 | Sensitive Skin | Al Jackson | |
| 2005 | Bleak House | John Jarndyce | |
| 2006 | Feel the Force | Gordon Campbell | |
| 2006 | The Thieving Headmistress | Father Plunkett | |
| 2006 | Dalziel and Pascoe | John Barron | 2 episodes: "The Cave Woman", Parts 1 and 2 |
| 2007 | Marple | Leo Argyle | 1 episode: "Ordeal By Innocence" |
| 2007 | Jekyll | Peter Syme | |
| 2007 | Robin Hood | Harold of Winchester | 1 episode: "For England!" |
| 2008 | Mumbai Calling | Phillip Glass | |
| 2008 | The Passion | Annas | Episode 1–3 |
| 2009 | Law & Order:UK | Philip Woodleigh | 1 episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 2009 | Criminal Justice | DCI Bill Faber | |
| 2009 | Breaking the Mould – The Story of Penicillin | Alexander Fleming | |
| 2009 | Enid | Kenneth Darrell Waters | |
| 2009 | No Holds Bard | Miekel | |
| 2009 | Mister Eleven | Len | |
| 2010 | Above Their Station | Chief Constable Keith Boone | |
| 2010 | Just William | Headmaster | |
| 2011 | Hustle | Benny | 1 episode: Series 7, Episode 4 "Benny's Funeral" |
| 2011 | Marchlands | Robert Bowen | |
| 2011 | Candy Cabs | Kenny Ho | |
| 2012–2015 | New Tricks | DI Steve McAndrew | |
| 2014 | Inside No. 9 | Gerald | 1 episode: Series 1, Episode 2 "A Quiet Night In" |
| 2016 | In Plain Sight | | Episode 2 |
| 2017 | Victoria | Duke of Atholl | 1 episode: Series 2, Episode 7 "The King Over the Water" |
| 2018 | Death in Paradise | Philip Marston | 1 episode: Series 7, Episode 1 "Murder from Above" |
| 2023 | Star Wars: Visions | Wedge Antilles | Voice; 1 episode: Volume 2, Episode 4 "I Am Your Mother" |
| 2025 | Father Brown (TV series) | Walter Sullivan | 1 episode: Series 12, Episode 1 "The Battle of Kembleford" |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Character | Production | Notes |
| 1971 | Titus Andronicus | Martius | Round House Theatre | |
| 1972 | England's Ireland | | Round House Theatre | |
| 1973 | Kaspar | | Almost Free Theatre |
| 1973 | Sarah B. Divine | | Cochrane Theatre | |
| 1975 | Kidnapped at Christmas | Warder Mullins | Shaw Theatre | |
| 1977 | The Dog Ran Away | Brother David | Hampstead Theatre | |
| 1977 | Censored Scenes from King Kong | Stephen | Open Space Theatre | |
| 1978 | We Can't Pay! We Won't Pay! | Luigi | Half Moon Theatre | |
| 1978 | A Greenish Man | Patrick | Bush Theatre | |
| 1979 | Fifty Words—Bits of Lenny Bruce | | King's Head Theatre | |
| 1983–84 | Mr Cinders | Jim Lancaster | King's Head Theatre then Fortune Theatre | won the 1983 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical |
| 1984 | The Lucky Chance | Bellmour | Royal Court Theatre | |
| 1986 | Lend Me a Tenor | Max | Globe Theatre | |
| 1986–87 | Ashes | Colin | Bush Theatre | |
| 1987 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Algernon Moncrieff | Royalty Theatre | |
| 1988 | The Film Society | Jonathon Balton | Hampstead Theatre | |
| 1990 | Volpone | Mosca | Almeida Theatre | |
| 1993 | Oleanna | John | Duke of York's Theatre | |
| 1995 | Lust | Horner | Haymarket Theatre | |
| 2008 | La Cage Aux Folles | George | Playhouse Theatre | nominated for the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical |
| 2011 | The Acid Test | Jim | Royal Court Theatre | |
| 2018 | Art | Marc | UK and Ireland tour | |
| 2022 | Anything Goes | Moonface Martin | Barbican | | 2024 | Inside No 9 Stage Fright' | Himself | [Wyndham's Theatre]] |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader | Wedge Antilles | Voice |
| 2020 | Star Wars: Squadrons | Wedge Antilles | Voice |