Paul Freeman (actor)

Paul Freeman (actor)
Paul Freeman (born 18 January 1943) is an English actor who has appeared in theatre, television and film. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for his role in the romance TV series Yesterday's Dreams (1987) as Martin Daniels. Internationally, he is known for playing the rival archaeologist René Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), evil wine baron Gustav Riebmann on season 4 of the soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–85), supervillain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995), Julius Morlang in Morlang (2001), Ray in When I'm 64 (2004), Reverend Shooter in Hot Fuzz (2007) and Shrewd Eddie in Hard Boiled Sweets (2012).
Referring to Freeman's extensive theatre work, in 1995 the Los Angeles Times described him as "one of Britain's best-regarded actors, classically trained, with stints at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre".
Personal life
Freeman was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, on 18 January 1943. He is married to Maggie Scott, who was his co-star in the 1980 film The Dogs of War. They have one daughter, Lucy. Freeman was previously married to actress Judy Matheson.
Paul and Maggie Scott are both co-founders of the charity UK Friends of Healing Focus (UKHF), which works in partnership with Uganda NGO, Healing Focus Orphanage Centre.
Career
He began his career in advertising and teaching, and landed small roles in the theatre, appearing in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet. He had starring roles in the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Company in 1974, along with director Max Stafford-Clark.
Freeman made his television debut in 1978 in the serial Will Shakespeare (1978). He also acted in the docudrama Death of a Princess, a film about the execution of Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud of Saudi Arabia. Freeman began his feature film career in 1980 when he appeared in The Long Good Friday and The Dogs of War. In 1981, he starred in the TV show Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.
In the same year, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas chose Freeman to play archaeologist René Belloq, the archrival to Indiana Jones, in the adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark opposite Harrison Ford. The film led to Freeman becoming typecast in villainous roles, especially Nazis. He played the conniving wine baron Gustav Riebmann in the fourth season of Falcon Crest, airing in 1984–1985.
Paul Freeman starred as Martin Daniels in the series Yesterday's Dreams in 1987.
In 1988, he played Professor Moriarty in comedy film Without a Clue, which starred Michael Caine as a mini-brained Sherlock Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Watson, who is secretly the real crime-solving genius. In 1995, Freeman was cast as the villain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
Freeman guest-starred in television shows such as Monarch of the Glen, ER, Falcon Crest and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also played in several mini-series, including Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989) and The Final Cut (1995). In 2004, Freeman played Angus, Bobby Jones' caddie, in Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius. During 2006 and 2007, he starred in the drama New Street Law. Also in 2007, he played Rev. Philip Shooter of Sandford in Hot Fuzz. He is also featured in several Travelers Insurance television commercials from 2007 to 2009.
Among his television work, Freeman has appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders titled "Down Among the Dead Men". He also appeared in the Waking the Dead in the episode "Straw Dog", and played Adam Kingsley in the BBC adaptation of Minette Walters' The Dark Room. He was seen in Agatha Christie's Poirot in the episode "Appointment with Death" as Colonel Carbury.
He appeared as George Aaranow in the 2008 London revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.
In 2012, he played Thomas Erpingham in the BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V from The Hollow Crown series.
Filmography
Film
Television
1967 – Champion House – Elwyn
1972 – The Last of the Baskets – 1 Episode: "Since Then I Have Used No Other" − Bernard Rage
1972 – Jason King – 1 Episode: "Zenia Male" − Revolutionary
1972 – The Protectors – 1 Episode: "A Kind of Wild Justice" − Mechanic
1973 – Coronation Street – 1 Episode: "Terry Slade"
1974 – Crown Court – 1 Episode: "Good and Faithful Friends: Pt. 1" − Leonard Tyler
1976 – Couples – 3 Episodes − Douglas Broom
1976 – The XYY Man – 3 Episodes − Ray Lynch
1978 – Scorpion Tales – 1 Episode: "The Great Albert" − Oliver Benthall
1978 – Crown Court – 1 Episode: "The Song Not the Singer: Pt.1" − John Bernard
1978 – Will Shakespeare – 6 Episodes − Dick Burbage
1980 – Death of a Princess – Christopher Ryder
1980 – Play for Today – 1 Episode: "A Walk in the Forest" − Alexander Kutsov
1981 – Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years – Ralph Wigram
1981 – Play for Today – 1 Episode: "No Visible Scar" − Doctor
1982 – BBC2 Playhouse – 1 Episode: "The Workshop" − Max
1982 – Play for Today – 1 Episode: "Willie's Last Stand" − Willie
1982 – Crown Court – 1 Episode: "Face Value: Pt. 1" − Defence Counsel
1982 – Gavilan – 1 Episode: "Sarah and the Buzz" – Mr. Snow
1984 – Cagney & Lacey – 1 Episode: "Victimless Crime" – Yves Benoit
1984 − Mitch − 1 Episode: "Postman's Knock" − Harry Warren
1984-1985 – Falcon Crest – 19 Episodes – Gustav Riebmann
1987 – Yesterday's Dreams – Martin Daniels
1989 − Pursuit / Twist of Fate 2 Episodes - SS-Oberfuhrer Mittendorf
1992-1993 – The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – 2 episodes – Frederick Selous
1994 – Viper – 1 Episode: "Once a Thief" - Dr. Samuels
1994 – Grushko – 2 Episodes – Bosenko
1995 – The Final Cut – 4 Episodes – Tom Makepeace
1996 – Tales from the Crypt – 1 Episode: "Smoke Wrings" – Alistair Touchstone
1996 - Samson and Delilah (1996 miniseries) (TNT) - Manoah
1998–2002 – ER – Dr. Charles Corday – 3 episodes
2000 – Inspector Morse – 1 Episode: "The Remorseful Day" – Frank Harrison
2002 – Monarch of the Glen – 11 Episodes – Andrew Booth
2005 – Waking the Dead – 2 episodes: "Straw Dog" – Dr. Hoyle
2006 – Midsomer Murders – 1 Episode: "Down Among The Dead Men" – Sir John Waverly
2006–2007 – New Street Law – Laurence Scammel QC
2006 – Number 13 – TV movie adaptation of M. R. James short story "Number 13" – Mr Harrington – Cathedral archivist
2007 – Diamond Geezer – 1 Episode: "Old Gold" – Sergey
2007 – The Whistleblowers – 2 Episodes: "Environment & Fit for Purpose" – Joseph Cole
2007 – Hotel Babylon – 1 Episode – Sir Christopher Price
2008 – Agatha Christie's Poirot – 1 Episode: "Appointment With Death" – Col. Carbury
2009 – Lark Rise to Candleford – 1 Episode – Old Edmund
2010 – Spooks – 1 Episode – Levi Cohen
2012 – Strike Back – 2 Episodes - "Vengeance: Parts 5 & 6" – Peter Evans
2013 – The Bible – Samuel – 2 episodes
2013 – Lucan – 1 Episode – John Pearson
2015 – Da Vinci's Demons – The Architect
2016 – Tokyo Trial – William Donald Patrick, Lord Patrick
2017–2020 – Absentia – Warren Byrne
2018 – A Very English Scandal – Sir Joseph Cantley
2022 – The Man Who Fell to Earth – 1 episode - "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" – Gregory Papel
References
External links
1943 births
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
English male film actors
English male Shakespearean actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
Living people
Male actors from Hertfordshire
People from Chipping Barnet