Ronald Pickup
Acting • Born 1940-06-07 – Died 2021-02-25
Biography
Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA. His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert and also appeared in The Day of the Jackal. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and in 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, in 1988 in the BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988 TV Serial) as the voice of Aslan, and in 1990 he starred in the short lived sit-com, Not with a Bang. More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse. He is also a regular character in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne. Pickup gave a highly acclaimed performance as a decayed Russian aristocrat in the BBC series Fortunes of War, based on a work by Olivia Manning. He also provided the voice for Aslan in the BBC's adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia and starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly. He is also an accomplished stage actor. He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 1997 for his performance in Amy's View. Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani. In 2005, he had a supporting role in the family-based film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby. Between March and August 2009, he starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias' production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Simon Callow (Pozzo). The tour opened in Malvern before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand. In February 2010 he also appeared as 'Pegleg' in the BBC's period drama Lark Rise to Candleford. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ronald Pickup, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
142 credits
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
Movie • 2004
Monsieur Moitessier (uncredited)
The Mission
Movie • 1986
Hontar
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Movie • 1989
Aslan (voice)
Bethune: The Making of a Hero
Movie • 1993
Alan Coleman
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Movie • 2010
King Sharaman
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
Movie • 1990
Aslan (voice)
Dark Floors
Movie • 2008
Tobias
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
Movie • 1999
Don Massaredo
A Murder of Quality
Movie • 1991
Felix D'Arcy
Evilenko
Movie • 2004
Aron Richter
Ivanhoe
Movie • 1982
Prince John
Jekyll & Hyde
Movie • 1990
Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire
Danny the Champion of the World
Movie • 1989
Captain Lancaster
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Movie • 2012
Norman Cousins
Puccini
Movie • 1984
Giulio Ricordi
Schadenfreude
Movie • 2025
The Gambler
A Little Place Off the Edgware Road
Movie • 2014
Bearded Man
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis
Movie • 1997
Percy Stone
Nijinsky
Movie • 1980
Igor Stravinsky
Theatreland
Movie • 2009
Himself
Joseph Andrews
Movie • 1977
Mr. Wilson
In The Cold Light Of Day
Movie • 1994
Morris
End of Term
Movie • 2021
Damian Self
Henry IV
Movie • 1995
Henry IV
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Movie • 1973
Edmund Tyrone
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
Movie • 1974
Lord Randolph Churchill
The Golden Years
Movie • 1992
Pope John Paul II
Movie • 1984
Jan Tyranowski
Never Say Never Again
Movie • 1983
Elliott
Much Ado About Nothing
Movie • 1967
Don Pedro
...but the clouds...
Movie • 1977
Supernova
Movie • 2005
Dr. Malcolm Handey
King Lear
Movie • 1975
Edgar
Camille
Movie • 1984
Jean
All Good Men
Movie • 1974
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Movie • 2015
Norman Cousins
The Philanthropist
Movie • 1975
Philip
Secret Passage
Movie • 2004
Da Monte
Zulu Dawn
Movie • 1979
Lt. Harford
The Letter
Movie • 1982
Howard Joyce
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
Movie • 1988
Aslan (voice)
The War That Never Ends
Movie • 1991
Diodotus
Absolute Hell
Movie • 1991
Siegfried Shrager
Lolita
Movie • 1997
Young Humbert's Father
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
Movie • 2007
William McDowell
The Have-Nots
Movie • 2016
Bentham
Verdi
Movie • 1982
Giuseppe Verdi
The Fourth Protocol
Movie • 1987
Wynne-Evans
Romeo and Juliet
Movie • 1967
Mercutio
Message for Posterity
Movie • 1994
Richard Browning
Milner
Movie • 1994
Jocelyn Fry
Cherished
Movie • 2005
Professor Sir Roy Meadow
The Time of Their Lives
Movie • 2017
Frank
Eleni
Movie • 1985
Spiro
A Dry White Season
Movie • 1989
Louw
Darkest Hour
Movie • 2017
Neville Chamberlain
Mahler
Movie • 1974
Nick
Testimony
Movie • 1988
Marshall Tukhachevsky
The Day of the Jackal
Movie • 1973
The Forger
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby
Movie • 2005
Cecil Johnson
Stealing Silver
Movie • 2017
Udo
A Very Open Prison
Movie • 1995
Brian Silcott
Der Blinde
Movie • 1996
Dr. Bartnik
The Thirty Nine Steps
Movie • 1978
Bayliss
Henry VIII
Movie • 1979
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Journey of Honor
Movie • 1991
Capt. Crawford
My Friend Walter
Movie • 1992
Sir Walter Raleigh
The Happy Prince
Movie • 2018
Judge
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
Movie • 1996
Narrator
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
Movie • 1964
Physician
Three Sisters
Movie • 1970
Baron Tusenbach
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
Movie • 1983
George Orwell
Breathtaking
Movie • 2000
Dr. Maclaren
Ladies' Night
Movie • 1986
James Tripp
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Movie • 1988
Barrymore
Ghost Trio
Movie • 1977
For Tea on Sunday
Movie • 1978
Ian
In England's Green and Pleasant Land
Movie • 1979
Norman Reynolds
Benefit to Mankind
Movie • 2004
Professor Quentin Tapscott
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story
Movie • 2003
Monsieur Moitessier
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish
Movie • 2005
Monsieur Moitessier
A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper
Movie • 2005
Monsieur Moitessier
Midsomer Murders
TV • 1997
Rupert Smythe-Webster
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
TV • 2002
Sir Stuart Stinhurst
Hustle
TV • 2004
Harry Holmes
Silent Witness
TV • 1996
Moving
TV • 1985
Inspector Morse
TV • 1987
Ian Matthews
The Worst Week of My Life
TV • 2004
Fraser
Lovejoy
TV • 1986
Edwin Felt
Waking the Dead
TV • 2001
Charles Sutton
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Jean
Not with a Bang
TV • 1990
Brian Appleyard
Sea of Souls
TV • 2004
Alex Galt
Behaving Badly
TV • 1989
Feather Boy
TV • 2004
Ernest Sorrel
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill
TV • 1974
Randolph Churchill
Hornblower
TV • 1998
Don Massaredo
Father Brown
TV • 1974
The Riff Raff Element
TV • 1994
Roger Tundish
Unnatural Causes
TV • 1986
James Tripp
Performance
TV • 1991
King Henry IV
The Jury
TV • 2002
Jeffrey Livingstone
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
TV • 1996
Lester Rose
Atlantis
TV • 2013
Orpheus
Foyle's War
TV • 2002
Sir Giles Messinger
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
TV • 1987
Chief Inspector Moore
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Richard Massingham
Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
TV • 2001
Sir John Starr
Pramface
TV • 2012
Sherlock Holmes
TV • 1984
Barrymore
Lark Rise to Candleford
TV • 2008
Downton Abbey
TV • 2010
Sir Michael Reresby
Albert Einstein
TV • 1984
Albert Einstein
Vera
TV • 2011
Mr. Kipford
Matlock
TV • 1986
Sir Alec Moore
Casualty
TV • 1986
Martin / Reginald Freeborn
Ivanhoe
TV • 1997
Waldemar Fitzurse
The Fight Against Slavery
TV • 1975
William Pitt
The Rector's Wife
TV • 1994
Daniel Byrne
The Chronicles of Narnia
TV • 1988
Aslan (voice)
Cambridge Spies
TV • 2003
Colonel Winter
Black Hearts in Battersea
TV • 1995
Duke Of Battersea
Verdi
TV • 1982
Giuseppe Verdi
Bergerac
TV • 1981
Sir Antony Villiers
El C.I.D.
TV • 1990
Jack
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Mercutio
A Time to Dance
TV • 1992
Andrew Powell
The Crown
TV • 2016
Archbishop of Canterbury
Midsomer Murders
TV • 1997
Ernest Balliol
Performance
TV • 1991
Siegfried Shrager
Screen Two
TV • 1985
Brian Silcott
Doctor Who
TV • 1963
Physician
Performance
TV • 1991
Richard Browning
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Ariel
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Brother Martin Ladvenu
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Edgar
BBC2 Play of the Week
TV • 1977
Ian
BBC2 Play of the Week
TV • 1977
Norman Reynolds
New Tricks
TV • 2004
Sir Wilfred Felspar
Fortunes of War
TV • 1987
Prince Yakimov
Scarlett
TV • 1994
Whitlock