Eric Porter
Acting
Biography
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Born: April 8, 1928
Place of Birth: Shepard's Bush, London, UK
Known For
Filmography
as Self (archive footage)
as James Player
as James Player
as Fagin
as Fagin
as Professor Moriarty
as Dimitri Bronowsky
as Petersham
as Neville Chamberlain
as Stanley Wilkinson
as Mr. Havisham
as Polonius
as Dr. Nicholson
as Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
as Chief Superintendent Lomas
as Karenin
as Arthur Winslow
as Narrator (voice)
as Tobin
as Narrator
as Narrator
as Hunter
as Petersham
as Colonel Rodin
as Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
as Asher Smith
as Enobarbus
as Stolypin
as Dr. John Pritchard
as Stanley Wilkinson
as Major Pollock / John Malcolm
as Himself
as Macbeth (voice)
as Lansen
as Soames Forsyte
as Harry Dominion
as Terboven
as Cyrano de Bergerac
as Arthur Winslow
as Councillor Albert Parker
as Jack Tanner
as Maj. Pollock / John Malcolm
as Macbeth
as Henry VII
as 'Newton'
as Julianus
as Narrator
as Narrator