Jonathan Pryce
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
Sir Jonathan Pryce CBE (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards, and a knighthood for services to drama.
After studying at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career as a stage actor in the early 1970s. His work in theatre includes an Olivier Award–winning performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatre's Hamlet in 1980 and as The Engineer in the stage musical Miss Saigon in 1990. On the Broadway stage he earned Tony Awards—the first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut role in Comedians (1977), the second for Best Actor in a Musical for the Broadway transfer of the musical Miss Saigon
(1991).
Pryce's theatre work led to several supporting roles in film and television. His breakthrough screen performance was in
play Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Martin Scorsese's period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), Christopher Hampton's Carrington (1995), Terrence Malick's historical film The New World (2005) and the drama The Wife (2017) opposite Glenn Close. In 2019, he earned his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Pope Francis in The Two Popes alongside Anthony Hopkins playing Pope Benedict XVI.[3]
For his work on television, he received two
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performances in Barbarians at the Gate (1993) and Return to Cranford (2010). Pryce has gained acclaim for his roles as Thomas Wolsey in the BBC limited series Wolf Hall (2015), the High Sparrow in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2015–2016) and Sir Stuart Strange in the series Taboo (2017). In 2022, he succeeded Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip in the final two seasons of the award-winning Netflix historical drama series The Crown, gaining a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.[4][5]
Early life
Pryce was born John Price on 1 June 1947 in
RADA, graduating in 1971, with Acting (RADA Diploma).[8]
He joined
Equity, and took "Jonathan Pryce" as his stage name because his birth name was too similar to that of a performer already represented by Equity.[6][9][10] While at RADA, he worked as a door-to-door salesman of velvet paintings.[11]
Career
1972–1984: Rise to prominence
Despite finding RADA "strait-laced"[10] and being told by his tutor that he could never aspire to do more than playing villains on Z-Cars,[12] Pryce joined the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool upon graduation and eventually became its artistic director. He performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Nottingham Playhouse.[13][14] To gain his Equity card, he made his first screen appearance in a minor role in "Fire & Brimstone", a 1972 episode of the science fiction drama series Doomwatch. He then starred in two television films directed by Stephen Frears: Daft as a Brush and Playthings.
After leaving Everyman, Pryce joined Sir
Old Vic Theatre in London. Pryce reprised the role on Broadway in 1976, this time directed by Mike Nichols, and for which Pryce won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. It was around this time that he appeared in his first film role, playing the character Joseph Manasse in the drama Voyage of the Damned, starring Faye Dunaway. He did not, however, abandon the stage, appearing from 1978 to 1979 in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio, and Antony and Cleopatra as Octavius Caesar.[15][16]
In 1980, his performance in the
Martin Luther, Heretic
(both also 1983).
1985–2002: Established actor
He achieved a breakthrough with his role as the subdued
Whose Line Is It Anyway?, alongside Paul Merton and John Sessions,[25] and in Uncle Vanya, again a play by Chekhov, at the Vaudeville Theatre.[26] After a series of major dramatic roles on stage, including Vanya and Macbeth, Pryce decided he wanted to do musicals after seeing his friend Patti LuPone in the original London production of Les Misérables.[27]
He successfully returned to the stage originating the role of The Engineer, a Eurasian
Tony Award for his performance in 1991.[33][34] The controversy over Pryce's casting in Miss Saigon provided playwright David Henry Hwang the inspiration for his plays Face Value and Yellow Face.[35]
Made in the same period, Pryce starred in the
Best Actor Award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.[42]
During the early 2000s Pryce starred and participated in a variety of movies, such as Laurence Olivier Awards on 2001: Best Actress in a Musical for Martine McCutcheon, Outstanding Musical Production, Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical for Pryce. Pryce lost to Philip Quast, and McCutcheon won in her category.
2003–2013: Theatre and franchise roles
In April 2003 Pryce returned to the non-musical stage with A Reckoning, written by American dramatist Wesley Moore. The play co-starred
filmed at the same time but released a year apart.[46]
After Pirates, Pryce appeared in several large-scale motion pictures, such as the romantic teen comedy The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, where he played Martin, a goat-lover who has to face the recriminations of his cheated-on wife, played by his real-life wife Kate Fahy. Pryce's performance was highly praised, but he lost the Olivier to Richard Griffiths.[47][48][49]
Pryce lent his voice to the French
J.K. Simmons, George Takei and several other veteran actors.[54]
2015–present: Resurgence and acclaim
In 2015, he joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as the High Sparrow.[55] Pryce admitted that one of the main reasons he took on the role was because of how influential the character is plot-wise. While initially being quite sceptical about "sword and sorcery" shows, Pryce later had a change of heart after his positive experiences on the Thrones sets.[56] In 2015, he also appeared at The Globe Theatre as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. His real life daughter Phoebe played Shylock's daughter Jessica. In 2015, he joined the cast of The Healer starring with Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Camilla Luddington, and Jorge Garcia.[57] In 2018 he portrayed Don Quixote in Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote starring Adam Driver.
In 2018, Pryce starred alongside
Dame Eileen Atkins in Florian Zeller's play, The Height of the Storm at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End to rapturous reviews. The play was named best play of the year by The Guardian.[58] The play was transferred to Broadway stage where it ran from September to November 2019 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club with Pryce and Atkins reprising their performances. The play and the performances received a strong reception from New York critics. Marilyn Stasio of Variety praised the leading actors describing Pryce's performance as an elderly man struggling with early forms of dementia as "achingly sensitive", and like "quicksilver".[59]
Late that same year, Pryce portrayed
Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for the film.[61] In August 2020, it was announced that Pryce would portray Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in the final two seasons of Netflix's The Crown.[62] His performance in the fifth season earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical or Drama.[63]
Personal life
While working at the Everyman Theatre in 1972, Pryce met actress Kate Fahy; after a decades-long relationship, they married in 2015. They live in London and have three children: Patrick (born 1983), Gabriel (born 1986), and Phoebe (born 1990).[citation needed] Pryce was raised in the Christian faith, but is no longer religious.[64]
In 2006, Pryce was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.[68]
Pryce was knighted in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.[69][70]
Acting credits
Film
- Note: The source for Pryce's filmography is taken from the British Film Institute.[71]
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Doomwatch | Police Constable | 1 episode |
| 1975–1979 | Play for Today | Gethin Price / Tommy | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | BBC2 Playhouse | Playleader | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Bill Brand | Jamie Finn | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Chalk and Cheese | Dave Finn | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Play of the Week | Nicholas | 1 episode |
| 1980 | The Day Christ Died | Herod Antipas | Television film |
| 1980 | Spine Chillers | Reader | 5 episodes |
| 1982 | Murder Is Easy | Mr. Ellsworthy | Television film |
| 1982 | Praying Mantis | Christian Magny | Television film |
| 1983 | Martin Luther, Heretic | Martin Luther | Television film |
| 1988 | Tickets for the Titanic | Rev Richard Hopkins | 1 episode |
| 1988 | The Storyteller
|
King | 1 episode |
| 1988–1989 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Himself | 6 episodes |
| 1990 | Screen Two | William Wallace | 1 episode |
| 1990 | The Jim Henson Hour | King | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Selling Hitler | Gerd Heidemann | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Barbarians at the Gate | Henry Kravis | Television film |
| 1993 | Thicker than Water | Sam | Television film |
| 1997 | David | Saul | Television film |
| 1999 | The Curse of Fatal Death | The Master | Television short |
| 2001 | Victoria & Albert | King Leopold I of Belgium | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Wonderful World of Disney
|
Master Schoenmacker | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars | Sherlock Holmes | Television film |
| 2008 | My Zinc Bed
|
Victor Quinn | Television film |
| 2008 | Clone | Dr. Victor Blenkinsop | Main role, 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Return to Cranford | Mr. Buxton | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Under Milk Wood | Mr. Pugh | Television film |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Cardinal Wolsey | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Game of Thrones | The High Sparrow | Main role, 12 episodes |
| 2016 | To Walk Invisible | Patrick Brontë | Television film |
| 2017 | Taboo | Sir Stuart Strange | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Imagine | Cary Grant (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Tales from the Loop | Russ | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Slow Horses | David Cartwright | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Documentary Now! | Owen Teale-Griffith | 1 episode |
| 2022–2023 | The Crown | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Main role (Seasons 5–6) |
| 2024 | 3 Body Problem | Mike Evans |
- Note The source for Pryce's television appearances comes from the British Film Institute.[71]
Theatre
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 | Field Marshall Robert Bingham | [53] |
Awards and honours
References
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonathan Pryce.
- Jonathan Pryce at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jonathan Pryce at IMDb
- Jonathan Pryce at AllMovie
- Jonathan Pryce – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, March 2006
- Jonathan Pryce interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 25 May 1990
