Ronald Pickup

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.

Known For

Monsieur Moitessier

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea

Hontar

The Mission

Aslan (voice)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Alan Coleman

Bethune: The Making of a Hero

King Sharaman

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Aslan (voice)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair

Tobias

Dark Floors

Don Massaredo

Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil

Felix D'Arcy

A Murder of Quality

Aron Richter

Evilenko

Prince John

Ivanhoe

Jeffrey Utterson, Esquire

Jekyll & Hyde

Captain Lancaster

Danny the Champion of the World

Norman Cousins

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Giulio Ricordi

Puccini

The Gambler

Schadenfreude

Bearded Man

A Little Place Off the Edgware Road

Percy Stone

Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis

Igor Stravinsky

Nijinsky

Himself

Theatreland

Mr. Wilson

Joseph Andrews

Morris

In The Cold Light Of Day

Damian Self

End of Term

Henry IV

Henry IV

Edmund Tyrone

Long Day's Journey Into Night

Lord Randolph Churchill

Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill

The Golden Years

Jan Tyranowski

Pope John Paul II

Elliott

Never Say Never Again

Don Pedro

Much Ado About Nothing

...but the clouds...

Dr. Malcolm Handey

Supernova

Edgar

King Lear

Jean

Camille

All Good Men

Norman Cousins

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Philip

The Philanthropist

Da Monte

Secret Passage

Lt. Harford

Zulu Dawn

Howard Joyce

The Letter

Aslan (voice)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

Diodotus

The War That Never Ends

Siegfried Shrager

Absolute Hell

Young Humbert's Father

Lolita

William McDowell

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Bentham

Die Habenichtse

Giuseppe Verdi

Verdi

Wynne-Evans

The Fourth Protocol

Mercutio

Romeo and Juliet

Richard Browning

Message for Posterity

Jocelyn Fry

Milner

Monsieur Moitessier

A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper

Professor Sir Roy Meadow

Cherished

Frank

The Time of Their Lives

Spiro

Eleni

Louw

A Dry White Season

Neville Chamberlain

Darkest Hour

Nick

Mahler

Marshall Tukhachevsky

Testimony

The Forger

The Day of the Jackal

Cecil Johnson

The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby

Udo

Stealing Silver

Dr. Bartnik

Der Blinde

Brian Silcott

A Very Open Prison

Bayliss

The Thirty Nine Steps

Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

Henry VIII

Capt. Crawford

Journey of Honor

Sir Walter Raleigh

My Friend Walter

Judge

The Happy Prince

Narrator

Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told

Physician

Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror

Baron Tusenbach

Three Sisters

George Orwell

The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura

Dr. Maclaren

Breathtaking

James Tripp

Ladies' Night

Barrymore

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Ghost Trio

Ian

For Tea on Sunday

Norman Reynolds

In England's Green and Pleasant Land

Professor Quentin Tapscott

Benefit to Mankind