Oliver Reed
Biography
Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his notable films include The Trap (1966), playing Bill Sikes in the 1968 Best Picture Oscar winner Oliver! (a film directed by his uncle Carol Reed), Women in Love (1969), Hannibal Brooks (1969), The Devils (1971), portraying Athos in The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974); the lover and stepfather in Tommy (1975), Funny Bones (1995) and Gladiator (2000). For playing Antonius Proximo, the old, gruff gladiator trainer in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, in what was his final film, Reed was posthumously nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2000. At the peak of his career, in 1971, British exhibitors voted Reed fifth most popular star at the box office. The British Film Institute (BFI) stated that "partnerships with Michael Winner and Ken Russell in the mid-60s saw Reed become an emblematic Brit-flick icon", but from the mid-1970s his alcoholism began affecting his career, with the BFI adding "Reed had assumed Robert Newton's mantle as Britain's thirstiest thespian".
Known For
Proximo
Gladiator
Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
Eddie Mars
The Big Sleep
Athos
The Three Musketeers
Vito Cipriani
Revolver
Hugh Lombard
And Then There Were None
The General
The Misfit Brigade
Miles Hendon
The Prince and the Pauper
Michael Caldwell
La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil
Frank
Tommy
Dave Averconnelly
Venom
Father Urbain Grandier
The Devils
Athos
The Four Musketeers
General Safan
Jeremiah
Beasley
Two of a Kind
Brooks
Hannibal Brooks
Billy Bones
Treasure Island
Gen. Rodolfo Graziani
Lion of the Desert
Ben Rolf
Burnt Offerings
Dolly Hopkins
Funny Bones
Dr. Hal Raglan
The Brood
Vulcan
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Moise
The Party's Over
Simon Ashby
Paranoiac
Athos
The Return of the Musketeers
Lonnegan
The Sting II
Plaid Shirt
Beat Girl
Arthur, the Sergeant
The Triple Echo
Frank Calder
The Hunting Party
Gerald Crich
Women in Love
Bill Sikes
Oliver!
Roderick Usher
The House of Usher
Jim Wilson
Tomorrow Never Comes
Princess Carolyn's Servant
Lisztomania
Cardinal
The Pit and the Pendulum
Krokov
Condorman
Joe Knox
The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday
Harry Cobtree
Captain Clegg
Russ
Z.P.G.
Captain Simpson
Skeleton Coast
Ivan Dragomiloff
The Assassination Bureau
King
The Damned
La Bete
The Trap
Gerald Kingsland
Castaway
Harry Lomart
Sitting Target
Otto von Bismarck
Royal Flash
Captain Sylvester
The Scarlet Blade
Ali Kahn
The Brigand of Kandahar
General Belmondo
Captive Rage
Mick
The Angry Silence
Dr. Henry Heckyl/Mr. Hype
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
Ethan
The Shuttered Room
Pirate Brocaire
The Pirates of Blood River
Captain Cornelius Donovan
The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo
Edward Widdlecome
Fanny Hill
Michael Bartos
Hired to Kill
Sarm
Gor
Sir Phillip Gage
The Lady and the Highwayman
The Rajah
A Ghost in Monte Carlo
Jason Kincaid
Spasms
Self (archive footage)
The Real Oliver Reed
Self
US Against the World
Self (archive footage)
Hellraisers
Gabriel Lee
The Sell Out
(uncredited)
The Square Peg
Jack Fisher
The Revenger
David Tremayne
The Jokers
Lord Melton (uncredited)
Sword of Sherwood Forest
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante's Inferno
Andrew Quint
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Tinker
The System
Patrick Standish
Take a Girl Like You
Terence Sutton
The Class Of Miss MacMichael
Gen. de Boisdeffre
Prisoner of Honor
Narrator
Orpheus & Eurydice
Captain Shanks
Dragonard
Gregory Le Vay
Captive
Tom the butler
Blue Blood
Professor Norbert Marcus
Die Tunnelgangster von Berlin
Nick McCormick
Ransom
Oliver Borlinski
His and Hers
Matthias
Luise knackt den Jackpot
General Turner
Rage to Kill
Narrator
The World of Hammer: Lands Before Time
Bishop Wisharton
The Bruce
Sir Brackley
Black Arrow
Fabrizo
Mordi e fuggi
Palizyn
One Russian Summer
Claude Debussy
The Debussy Film
Self
Director of Devils
Captain Shanks
Master of Dragonard Hill
Dr. Hans Vaughan
Severed Ties
A Touch of the Sun
Colonel Leachman
المسألة الكبرى
Ian Ballinger
Blind Justice
Narrator (voice)
The World of Hammer: Wicked Women
Narrator (voice)
The World of Hammer: Vamp
Jamie Campbell-Stewart
Parting Shots
Teddy Boy in Cinema Fight (uncredited)
The Bulldog Breed
General Turner (archive footage) (uncredited)
That's Action
Narrator (voice)
Always on Sunday
Russian Roulette - Moscow 95
Generale
Panama Sugar
The Devils Original on-set footage
Train Conductor
Mahler
Artist in Cafe
The Rebel
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
The League of Gentlemen
Train Passenger (uncredited)
Upstairs and Downstairs
Suntanning Passenger (uncredited)
The Captain's Table
Spectator at Sideshow (uncredited)
Life Is a Circus
Photographer (uncredited)
Hello London
Extra (uncredited)
Value for Money
Self
Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator'
narrator
The World of Hammer: Chiller
Self (archive footage)
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Narrator
The World of Hammer: Trials of War
L'esattore (parodia de "Il gladiatore")
Self
The Best of Max Headroom
Leon Corledo
The Curse of the Werewolf
Man with Bucket on His Head (uncredited)
No Love for Johnnie
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
120
Gender
Male
Birthday
1938-02-13
Place of Birth
Wimbledon, London, England, UK
Also Known As
Robert Oliver Reed