Peter Vaughan

Birthday: 4 April 1923, Wem, Shropshire, England, UK

Birth Name: Peter Ewart Ohm

Height: 183 cm

A true character actor in the best sense of the word, offbeat British thespian Peter Vaughan's hefty frame could appear intimidating or marshmallow benevolent; his beady, hollow eyes menacing or tender; his mere presence menacing or avuncular. Adept at playing both sides of the law, his characters usually possessed a strange, somewhat wary countenance that seemed to keep his audience slightly off balance. A homely sort with a bloated face, jutting chin, sliver lips and pronounced nose, this veteran has been a stalwart presence for nearly fifty years. Born Peter Ohm in 1923, he began on the stage and didn't enter films until 1959, well into his thirties.Married in 1952 to rising actress Billie Whitelaw, Peter was primarily in the background at first, offering a cheapjack gallery of thugs, unsmiling cops, and foreign agents in movies. An easily unsympathetic bloke, he played unbilled policemen in his first two films, then slowly gravitated up the credits list. He appeared as the chief of police in the spy drama The Devil's Agent (1962), which also featured his wife, and then gained a bit more attention in a prime part as an offbeat insurance investigator in the B movie Smokescreen (1964), a role that propelled him into the higher ranks. Noticeably shady roles came with playing Tallulah Bankhead's seedy handyman who meets a fatal end in the Gothic horror Fanatic (1965) [aka Die! Die! My Darling!]; his villainous roles in the spy thrillers The Naked Runner (1967) opposite Frank Sinatra and The Man Outside (1967); a German thug in A Twist of Sand (1968); and Sgt. Walker in The Bofors Gun (1968).Divorced from Whitelaw in 1966, he later married actress Lillias Walker, who had roles in a couple of his pictures: Malachi's Cove (1973) and Intimate Reflections (1974). TV became a large source of income for Vaughan in the 1970s, particularly in his role of Grouty in Porridge (1974) on both the large and small screen, and his quirky demeanor fitted like a glove for bizarre director Terry Gilliam, who cast him as the Ogre in Time Bandits (1981) and then as Mr. Helpman in Brazil (1985). For the past few decades he has maintained a healthy balance between film (including standout roles in Zulu Dawn (1979), The Remains of the Day (1993) and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)) and TV mini-movies, both contemporary and period. He was still performing into his 90s: his final role was Maester Aemon Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones (2011). Hide

Luckily I'm not beautiful - otherwise I might have starved. Luckily I'm not beautiful - otherwise I might have starved.

(On Porridge (1974)) "I still get people saying 'Let you out, have they, Grouty?" (On Porridge (1974)) "I still get people saying 'Let you out, have they, Grouty?"

(On Porridge (1974)) "I was in just three episodes and, of course, the feature film, so I have to th Show more (On Porridge (1974)) "I was in just three episodes and, of course, the feature film, so I have to thank the writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais for the fact I'm one of the characters people always remember when they talk about Porridge (1974) because Grouty is so prominent - even though I'm not there. Everybody's frightened to death of him, so they talked about him a lot and so it was a huge character but I didn't have to be there. I more or less accidentally turned up in something special." Hide

If you're a character actor, you don't need to wait for the next leading role. But if you are a lead Show more If you're a character actor, you don't need to wait for the next leading role. But if you are a leading man you have to wait for the next part. Sometimes that means long periods without work. Hide

Obviously one's experiences inform one's acting. I think the more experience you have of life, the b Show more Obviously one's experiences inform one's acting. I think the more experience you have of life, the better it is for an actor. In terms of the parts I played, I think my face had more to do with it. Clearly I wasn't ever going to play romantic leads. Hide

There are at least two Peters. One is shy and reticent, the other is the wild Peter - with a great s Show more There are at least two Peters. One is shy and reticent, the other is the wild Peter - with a great sense of humour. Hide

(On Game of Thrones (2011)) "You never know who's going to have their head chopped off next! As far Show more (On Game of Thrones (2011)) "You never know who's going to have their head chopped off next! As far as anything as complex as that goes, if you're playing a part in it, the best thing to do is to concentrate on your own aspect of it, which for me was as Custodian of the Wall. So I really concentrated on all that and kept away from some of the other storylines - if you tried to keep abreast of everything that's going on, you'd drive yourself mad and not be quite so effective in your own performance. In my case, anyway, that's the way I've always worked." Hide

(On Frank Sinatra) "The great thing about Frank was that you had to stand up to him very quickly. If Show more (On Frank Sinatra) "The great thing about Frank was that you had to stand up to him very quickly. If you did that, he respected you, otherwise he'd walk all over you," Hide

I have always approached every part I have done as if it will be my last, and that it's the one I wi Show more I have always approached every part I have done as if it will be my last, and that it's the one I will be judged by. Hide

Peter Vaughan's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (159)

In Deep - Season 1

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

Coronation Street - Season 1

Lark Rise to Candleford - Season 4

Heartbeat - Season 2

Porridge No Way Out

Rab C. Nesbitt - Season 3

The Sweeney - Season 2

Game Of Thrones - Season 8

The Secret Agent