- Has five daughters (Melanie Ackland, Antonia Ackland, Penelope Ackland, Samantha Ackland and Kirsty Ackland) and one son (Toby Ackland). His eldest son, Paul Ackland, worked as a builder and passed away from a heroin overdose (1982).
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2001 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama.
- He has two roles in common with Michael York: (1) Ackland played d'Artagnan in The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967) while York played him in The Three Musketeers (1973) (in which Ackland played his father), The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), The Return of the Musketeers (1989) and La Femme Musketeer (2004) and (2) Ackland played King Arthur in A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) while York played him in A Knight in Camelot (1998).
- On the "BBC Desert Island Discs" radio program broadcast in August 2001, Ackland picked the music he would want with him if he was stranded on a desert island. His picks were, in apparently ascending order: - 1. Ralph Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending", Nigel Kennedy with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle - 2. "Bailero" from "Songs of the Auvergne", Victoria de los Angeles with Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux conducted by Jean-Pierre Jacquillat - 3. "Moon River" sung by Audrey Hepburn - 4. Stephen Sondheim's "Children Will Listen" from "Into the Woods", performed by Bernadette Peters - 5. Nina Simone's cover of "Mr. Bojangles" - 6. Sondheim's "Losing My Mind", sung by Barbara Cook - 7. Jean Sibelius' "Violin Concerto", Ivry Gitlis with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jascha Horenstein - 8. Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt's "My Cup Runneth Over", performed by Mary Martin and Robert Preston. Ackland said that if he was limited to just one record, it would be No. 8, "My Cup Runneth Over". For books, in addition to the Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare, he would want Samuel Pepys' Diary. His luxury would be a huge jar of licorice.
- In 1963, his wife Rosemary broke her back while jumping from a window after rescuing their five children from a house fire. She was pregnant at the time and was told that she would miscarry and that she would never walk again. However she later gave birth to a daughter, and after 18 months in the spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, was able to walk out of the hospital, the first person to do so after suffering such a serious injury.
- He performed (with Denholm Elliott) the first gay kiss seen on a West End stage in John Mortimer's play "Bermondsey" (1971).
- He played d'Artagnan in The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967) and his father in The Three Musketeers (1973).
- Joss Ackland has made two appearances in two filmed John le Carré adaptations. The first was in an episode of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) [See: Smiley Sets a Trap (1979)] and the second and final appearance was in the telemovie A Murder of Quality (1991). Ackland appeared in each type of television adaptation of a John le Carré novel, both a telemovie and a miniseries. The two television productions were made and first broadcast around a dozen years apart.
- He studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.
- He is the grandfather-in-law of Shaun Dooley and Polly Dooley.
- Has an entry in "Dictionnaire du Cinéma/Les Acteurs" by Jean Tulard, published in Paris, France (2007) (page 11).
- He dubbed the voice of Chaerea (Paolo Bonacelli) in the English language version of Tinto Brass' infamous epic Caligula (1979).
- He was considered for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada, Dr. Bukovsky, Sir Percy Heseltine and the Fatherly Guard in Lifeforce (1985). The roles eventually went to Frank Finlay, Michael Gothard, Aubrey Morris and Patrick Connor respectively.
- In September 2013, Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Old Vic in London. Ackland played Lear.
- In 2020, Ackland participated in the "Letters Live" project, and was recorded from his home in Clovelly, Devon. His letter reflected on the COVID-19 crisis and his hopes for how the country could draw "strength from adversity".
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