- Derek Fowlds, co-star from Yes Minister (1980), said of him; "together, with Paul Eddington, the 3 of us were together for 7, 8 years. We were really good mates. We had many happy hours doing those shows ... they were very special times".
- He lived quietly in a 15th-century manor house
- Was supposedly considered early on for the role of Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
- 2001 - Battled a recurrence of pancreatic cancer which was thought in remission after surgical therapy.
- He didn't get on well with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes during the making of Demolition Man (1993).
- Although he played Maggie Smith's son in Richard III (1995), he was more than five years her senior in real life.
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1987 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.
- He did a small uncredited cameo in the Crimson Insurance short film by Terry Gilliam that is part of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) - he is the man that is walking by the building when the anchors are raised.
- Was originally cast as 'Sir William Gull' in From Hell (2001) but, when his cancer prevented him from working in the film, was replaced by Ian Holm.
- Educated by the Christian brothers in South Africa.
- One of his last major projects was the Anglo-Japanese stage adaptation of "King Lear" in Japan.
- Survived by his partner, writer Trevor Bentham.
- His performance in "Shadowlands" on Broadway won him the 1991 Tony and New York Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor for his performance.
- Generally regarded as the first openly gay actor to be nominated for an Academy Award (for the 1994 film, The Madness of King George).
- He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1999 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama.
- Was added the 1992 Laurence Olivier theatre award (1991 season) for best actor for his performance in "The Madness of George III" at the Royal National Theatre. For his performance in its film adaptation The Madness of King George (1994), he was nominated for Oscar of best actor.
- He was awarded the 1991 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "The Madness of King George III".
- Among the actors offered the part of 'Captain Striker' (played by 'Keith Barron') in Doctor Who (1963): Enlightenment.
- His father was a doctor.
- Family moved to South Africa when he was 3.
- Has played a former King of England (George III in The Madness of King George (1994) ) and a former President of the United States (Martin Van Buren in Amistad (1997) ).
- He was awarded the 1992 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "The Madness of George III".
- Won Broadway's 1991 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Shadowlands".
- Has received numerous awards including: Clarence Derwent and SWET Awards for "Privates on Parade" - and the 'Broadcasting Press Guild' Award, plus two BAFTA Awards (1981) and (1982), for his role as "Sir Humphrey Appleby" in Yes Minister (1980).
- Is one of 13 actors who have received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a real-life king. The others in chronological order are Charles Laughton for The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Robert Morley for Marie Antoinette (1938), Basil Rathbone for If I Were King (1938), Laurence Olivier for Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955), José Ferrer for Joan of Arc (1948), Yul Brynner for The King and I (1956), John Gielgud for Becket (1964), Peter O'Toole for Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Robert Shaw for A Man for All Seasons (1966), Richard Burton for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Kenneth Branagh for Henry V (1989), and Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010).
- Honorary Patron of independent film production company, Incognita Enterprises.
- He was considered for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada, Sir Percy Heseltine, Dr. Bukovsky and Dr. Armstrong in Lifeforce (1985).
- In London understudied Leslie Phillips for 19 months but never made to the stage for even one performance so returned to South Africa then in 1963 came back to Britain.
- His Oscar winning performance in The Madness of King George turned him into an International star.
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