Malcolm Sinclair

Malcolm Sinclair
Sinclair in 2011
Born	5 June 1950 United Kingdom
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984–present

Malcolm Sinclair (born 5 June 1950) is an English stage and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Assistant Chief Constable Freddy Fisher in the television series Pie in the Sky (1994–1997), although he has an extensive number of film, television and theatre roles to his credit. His brother is Keith Sinclair, the Bishop of Birkenhead.^[1]

Career

A former student of the University of Hull and Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, Sinclair has performed with theatre companies such as the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. He has performed widely, both in Britain and internationally, in roles that have included Shakespeare (Hamlet, Malvolio), Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Ibsen and Noël Coward. In 2001 he won the Clarence Derwent Award for his role as Gavin Ryng-Maine in the Royal National Theatre's production of House/Garden. He was also nominated for an Olivier Award as best supporting actor for his performance as Major Miles Flack in Privates on Parade. Recently he has performed in a number of BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the Agatha Raisin book series alongside Penelope Keith. Penelope Keith stars as Agatha, while Malcolm Sinclair portrays her neighbour James Lacey, who is also an object of Agatha's affection.

Selected credits

Television credits include:

• Salting the Battlefield (2014)
• Foyle's War (2008)
• Midsomer Murders – in 'Shot at Dawn' as Johnny Hammond (2007)
• Falling – as Anthony (2005)
• Rosemary & Thyme – in 'They Understand Me in Paris' as Quentin Glazer (2004)
• Murder Rooms – in 'The Patient's Eyes' as Blythe (2001)
• Victoria & Albert – as 'Lord Conyngham (2001)
• A&E – as Clive Thornton (2001)
• Anna Karenina as Prince Shcherbatsky (2000)
• Midsomer Murders – in 'Beyond the Grave' as Alan Bradford (2000)
• The Bill – in 'Tinderbox' as Geoffrey Levinson (1999)
• Kavanagh QC – in 'The More Loving One' as Giles Luckhurst (1999)
• Casualty – in 'Toys and Boys' as Mike Price (1998)
• Pie in the Sky – as ACC Freddy Fisher (1994–1997)
• A Touch of Frost – in 'Quarry' as Chief Constable (1995)
• The Scarlet and the Black – as Abbé Castanede (1993)
• Agatha Christie's Poirot – in 'The Mystery of the Spanish Chest' as Edward Clayton (1991)
• Hancock as John Le Mesurier (1991)
• Rumpole of the Bailey – in 'Rumpole and the Age of Miracles' as Peter Lambert (1988)
• The Prisoner of Zenda – as Rudolf Rassendyll / King Rudolf V (1984)

Film credits include:

• Casino Royale as Dryden (2006)
• V for Vendetta as Major Wilson (2005)
• Secret Passage (2004)
• The Statement as the Cardinal of Lyon (2003)
• The Young Poisoner's Handbook as Dr. Triefus (1995)
• Success Is the Best Revenge (1984)

Radio credits include:

• Mr Bridger's Orphan as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 15 March 2013)^[2]
• Our Man in Jamaica as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 2007)
• Death at the Desert Inn as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 11 December 2004)^[3]
• A Bullet at Balmain's as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 8 November 2003)^[4]
• Blithe Spy as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 2002)
• Design for Murder as Noël Coward (BBC Radio 4 8 January 2000)
• By Jeeves as Jeeves (BBC Radio 2 November 1996)^[5][6]

Stage credits include:

• Pressure as Dwight D Eisenhower (Royal Lyceum Theatre / Chichester Festival Theatre)
• Rattigan's Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre)
• Racing Demon as Lionel Espy (Crucible Theatre)
• The Habit of Art as Henry/Benjamin Britten (National Theatre)
• The Power of Yes as Scholes (National Theatre)
• Ivanov as Shabelsky (Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre)
• Rosmersholm as Dr Kroll (Almeida Theatre)
• Dealer's Choice, as Stephen (Trafalgar Studios)
• The History Boys as the Headmaster (National Theatre and Broadway)
• Uncle Vanya as Serebryakov (Royal Shakespeare Company at the Young Vic)
• House/Garden as Gavin Ryng-Maine (Royal National Theatre) for which he won a Clarence Derwent Award in 2001
• My Fair Lady as Col Pickering (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane)
• Privates on Parade as 'Major Miles Flack' (Donmar Warehouse), for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award
• By Jeeves as Jeeves (Duke of York's Theatre)
• Heartbreak House as Mazzini Dunn (Almeida Theatre)
• Hay Fever as Richard Greatham (Tour and Savoy Theatre)
• Der Freischütz as Narrator (Barbican Concert Hall, London)^[7]

Equity

In July 2010 Sinclair was elected president of Equity, the actors' and performance professionals' trade union.^[8]

Act for Change Project

In January 2014, after responding to a trailer for a new season of TV drama which failed to include a single BAME artist, the actor Danny Lee Wynter brought together a group of friends and colleagues, Ruth Wilson, Stephanie Street, Daniel Evans, Andy Pryor, Malcolm Sinclair, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ony Uhiara, and Matthew Xia, to find a way to inspire change in TV drama. Together they wanted to send out the message that TV drama must reflect everyone regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation or disability. What started as a small handful of voices soon became the Act for Change project.^[9]

References

1. "Actor's long association with playwright". Sheffield Telegraph. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
2. BBC – Afternoon Play – Mr Bridger's Orphan
3. BBC – The Saturday Play – Death at the Desert Inn
4. BBC – A Bullet at Balmain's
5. By Jeeves: The Songs – BBC Radio Adaptation, Alan Ayckbourn
6. CastAlbums » By Jeeves » BBC Radio 2 Cast
7. Shirley, Hugo (20 April 2012). "Der Freischütz, LSO, Barbican". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 20 April 2012.
8. Hemley, Matthew (15 July 2010). "Malcolm Sinclair becomes Equity president". The Stage (London). Retrieved 15 July 2010.
9. http://www.act-for-change.com/

External links

• Malcolm Sinclair at the Internet Movie Database
• Malcolm Sinclair Homepage
• The History Boys on Broadway