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Discover more about the stars of BBC Drama. |
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 Peter Firth
Peter has been appearing on stage and screen since he was a child. He went on to earn much acclaim for his role in both the play and film versions of Equus. His career took off and he went on to appear in many films and TV programmes before taking the role of Harry in Spooks.
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One of Peter's earliest roles was as Scooper in Here Come The Double Deckers*, a hit children's programme. The series featured a gang of kids who had a headquarters on a double-decker bus and got themselves into many japes along with their street-sweeper friend, Albert (Melvyn Hayes*).
He went on to work extensively on British television, including taking the lead role in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's famous book, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Peter's big break came when he took the starring role of Alan Strang in the Peter Schaffer* play Equus*. The play was a huge success both in London and on Broadway. When it was turned into a film, Peter again took the lead role and won a Golden Globe* award. He went on to take the role of Mozart in another Peter Shaffer play, Amadeus*, starring opposite Sir Ian McKellen* who played Salieri. The play was adapted into a Oscar-winning film starring Tom Hulce*.
After Equus his career really took off. Among many other roles, he appeared as Angel Clare in the Roman Polanski film Tess* and as a time-travelling hero in cult hit Dominick Hide. He took another dashing hero role, playing Henry Tilney in Jane Austen adaptation Northanger Abbey*.
Peter continued to land starring roles on the big screen. He starred as a Russian sailor in Letter to Brezhnev, and played a Russian again in submarine movie The Hunt for Red October, starring alongside many big-name actors such as Sean Connery*, Alec Baldwin* and Sam Neill. He also took character roles in very British films such as Shadowlands* with Anthony Hopkins*, An Awfully Big Adventure* with Hugh Grant* and Alan Rickman*, and provided the voice for an animated mouse in The Rescuers Down Under*.
Alongside his roles in blockbuster movies, Peter made a return to the small screen, taking a lead role in ITV drama Heartbeat*. He went on to play Sir Fred Hoyle in the acclaimed drama, Hawking, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. But he is probably now best known as Harry Pearce, head of the counter-terrorism department, in MI5 spy drama Spooks.
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| Did you know? |
Peter grew up in Bradford where his parents owned a pub.
He was nominated for a Tony award when he played Alan Strang in Equus on Broadway. When he recreated the role on film, he was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe.
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| Personal Details |
Peter was born on October 27th, 1953.
He is married with four children.
* The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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