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Peter Firth

Peter Firth is perhaps best known for his film and stage portrayal of Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer's Equus, a role which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, an Academy Award® nomination, a Tony Award nomination, the Theatre World Award and the Plays and Players Award for Best Young Actor.

Raised in Yorkshire, England, Firth took weekend classes at the Bradford Playhouse near his Pudsey home and by his mid-teens was playing in Camelot at the Bradford Alhambra. He made his film debut at the age of 18 in Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon.

Firth's other film credits include Aces High, Tony Richardson's Joseph Andrews, Milton Katselas' When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder, Roman Polanski's Tess, Chris Bernard's Letter to Brezhnev, John McTiernan's The Hunt for Red October, Richard Attenborough's Shadowlands, Mike Newell's An Awfully Big Adventure, Steven Spielberg's Amistad and Ron Underwood's Mighty Joe Young.

Besides countless British television performances for the BBC and Granada TV, Firth has appeared on stage in numerous productions including Bill Bryden's productions of Romeo and Juliet and Spring Awakening (both at the National Theatre) and Peter Hall's mounting of Amadeus on Broadway.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2000.

Peter Firth Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayOctober 27, 1953 (70)
SignScorpio
BirthplaceBradford, England, United Kingdom
Awards1978 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (for Equus)

Selected Filmography

Conspiracy (2001)
Interview with a Serial Killer (2001) as Leslie Steckler
Pearl Harbor (2001) as Captain Mervyn Bennion
Amistad (1997) as Captain Fitzgerald
An Awfully Big Adventure (1994) as Bunny
Shadowlands (1993) as Dr. Craig
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
Northanger Abbey (1986) tv-movie as Mr. Tilney
A Letter to Brezhnev (1985) as Peter
Tess (1979) as Angel Clare
Equus (1977) user recommendation as Alan Strang (breakthrough)
Joseph Andrews (1977) as Joseph Andrews
Aces High (1976) as Lieutenant Stephen Croft
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