Joss Ackland

Posted on by Tony CrawleyCategories:Actors
  1. George Sanders, The Kremlin Letter, 1970.     The stage actor’s biggest break (director Fred Zinnemann’s version of Man’s Fate by André Malraux) was cancelled during rehearsals. John Huston asked him to be a transvestite CIAgent.  But producer  Cart DeHaven “insisted on a transatlantic name.”
  2. Nigel Davenport, Villain, 1971.    How to steal a choice role… Changing his clothes and hair-style, Ackland burst into producer Alan Ladd Jr’s London  office, hauled him out of his chair and made things quite plain as befitting an East End gangster. “If you don’t give me this bleedin’ part, I’ll break your bloody neck.”
  3. Lee Montague, The Legacy,1977.     Welsh director Richard Marquand’s list for the hotelier, Grandier,  were Joss Ackland, Peter Arne (also up for the immolated Liebnecht), Ian Bannen, John Carson Frank Finlay, Ian Hendry, Peter Jeffrey. Also in the literal horror was Who singer Roger Daltrey – his price for allowing his country house to be used for five murders.  Leading man Sam Elliott warned the Associated Press off the film: “It’s about 15 years behind its time.”
  4. George Baker, Doctor Who #111: Full Circle, TV, 1980.    The baker’s dozen actors up for Login were familiar names from 80s Whoverse casting register. Baker, Ackland, Brian Blessed, John Carson, James Ellis, Frank Finlay, Bernard Hepton, Donald Houston, Jeremy Kemp, William Lucas, Alfred Lynch, TP McKenna, Edward Woodward. Most of them stayed listed until they became available.
  5. John Carson, Doctor Who #124: Snakedance, TV, 1982.    Also up for the archaeologist Ambril opposite Doc5 Peter Davison on Manussa, were many of the usual ’80s crowd… Ackland, Geoffrey Bayldon, Frank Finlay, Richard Johnson, Dinsdale Landen, William Lucas, TP McKenna and Clifford Rose. Frank Windsor, Doctor Who #128: The King’s Demons, 1983. Producer John Nathan-Taylor’s usual suspects were flagpoled for Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam at the court of King John, circa 1215… Ackland, George Baker, Ian Bannen, Julian Glover, Michael Jayston, Peter Jeffrey, Dinsdale Landen, Alfred Lynch, TP McKenna, Clifford Rose, Peter Vaughan, Edward Woodward. Plus three Z Cars cops: booming Brian Blessed, Irish James Ellis and the quiet Windsor.
  6. Frank Windsor,Doctor Who#128:The King’s Demons, 1983. Producer John Nathan-Taylor’s usual suspects were flagpoled for Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam at the court of King John, circa 1215… Ackland, George Baker, Ian Bannen, Julian Glover, Michael Jayston, Peter Jeffrey, Dinsdale Landen, Alfred Lynch, TP McKenna, Clifford Rose, Peter Vaughan, Edward Woodward. Plus three Z Carscops: booming Brian Blessed, Irish James Ellis and the quiet Windsor.
  7. Glyn Houston, Doctor Who 131: The Awakening, TV, 1984.      A dozen of John Nathan-Taylor’s favourites were up for Colonel Ben Wolsey opposite Doc5 Peter Davison… Ackland, Houston, Terence Alexander, Michael Craig, James Ellis, Peter Gilmore, John Hallam, Jeremy Kemp, Conrad Phillips, Patrick Stewart, John Stratton, Peter Vaughan.
  8. John Normington, Doctor Who #135: The Caves of Androzani, TV, 1984.    Ackland, Patrick Allen, George Baker, Ian Bannen, Julian Glover, Martin Jarvis, Michael Jayston were on the Morgus wish list.
  9. Terence Alexander, Doctor Who #139: The Mark of the Rani, 1984.    Ackland, Harry Andrews, Bernard Archard, Robin Bailey, George Baker, Ian Bannen, Geoffrey Bayldon, John Carson, Peter Cushing, Allan Cuthbertson, Frank Finlay, Robert Flemyng, Michael Gough, Dinsdale Landen, TP McKenna, Donald Pickering, Peter Sallis, John Standing, Patrick Stewart, Peter Vaughan… and the Z Cars cops James Ellis and Jeremy Kemp – 23 contenders for Lord Ravenworth. Phew! Standing was the most suitable as he was the the fourth baronet in his family’s line
  10. John Stratton, Doctor Who #140: The Two Doctors, TV, 1985.    The two Time Lords were Doc2 Patrick Troughton and Doc 6, the short lived Colin Baker. Shockeyes were more plentiful. The 22 prospects were: Ackland, Stratton, George Baker, Ian Bannen, Brian Blessed, Denholm Elliott, James Ellis, Frank Finlay, Ronald Fraser, Michael Gothard, Don Henderson, Donald Houston, Freddie Jones, Jeremy Kemp, Roy Kinnear, Ronald Lacey, TP McKenna, Aubrey Morris, Donald Pleasence, Peter Sallis, George Sewell, Peter Vaughan.

  11. Laurence Payne,Doctor Who#140: The Two Doctors, TV, 1985.  Director Peter Moffatt shuffled another16 candidates for the dastardly Dastari, genetically experimenting on the Androgum race. Ackland, Bernard Archard, George Baker, James Bree, Michael Craig, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Neil Hallett, Bernard Hepton, Peter Jeffrey, Freddie Jones, Jeremy Kemp, Clifford Rose, Nigel Stock, John Woodnutt. The semi-retired Payne won! Klaus Maria Brandauer.  Out of Africa, 1985.     As  he was offered the film, the BBC asked him to be CS Lewis in Shadowlands – “a great part in a little jewel and one of the most successful TV films ever.”
  12. William Gaunt, Doctor Who #142: Revelation of the Daleks, TV, 1985.    For the second time, 25 actors were up for a single rôle… in a Doctor flaming Who. Preposterous! An unlikely choice for a mercenary, Gaunt was selected late in the game after an exhausting Orcini search through Ackland, Ray Brooks, James Ellis, John Fraser, Peter Gilmore, Denis Lill, Philip Madoc, Peter Vaughan… Plus survivors of the astonishing army of 203 candidates for just 18 roles in Lifeforce the year before: Tom Adams, George Baker, John Carson, Frank Finlay, Julian Glover, Michael Gothard, Del Henney, Peter Jeffrey, TP McKenna, Patrick Mower, Clifford Rose, Patrick Stewart, Nigel Stock, Anthony Valentine, David Warner and Frank Windsor.
  13. Klaus Maria Brandauer.  Out of Africa,1985.      As he was offered the film, the BBC asked him to be CS Lewis in Shadowlands  – “a great part in a little jewel and one of the most successful TV films ever.” 
  14. George Sewell, Doctor Who #148: Remembrance of the Daleks, TV, 1988. Aunty searched for fascist leader Ratcliffe among Ackland, Kenneth Cope, Peter Gilmore, Bernard Hill, Glyn Houston, Stratford Johns… and survivors of that 1984 Lifeforce army: George Baker, Keith Barron, Steven Berkoff, John Carson, Kenneth Colley, Del Henney, Ronald Lacey, TP McKenna, David Warner, Frank Windsor.
  15. James Ellis, Doctor Who #152: Battlefield, 1989. Also short-listed for Peter Warmsly opposite Doc7 Sylvester McCoy in the final episode of Nicholas Courtney’s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart were Ackland, George Baker, Geoffrey Bayldon, John Carson, Kenneth Colley, Freddie Jones, Ronald Lacey and David Warner. But producer John Nathan-Taylor had been determined to land the Irish Ellis since the 1980 start of his here ending tenure. The scanadalous JNT never won over Ackland. Far too busy with almost 200 screen credits since 1949.
  16. Richard E Grant, Hudson Hawk, 1990.  Being #1, the star (the world’s greatest cat burglar), producer and the writer of the (alleged) comedy caper, Bruce Willis suddenly changed his two male villains into a  married couple, Darwin and Minerva Mayflower by any other name would be as awful – aka Richard E Grant and Sandra Bernhard, friends to this (2021) day. The fans say the ginormous flop was way ahead of its time. The rest of us agreed with the summation of Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers.  Hudson Duck!

 

 Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls:  16