Jonathan Pryce

 ( 1947 Births ) 

After leaving Everyman, Pryce joined Sir Richard Eyre at the Nottingham Playhouse and starred in Trevor Griffiths' play Comedians, in a role specially written for him. The production moved to the Old Vic Theatre in London. Pryce reprised the role on Broadway in 1976, this time directed by Mike Nichols, and for which Pryce won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. It was around this time that he appeared in his first film role, playing the character Joseph Manasse in the drama Voyage of the Damned, starring Faye Dunaway. He did not, however, abandon the stage, appearing from 1978 to 1979 in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio, and Antony and Cleopatra as Augustus. The RSC Shakespeare – Plot summaries, The Taming of the Shrew . Retrieved 18 June 2008. The RSC Shakespeare – Plot summaries, Antony and Cleopatra . Retrieved 18 June 2008.

In 1980, his performance in the Prince Hamlet of Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre won him an Olivier Award, and was acclaimed by some critics as the definitive Hamlet of his generation." Performance history of Hamlet ". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 6 November 2007" Laurence Olivier Awards: Past winners ". The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 6 November 2007. That year, Pryce had a small but pivotal role as Zarniwoop in the 12th episode of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, one that he reprised for the Quintessential Phase which was broadcast in 2005. In his original role as Zarniwoop, Pryce's character questions the "ruler of the Universe", a solipsism who has been chosen to rule arguably because of either his inherent manipulability, or immunity therefrom, on his philosophical opinions. Around the same time, in 1980, he also appeared in the film Breaking Glass. In 1983, Pryce played the role of the sinister Mr Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes, based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same title. Afterward, he began appearing mostly in films, such as the Ian McEwan-scripted The Ploughman's Lunch, and Martin Luther, Heretic (both also 1983).

He successfully returned to the stage originating the role of The Engineer, a Eurasian pimp, in the West End musical Miss Saigon. His performance was praised in England where he won the Olivier and Variety Club awards," Jonathan Pryce Biography ". Allocine.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2007.O'Keefe, Robert (20 September 1999). " Miss Saigon 10th Anniversary show 1990 Review". London Theatre Guide Online. Retrieved 26 November 2007. but when the production transferred to Broadway the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) tried to stop Pryce from portraying The Engineer because, according to their executive secretary, "the casting of a Caucasian race actor made up to appear Asian is an affront to the Asian community."Rothstein, Mervyn (8 August 1990). "Union Bars White in Asian Role; Broadway May Lose 'Miss Saigon'". The New York Times. The London production featured Pryce in yellowface, wearing prosthetics to alter the shape of his eyes and makeup to alter the colour of his skin. The show's producer, Cameron Mackintosh, decided to cancel the $10 million New York production.Rich, Frank (10 August), 1990). " Jonathan Pryce, 'Miss Saigon' and Equity's Decision (page 3)". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. Realising that its decision would result in the loss of many jobs, and after Pryce received much support from fellow actors (both Charlton Heston and John Malkovich threatened to leave the union if Pryce was not allowed to perform) the AEA decided to make a deal with Mackintosh, allowing Pryce to appear in the production. He won a Tony Award for his performance in 1991.. Retrieved 6 November 2007.Rothstein, Mervyn (19 September 1990). " Dispute Settled, 'Miss Saigon' Is Broadway Bound". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. The controversy over Pryce's casting in Miss Saigon provided playwright David Henry Hwang the inspiration for his plays Face Value and Yellow Face.

Made in the same period, Pryce starred in the ITV mini-series Selling Hitler (1991) as Gerd Heidemann. Pryce returned to the London stage the following year to star for one night only at the Royal Festival Hall for an AIDS charity alongside Elaine Paige and Lilliane Montivecchi in the 1992 revival of the Federico Fellini-inspired musical Nine. He appeared in the film Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), an adaptation of the David Mamet play. Pryce featured, alongside Kathy Burke and Minnie Driver, in the BBC serial Mr. Wroe's Virgins (1993), directed by Danny Boyle. Pryce played Henry Kravis in the HBO produced Television movie Barbarians at the Gate (1993). He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and for a Golden Globe Award for his role. Also during 1993, Pryce appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence, and starred alongside River Phoenix and Judy Davis in the unfinished film Dark Blood, but production had to be shut down when, 11 days short of completion, Phoenix died from a drug overdose." Dark Blood ". RiverPhoenix.org. Retrieved 6 November 2007. Director George Sluizer, who owns the rights to what has been filmed, has made available some of the raw material, which features Pryce and Phoenix on a field in Utah, on his personal website." Videos". George Sluizer's official website. Retrieved 19 November 2007. Between 1993 and 1997, Pryce, on a multimillion-dollar contract became the spokesman for the Infiniti automobile marque in a series of American television commercials, in particular for the Infiniti J30 and Infiniti Q45. In one of these advertisements Pryce appeared alongside jazz singer Nancy Wilson in a Prague nightclub.Meredith, Robyn (13 June 1996). " The Media Business: Advertising;Infiniti chooses artsy ads with musings about the meaning of life to sell its luxury cars.". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2007. In 1994, Pryce portrayed Fagin in a revival of the musical Oliver!,Jones, Kenneth (10 March 2006). " Playbill.com's Brief Encounter with Jonathan Pryce ". Playbill. Retrieved 9 December 2007. and starred alongside Emma Thompson in the film Carrington (1995), which centres on a platonic love relationship between gay writer Lytton Strachey and painter Dora Carrington. For his portrayal of Strachey, Pryce received the Best Actor Award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. His film roles during this time included Evita (1996) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

During the early 2000s Pryce starred and participated in a variety of movies, such as The Affair of the Necklace (2001), and Unconditional Love (2002). While the success of some of these films was variable, the 2001 London stage production of My Fair Lady and his portrayal of Professor Henry Higgins was acclaimed by observers.Thomas, Rebecca (22 March 2001). " Fair Lady's luvverly show". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2007. Martine McCutcheon, who portrayed Eliza Doolittle, was sick during much of the show's run. McCutcheon was replaced by her understudy Alexandra Jay, who would also fall sick hours before a performance, forcing her understudy, Kerry Ellis, to take the lead. On her first night, Pryce introduced Ellis to the audience before the show by saying "This will be your first Eliza, my second today and my third this week. Any member of the audience interested in playing Eliza can find applications at the door. Wednesday and Saturday matinee available."(10 July 2001). " Life with lots of Doolittles". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2008. Pryce performed with four Elizas during the course of 14 months. The show was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards on 2001: Best Actress in a Musical for Martine McCutcheon, Outstanding Musical Production, Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical for Pryce. Pryce lost to Philip Quast, and McCutcheon won in her category.

After Pirates, Pryce appeared in several large-scale motion pictures, such as the romantic teen comedy What a Girl Wants (2003), and De-Lovely (2004), his second musical film, a chronicle of the life of songwriter Cole Porter, for which Kevin Kline and Pryce covered a Porter song called "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". The Brothers Grimm (2005), Pryce's third completed film with Terry Gilliam, starred Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, and The New World (2005), in which he had a cameo role as King James I. In 2005, Pryce was nominated for another Olivier Award in the best actor category for his role in the 2004 London production of The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, where he played Martin, a goat-lover who has to face the recriminations of his cheated-on wife, played by his real-life wife Kate Fahy. Pryce's performance was highly praised, but he lost the Olivier to Richard Griffiths.Clover, Brian (19 April 2004). " The Goat or Who is Sylvia?". Curtain Up. Retrieved 19 January 2008.Loveridge, Lizzie (4 February 2004). " The Goat or Who is Sylvia?". Curtain Up. Retrieved 19 January 2008.(21 February 2005). " The Olivier Awards 2005 ". The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 19 January 2008.

Pryce lent his voice to the French animated film, Renaissance (2006), which he stated he wanted to do because he had never "done anything quite like it before."Milling, Robin (21 September 2006). " Jonathan Pryce puts his voice on ". Artisan News. Retrieved 16 November 2007. Pryce returned to the Broadway stage replacing John Lithgow, from January to July 2006, as Lawrence Jameson in the musical version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.(20 November 2005). " Jonathan Pryce Returns to Broadway Stage ". eWoss News. Retrieved 5 November 2007. During early 2007, the BBC serial Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars was first broadcast with Pryce in the lead. From September 2007 through June 2008, he returned to the theatre portraying Shelly Levene in a new West End production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo Theatre, London.de Jongh, Nicholas (10 October 2007). " Blackmail, greed, despair ... a tale for our times". Evening Standard (London). Retrieved 15 June 2008. Pryce also appeared as part of an ensemble cast in the 2008 real-time strategy video game , playing the role of Marshall Robert Bingham alongside Tim Curry, J.K. Simmons, George Takei and several other veteran actors. In 2009, he played a wealthy widower in the BBC series Return to Cranford.

In 2018, Pryce starred alongside Dame Eileen Atkins in Florian Zeller's play, The Height of the Storm at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End to rapturous reviews. The play was named best play of the year by The Guardian. The play was transferred to Broadway stage where it ran from September to November 2019 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club with Pryce and Atkins reprising their performances. The play and the performances received a strong reception from New York critics. Marilyn Stasio of Variety praised the leading actors describing Pryce's performance as an elderly man struggling with early forms of dementia as "achingly sensitive", and like "quicksilver".

Late that same year, Pryce portrayed Pope Francis, opposite Anthony Hopkins playing Pope Benedict XVI, in the acclaimed Netflix film The Two Popes, directed by Fernando Meirelles, which was released that winter on Netflix. Meirelles cast him for his striking resemblance to the real Pope Francis. The film and their performances received critical acclaim, with Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter praising their chemistry, writing in particular of Pryce, "He goes head-to-head against Hopkins and matches him in subtlety as well as charismatic force." He received his first ever Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for the film. In August 2020, it was announced that Pryce would portray Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in the final two seasons of Netflix's The Crown. His performance in the fifth season earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical or Drama. From 2022 to 2024, he starred as a retired senior MI5 officer in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses.