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Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, , theatre practitioner and .

As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Berkovian theatre", 'Creating the "Berkovian" Aesthetic' by Craig Rosen on the Iain Fisher Steven Berkoff website which combines elements of , total theatre and expressionism. His work has sometimes been viewed as an example of in-yer-face theatre, due to the intense presentation and taboo-breaking material in a number of his plays.

(2025). 9780571200498, Faber and Faber Limited.

As a screen actor, he is known for his performances in villainous roles, including the portrayals of General Orlov in the film (1983), Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Lt. Col. Podovsky in (1985) and in War and Remembrance (1988–89).

Early life
Berkoff was born Leslie Steven Berks on 3 August 1937, in in the East End of London, the son of Pauline "Polly" (née Hyman), a housewife, and Alfred "Al" Berks, a tailor. He had an older sister, Beryl (1930–before 2010). He comes from a family; his grandparents emigrated to England in the 1890s, his paternal grandparents from Romania, and his maternal grandparents from Russia.
(2025). 157958313X, . 157958313X
 The family name was originally Berkowitz, but Steven's father anglicised it to Berks in order to aid the family's assimilation into British society. Steven (who had been known as Leslie growing up) later legally changed his surname to Berkoff and went by his middle name.
(2025). 9780786443734, McFarland. .

During World War II, Berkoff, his sister and their mother were evacuated to , in 1942. In 1947 he and his family emigrated to the United States, sailing from aboard the Queen Elizabeth to live with relatives of Berkoff's mother in Nyack, New York. However, Berkoff's father struggled to find work, and after a few months the family returned to England. Berkoff attended Raine's Foundation Grammar School (1948–50) and Hackney Downs School (1950–55).

In 1952, he was arrested for stealing a bicycle and was sentenced to three months in . He took drama courses at City Literary Institute (1957–58), trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (1958–59), and later trained in physical theatre and mime at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, graduating in 1965.

Career
Theatre
Berkoff started his theatre training in the Repertory Company at His Majesty's Theatre in Barrow-in-Furness, for approximately two months, in June and July 1962.' autobiography "Here's One I Wrote Earlier...", hardback edition, Green Umbrella Publishing, page 70. .

As well as an actor, Berkoff is a noted and . His earliest plays are adaptations of works by : The Metamorphosis (1969); In the Penal Colony (1969), and (1971). In the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote a series of verse plays including East (1975), Greek (1980), and Decadence (1981), followed by West (1983) (later adapted and recorded at Limehouse Studios for transmission on Channel 4 in 1983), Harry's Christmas (Lunch) (also recorded at Limehouse Studios in 1983 but was never transmitted by C4 as it was considered "too dark"), Sink the Belgrano! (1986), Massage (1997), and The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (2001). Berkoff described Sink the Belgrano! as "even by my modest standards... one of the best things I have done".Steven Berkoff, "Free Association: An Autobiography", Faber and Faber, 1 July 1996, p.373.

Drama critic describes Berkoff's dramatic style as "In-yer-face theatre":

In 1988, Berkoff directed an interpretation of Salome by , performed in slow motion, at the , . "Steven Berkoff directing". Retrieved 2 September 2012. For his first directorial job at the UK's Royal National Theatre, "South Bank 1988–1996 – Stage by Stage – National Theatre" . Retrieved 2 September 2012. Berkoff revived the play with a new cast at the Lyttelton Auditorium; it opened in November 1989. "Past productions 1986–1990 – Past Events – National Theatre" . Retrieved 2 September 2012. In 1998, his solo play Shakespeare's Villains premièred at London's Haymarket Theatre and was nominated for a Society of London Theatre Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.Society Of London Theatre

In a 2010 interview with guest presenter on The Andrew Marr Show, Berkoff stated that he found it "flattering" to play evil characters, saying that the best actors assumed villainous roles. In 2011, Berkoff revived a previously performed one-man show at the Riverside Studios, titled One Man. It consisted of two monologues; the first was an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart", the second a piece called Dog, written by Berkoff, which was a comedy about a loud-mouthed football fan and his dog. In 2013, Berkoff performed his play An Actor's Lament at the in , Kent; it is his first verse play since Decadence in 1981. His 2018 one-act play Harvey deals with the story of . Steven Berkoff: who will dare to stage my one-man Harvey Weinstein play?. Guardian, 20 November 2018.

Film
In film, Berkoff has played villains such as Soviet General Orlov in the James Bond film (1983), the corrupt art dealer Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), the Soviet officer Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky in (1985), and gangster in The Krays (1990). Berkoff has stated that he accepts roles in Hollywood only to subsidise his theatre work, and that he regards many of the films in which he has appeared as lacking artistic merit.

In the films A Clockwork Orange (1971) and (1975), Berkoff played, respectively, a police officer and a gambler aristocrat. His other films include the Hammer film Prehistoric Women (1967), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Passenger (1975), Joseph Andrews (1977), McVicar (1980), Outland (1981), Coming Out of the Ice (1982), Underworld (1985), Revolution (1985), Absolute Beginners (1986), Prince's film Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Prisoner of Rio (1988), the Australian film Flynn (1993), Fair Game (1995), and Legionnaire (1998).

Berkoff was the main character voice in Expelling the Demon (1999), a short animation with music by . It received the award for Best Debut at the KROK International Animated Films Festival. He has a in the 2008 film The Cottage. Berkoff appeared in the 2010 British gangster film The Big I Am as "The MC", and in the same year, portrayed the antagonist in The Tourist. Berkoff portrayed Dirch Frode, attorney to Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), in 's 2011 adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Another 2011 credit is the independent film Moving Target. He also stars in Decline of an Empire (2014) playing the role of Liberius.

In 1994, he both appeared in and directed the film version of his verse play Decadence. Filmed in , it co-stars .

Television
In television, Berkoff had early roles in episodes of The Avengers, The Saint a number of episodes and UFO episodes "The Cat with Ten Lives" and "Destruction’ The Saint in 1970. Other TV credits include: Hagath, in the episode "" of ; , in the mini-series Children of Dune; gangster Mr. Wiltshire in one episode of Hotel Babylon; Dr. Paul Jorry in the episode "Deadline" of ; lawyer Freddie Eccles in "By the Pricking of My Thumbs", an episode of Agatha Christie's Marple; and in the mini-series War and Remembrance. In 1998, he made a guest appearance in the Canadian TV series La Femme Nikita (in the episode "In Between"). In 2006, he played celebrity/criminal Ray Cook in the episode "Bank Robbery".

In 2010, Berkoff played former Granada Television chairman Sidney Bernstein for the drama, The Road to Coronation Street. In the same year, he presented the episode "To and Beyond". He has played the historical preacher Girolamo Savonarola in two separate TV productions: the 1990 TV film A Season of Giants and the 2011 series The Borgias. Berkoff appears as himself in the "Science" episode of the British current affairs (1997), warning against the dangers of the fictional environmental disaster "Heavy Electricity". In September 2012, Berkoff appeared in the episode "The Power of Three".

In 2014, Berkoff played a supporting role in the second season of the Lifetime TV show Witches of East End as King Nikolaus, the patriarch of the Beauchamp family.

In 2016, he appeared in series 3, episode 1 of the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down as Mr. Klackov, a "terrifying" caretaker with an Eastern European accent "who makes covering series Dan's mistakes even more complicated" when his job as a schoolteacher is threatened.

Other work
In 1996, Berkoff appeared as the Master of Ceremonies in a BBC Radio 2 concert version of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret. He provided the voice-over for the single "The Mind of the Machine", which rose to No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1997. He appeared in the opening sequence to ' coverage of the 2007 Heineken Cup Final, modelled on a speech by in the film Any Given Sunday (1999).

Berkoff voices the character General Lente, commander of the Helghan Third Army, in Killzone. He provides motion capture and voice performance for the PlayStation 3 game , as General Flying Fox.

Berkoff's 2015 novel Sod the Bitches was described by critic Stuart Jeffries as "a kind of -like romp through the sex life of a libidinous actor". His 2014 memoir Bad Guy! Journal of a Hollywood Turkey records his time working on a Hollywood blockbuster. Steven Berkoff News at www.stevenberkoff.com

Berkoff appeared in the British Heart Foundation's two-minute public service advertisement, Watch Your Own Heart Attack, broadcast on ITV in August 2008. He also presented two episodes of the Horizon episodes: "To Infinity and Beyond..." (2010) and "The Power of the Placebo" (2014).

He is a patron of 's Nightingale Theatre, a venue.

Critical assessment
According to Annette Pankratz in her 2005 Modern Drama review of Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance by Robert Cross: "Steven Berkoff is one of the major minor contemporary dramatists in Britain anddue to his self-fashioning as a bad boy of British theatre and the ensuing attention of the media – a phenomenon in his own right." Pankratz further asserts that Cross "focuses on Berkoff's theatre of self-performance: that is, the intersections between Berkoff, the public phenomenon and Berkoff, the artist."

Personal life
Berkoff married Alison Minto in 1970, and Shelley Lee in 1976; both marriages ended in divorce. He lives with his wife Clara Fischer, a German pianist, in , east London. Fischer appeared onscreen with Berkoff in his film Decadence. He has two daughters from previous relationships.

Defamation lawsuit
In 1996, Berkoff won Berkoff vs. Burchill, a that he brought against Sunday Times journalist after she published comments suggesting that he was "hideously ugly". The judge ruled for Berkoff, finding that Burchill's actions "held him to ridicule and contempt."
(2025). 9780199211364, Oxford University Press.

Political and religious views
Berkoff has spoken and written about how he believes and to be regarded in Britain. In a January 2009 interview with The Jewish Chronicle, in which he discussed sentiment in the aftermath of the Gaza War, he said: Interviewer Simon Round noted that Berkoff was also keen to express his view that right-wing Israeli politicians, such as and Benjamin Netanyahu, were "wretched". Asked if British antisemitism manifested itself in theatre, Berkoff responded: "They quite like diversity and will tolerate you as long as you act a bit and don't throw your chicken soup around too much. You are perfectly entitled occasionally even to touch the great prophet of British culture, Shakespeare, as long as you keep your well zipped up." Berkoff also referred to the Gaza war as a factor in writing Biblical Tales: "It was the recent 'Gaza' war and the appalling flack that Israel received that prompted me to investigate ancient Jewish values."Steven Berkoff, "Press release for Biblical Tales", New End Theatre. Retrieved 17 October 2012.

Speaking to The Jewish Chronicle in May 2010, Berkoff criticised the but added, "it inspires the Jews to produce and heroes and to have pride". Berkoff went on to say of the in the same article: "As Jews, we are so incredibly lucky to have the Talmud, to have a way of re-interpreting the . So we no longer cut off hands, and slay animals, and stone women."Jessica Elgot, "The Bible, rewritten by Steven Berkoff", The Jewish Chronicle, 21 May 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2012.

In a Daily Telegraph travel article written while visiting Israel in 2007, Berkoff described ' book , as "quite overwhelming in its research and common sense. It grips me throughout the journey."Steven Berkoff, "A Tale of Tel Aviv", The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2012.

In 2012, Berkoff, with others, wrote in support of Israel's national theatre, , performing in London.Arnold Wesker, Ronald Harwood, Maureen Lipman, Simon Callow, Louise Mensch MP, Steven Berkoff, "Letters: We Welcome Israel's National Theatre", The Guardian, 10 April 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.

In 2015, Berkoff expressed his view that white actors should be allowed to play the classic Shakespearean role of Othello, referring to any efforts to restrict the character’s casting as "racism in reverse".Hugh Muir, "Should white actors be able to play Othello? Perhaps, but don’t black up", "The Guardian", 21 June 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2024.

References in popular culture
In the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy, struggling actor Dexter King () auditions unsuccessfully for an imaginary "Berkoff play" called England, My England. In the audition, characters dressed as swear repetitively at each other and a folding table is kicked over. Afterwards, Dexter's agent Mary () muses, "I think he's probably mad ..."

"I'm scared of Steven Berkoff" is a line in the lyrics of the song "I'm Scared" by Queen guitarist , issued on his 1993 debut solo album Back to the Light. May has declared himself to be an admirer of Berkoff and his wife, , has appeared in several of Berkoff's plays.

Filmography
Film
uncredited
uncredited
uncredited
uncredited
uncredited
uncredited
Voice
Cameo

Television
Episode: "Toys of the Dead"
Episode: "Panic Button"
Episode: "Treviso Dam"
Episode: "Love Bird"
Episode: "A Matter of Trust"
Episode: "Murder in the Cathedral"
TV film
Episode: "Crime and Punishment"
Episode: "Sir Jocelyn, the Minister Would Like a Word..."
Episode: "The Pistol"
Episode: "The Gravediggers"
2 episodes
Episode: "The Lady's Man"
Episode: "The Informant: Part 1: Rough Justice"
Episode: "The Lady's Man"
Episode: #1.196
Episode: "The Climber"
Episode: "The Iron Man"
2 episodes
Episode: "The Man Who Gambled with Life"
4 episodes
Episode: "The Coat"
Episode: "Psychological Warfare"
Episode: "Beloved Enemy"
TV film
Episode: "A Man Called Quinn"
All 3 episodes
11 episodes
Episode: "Metamorphosis"
TV film
TV film
Both 2 episodes
Episode: "Deadline"
Episode: ""
Episode: "In Between"
Episode: "Mental Apparition Disorder"
Both 2 episodes
Both 2 episodes
Episode: "Satan's Chimney"
2 episodes
All 3 episodes
Episode: "The Brooklyn Bridge"
TV film
Episode: "By the Pricking of My Thumbs"
Episode: #1.8
Episode: "Bank Robbery"
TV film
TV film
8 episodes
Episode: "The Power of Three"
5 episodes
2 episodes
2 episodes
2 episodes
Episode: "Prague Clock: The Curse of the Orloj"
12 episodes

Works as author (incomplete)
Plays
  • In the Penal Colony (1968) - adaptation of the short story of the same name.
  • Metamorphosis (1969) - adaptation of the Franz Kafka novella of the same name.
  • The Trial (1970) - adaptation of the Franz Kafka .
  • Agamemnon (1973) - adaptation of 's play of the same name.
  • Miss Julie versus Expressionism - adaptation of August Strindberg's play .
  • Fall of the House of Usher (1974) - adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name.
  • East (1975)
  • Greek (1980) - originally written in 1979. Inspired by by .
  • Decadence (1981)
  • The Tell-Tale Heart (1981) - adapted from the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name.
  • West (1983) - originally written in 1978 as a TV play which was later filmed in 1984. Inspired by . A companion piece to East.
  • Lunch (1983) - originally written in 1966.
  • Actor (1985)
  • Harry's Christmas (1985)
  • Kvetch (1986)
  • Sink the Belgrano! (1986) - inspired by the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano.
  • Acapulco (1990) - inspired by Berkoff's experience off-set on the film .
  • Brighton Beach Scumbags (1991)
  • Pitbull later renamed to Dog (1993)
  • Massage (1997)
  • Shakespeare's Villains (1998) - inspired by and exploring the villains in the plays of William Shakespeare.
  • The Bow of Ulysses (2001) - sequel to Lunch.
  • Dahling You Were Marvellous (2001) - originally an unproduced television play written in 1989.
  • Sturm und Drang
  • Messiah - Scenes From A Crucifixion (2000) - inspired by the .
  • Ritual in Blood (2001) - originally written in 1965 under the titles of Hep, Hep, Hep and Blood Accusation.
  • The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (2001) - reworking of Shakespeare's .
  • Sit and Shiver (2004)
  • Purgatory (2009)
  • Biblical Tales (2010) - consisting of four short plays adapted from stories from the :
    Adam and Eve,
    Samson and Delilah,
    David and Goliath,
    Moses and Pharaoh
  • Oedipus (2011) - a version of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
  • Six actors in Search of a Director (2012)
  • Religion & Anarchy (2013) - consisting of five short plays about and :
    Guilt,
    Roast,
    Line-up,
    How to Train an Anti-Semite,
    Gas
  • An Actor's Lament (2013)
  • Harvey - inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and performed as a work-in-progress in 2019.

Film

  • West (1984) - TV movie written by Berkoff.
  • Metamorphosis - TV adaptation for of Berkoff's play of the same name. Also feature's Berkoff playing the role of Mr. Samsa.
  • Silent Night (1991) - TV film starring Berkoff, based on his one-man-play Harry's Christmas.
  • 7th November 1938 (1991) - short documentary film from the series The Day the World Changed. Presented by Berkoff talking about an important historical event of his choosing, which is Herschel Grynszpan's assassination of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath.
  • Decadence (1994) - film written, directed by and starring Berkoff, based on his play of the same name.
  • Eat Dollink! (2017) - documentary written by and starring Berkoff.
  • Venice Beach (2017) - documentary directed, produced, written by and starring Berkoff.
  • Shakespeare's Heroes and Villains (2019) - documentary written by and starring Berkoff, based on his one-man-play Shakespeare's Villains.
  • Steven Berkoff's Tell Tale Heart (2019) - film starring Berkoff and adapted by Stephen Cookson from Berkoff's one-man-play The Tell-Tale-Heart.
  • Brighton (2021) - film adapted by Stephen Cookson from Berkoff's play Brighton Beach Scumbags.

Memoirs and essays

  • Steven Berkoff's America (1988) - poetry and essays.
  • I am Hamlet (1989) - based on Berkoff's working journal of his 1979 production of 's .
  • A Prisoner in Rio (1989) - Berkoff's diary whilst filming the movie Prisoner of Rio.
  • Coriolanus in Deutschland (1992) - Berkoff's journal of directing Shakespeare's in Munich.
  • Overview (1994) - memories of Berkoff's travels around the world.
  • Meditations on Metamorphosis (1995) - Berkoff's analysis of his various stage productions of Kafka's Metamorphosis.
  • Free Association (1996) - autobiography.
  • Shopping in the Santa Monica Mall (2000)
  • Tough Acts (2003) - memoirs of working with various high-profile actors and directors.
  • My Life in Food (2007) - Berkoff's memoirs about food.
  • Diary of a Juvenile Delinquent (2010) - autobiography.
  • Tales from an Actor's Life (2011) - autobiographical stories told in the third person.
  • Richard II in New York (2008) - writing on Berkoff's experience of directing Shakespeare's Richard II in New York.
  • A World Elsewhere (2019) - writings on Berkoff's work as an actor, director and playwright.

Short stories

  • Gross Intrusion and other stories (1979)
  • Graft: Tales of an Actor (1998) - semi-autobiographical short stories.

Published poetry

  • Steven Berkoff's America (1988) - poetry and essays.
  • Requiem for Ground Zero (2002) - inspired by the September 11 attacks.
  • You Remind Me of Marilyn Monroe (2009)
  • Poems for the Working Class (2021)

Novel

  • Sod the Bitches! (2015)

Photography books

  • The Theatre of Steven Berkoff (1992) - photographs of a variety of Berkoff's theatre productions, featuring written commentary by Berkoff.
  • East End Photographs (2012)
  • Gorbals 1966 (2018) - photographs of the area of during Berkoff's time working at the

Awards and honours
Awards
2004
2001 "2001 recipients >The Bank of Scotland Herald Angels" . Retrieved 29 August 2012.
"Berkoff's Messiah Tour Gets the Green Light", whatsonstage.com, 27 August 2001. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
Steven Leigh Morris, "The 21st Annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards", L.A. Weekly, 12 April 2000. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
Total Theatre Award Past Winners. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
1994
Olivier Winners 1992 webpage on the Official London Theatre website
1980

Honours

The Berkoff Performing Arts Centre at , , is named for Berkoff. Attending the Alton College ceremony to honour him, he stated:

Sources
  • Billington, Michael. "Happy Birthday, Steven Berkoff". The Guardian Theatre Blog. 3 August 2007. ("The hard man with a sensitive soul is 70 today. I've always admired him as an actor, director and – above all – phenomenon.")
  • Cross, Robert. Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004. (10). (13). (Rev. by Pankratz.) ( Synopsis at , with hyperlinked table of contents and limited preview.)
  • Pankratz, Annette. Rev. of Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance. Modern Drama 48 (2005): 459–61. (Extract; Project Muse subscription required for online access to full text.)
  • . In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today. London: Faber and Faber, 2001. (10). (13).
  • "Steven Berkoff". Contemporary Writers. . Retrieved 30 September 2008.

External links

: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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