Ian Charleson

Acting

Ian Charleson

Born August 11, 1949 · Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Died January 6, 1990 · aged 40

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev. Charlie Andrews in the 1982 Oscar-winning film Gandhi. Charleson was a not…

Known For

Chariots of FireChariots of Fire · 1981
Chariots of Fire
6.81981
MovieDramaHistory
In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.
OperaOpera · 1987
Opera
6.81987
MovieHorrorMystery
A young opera singer is stalked by a deranged fan bent on killing the people associated with her to claim her for himself.
GandhiGandhi · 1982
Gandhi
7.61982
MovieDramaHistory
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes · 1984
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
6.41984
MovieAdventureDrama
A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captain Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization.
LouisianaLouisiana · 1984
Louisiana
4.71984
MovieDramaHistory
Virginia Tregan returns to her home in the U.S. Deep South from a sojourn in Paris only to discover that her family plantation and its holdings have been lost. She determines to recoup her family's fortune.
JubileeJubilee · 1978
Jubilee
5.91978
MovieComedyDrama
Queen Elizabeth I visits late 1970s England to find a depressing landscape where life has changed since her time.
The Paradise RunThe Paradise Run · 1976
The Paradise Run
1976
MovieDramaWar
Johnny has joined the army because he likes canoeing, but ends up in a war-torn city and is compromised into helping the enemy. However, desertion will not be a solution, and he finds himself more distressed than ever.
A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country · 1985
A Month in the Country
1985
MovieDramaTV Movie
Ivan Turgenev's comedy features an attractive woman approaching middle age. At her husband's country estate, with an admirer in constant attendance, she loses her heart (and her common sense) to her ward's handsome tutor.

Movies

Chariots of FireChariots of Fire · 1981
Chariots of Fire
6.81981
MovieDramaHistory
In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.
OperaOpera · 1987
Opera
6.81987
MovieHorrorMystery
A young opera singer is stalked by a deranged fan bent on killing the people associated with her to claim her for himself.
GandhiGandhi · 1982
Gandhi
7.61982
MovieDramaHistory
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes · 1984
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
6.41984
MovieAdventureDrama
A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captain Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization.
LouisianaLouisiana · 1984
Louisiana
4.71984
MovieDramaHistory
Virginia Tregan returns to her home in the U.S. Deep South from a sojourn in Paris only to discover that her family plantation and its holdings have been lost. She determines to recoup her family's fortune.
JubileeJubilee · 1978
Jubilee
5.91978
MovieComedyDrama
Queen Elizabeth I visits late 1970s England to find a depressing landscape where life has changed since her time.
The Paradise RunThe Paradise Run · 1976
The Paradise Run
1976
MovieDramaWar
Johnny has joined the army because he likes canoeing, but ends up in a war-torn city and is compromised into helping the enemy. However, desertion will not be a solution, and he finds himself more distressed than ever.
A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country · 1985
A Month in the Country
1985
MovieDramaTV Movie
Ivan Turgenev's comedy features an attractive woman approaching middle age. At her husband's country estate, with an admirer in constant attendance, she loses her heart (and her common sense) to her ward's handsome tutor.
All's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends Well · 1981
All's Well That Ends Well
6.51981
MovieDramaComedy
Helena loves Bertram, but he's of noble birth, while she's just a doctor's daughter. But Bertram is at the court of the King of France, who is ill, and Helena has a remedy that might cure him and win her the right to marry Bertram. But does Bertram want to marry her?
Antony & CleopatraAntony & Cleopatra · 1981
Antony & Cleopatra
7.31981
MovieDramaHistory
Octavius Caesar (later renamed Augustus Caesar, son of the murdered Julius Caesar), Marc Antony, and Lepidus form the triumvirate, the three rulers of the Roman Empire. Antony, though married to Fulvia, spends his time in Egypt, living a life of decadence and conducting an affair with Queen Cleopatra. In Antony's absence, Caesar and Lepidus worry about Pompey's increasing strength.
Car TroubleCar Trouble · 1986
Car Trouble
6.31986
MovieComedy
In the throes of a midlife crisis, a man buys a new Jaguar, and it immediately becomes his new love. What he doesn't know is that his wife is as attracted to the Jaguar salesman as he is to the car.
Codename: KyrilCodename: Kyril · 1988
Codename: Kyril
1988
MovieDramaAction
At the height of the cold war, a known Russian spy ("Kyril") is sent to the UK under falsely reported pretenses in order to hopefully indirectly spark an unknown mole in the KGB to reveal himself; the endeavor eventually has repercussions which none of the initial players could have predicted.
The Search for Alexander the GreatThe Search for Alexander the Great · 1981
The Search for Alexander the Great
7.01981
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Friends, contemporaries and even enemies of Alexander the Great gather in a tent to tell his tale through their eyes.
AscendancyAscendancy · 1983
Ascendancy
4.71983
MovieDramaWar
Ascendancy is a 1983 British film. It tells the story of a woman who is a member of the British landowning 'Ascendancy' in Ireland during World War I. Gradually, she learns about the Irish independence movement, and becomes involved with it.
HamletHamlet · 1980
Hamlet
6.21980
MovieDramaTV Movie
Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch. Then his father's ghost directs him to seek revenge.

TV Shows

WoganWogan · 1982
Wogan
5.31982
Series
Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
ITV PlayhouseITV Playhouse · 1967
ITV Playhouse
7.01967
SeriesDrama
ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
Churchill's PeopleChurchill's People · 1974
Churchill's People
5.01974
SeriesDrama
Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.
Reilly: Ace of SpiesReilly: Ace of Spies · 1983
Reilly: Ace of Spies
7.01983
SeriesCrimeDrama
Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatising the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th-century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.
Lady KillersLady Killers · 1980
Lady Killers
7.51980
SeriesCrimeDrama
Compelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.
Oxbridge BluesOxbridge Blues · 1984
Oxbridge Blues
7.01984
Series
An anthology series of seven linked plays about the lives of people connected with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Master of the GameMaster of the Game · 1984
Master of the Game
6.21984
SeriesDrama
Elderly Kate Blackwell looks back at her family's life beginning with her Scottish father Jamie McGregor's journey to South Africa to make his fortune in diamonds. The family history is littered with revenge, lust, betrayal, manipulation, and murder.
Plays for BritainPlays for Britain · 1976
Plays for Britain
6.01976
SeriesDrama
An anthology series of six contemporary plays from writers at relatively early stages in their careers.
TroublesTroubles · 1988
Troubles
9.01988
SeriesDramaComedy
In 1919, Major Brendan Archer arrives in Ireland to reunite with his fiancée, Angela Spencer. Unfortunately, the family home, The Majestic Hotel, is a decaying shadow of its former self, as is Angela. Puzzled by the changes, Archer's attentions are soon drawn to her lively friend, Sarah Devlin, a passionate Irish Nationalist. They fall in love, but the Major soon discovers some disturbing aspects about their relationship, which threatens to explode into violence, destruction, and murder.
The Search for Alexander the GreatThe Search for Alexander the Great · 1981
The Search for Alexander the Great
1981
Series
Friends, contemporaries and even enemies of Alexander the Great gather in a tent to tell his tale through their eyes.
Codename: KyrilCodename: Kyril · 1988
Codename: Kyril
6.01988
Series
During the Cold War, a secret operative is dispatched to ferret out a suspected double agent within the KGB.
The Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also Rises · 1984
The Sun Also Rises
7.71984
SeriesDrama
Adaptation of the novel by Ernest Hemingway.