Eric Porter

Eric Porter

actor, additional crew

Eric Porter was born on Apr 08, 1928 in UK. Eric Porter's big-screen debut came with Town on Trial directed by John Guillermin in 1957, strarring Hospital Secretary (uncredited). Eric Porter is known for The Return of Sherlock Holmes directed by Peter Hammond, Jeremy Brett stars as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson. The most recent award Eric Porter achieved is BAFTA Awards. The upcoming new tvshow Eric Porter plays is The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Season 2 which will be released on Feb 05, 1987.

A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, La dynastie des Forsyte (1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with La chute de l'Empire romain (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as Le Peuple des abîmes (1968) and La Fille de Jack l'Éventreur (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare including Anna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.

  • Birthday

    Apr 08, 1928
  • Place of Birth

    London, England, UK

Known For

Awards

1 wins & 0 nominations

BAFTA Awards
1968
Best Actor
Winner - BAFTA TV Award

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows