Cast & creator
William Squire
Best known for Doctor Who, Great Performances, Play for Today
William Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television. Squire was born in Neath, South Wales, the son of William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman). As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. One of his first film appearances was in the 1956 film Alexander the Great, which starred Burton in the title role. His varied screen roles included Thomas More in the 1969 film version of Maxwell Anderson's play Anne of the Thousand Days, Sir Daniel Brackley in the 1972 television adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow, the voice of Gandalf in the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings and the Shadow in the 1979 Doctor Whoserial The Armageddon Factor. Perhaps his best-known role was as Hunter, the superior of secret agent David Callan in the spy series Callan in the early 1970s; Squire took over the role from Derek Bond. In a set of Encyclopædia Britannica-produced educational films about William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Squire played the role of Macbeth. This was in keeping with his long career as a Shakespearean actor, which included roles in the classic 1960s TV series, An Age of Kings.
Also known as: William Arthur Squire
25
film credits
33
television credits
58
1950–2016 · acting roles
6.9
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (58)
Showing 58 of 58 credits
Doctor Who
The Shadow
1963
Great Performances
Self
1971
Play for Today
Arnold
1970
ITV Playhouse
Max
1967
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Vef
1955
All Creatures Great and Small
Roderick Perowne
1978
Rumpole of the Bailey
Sir Daniel Derwent
1975
Sunday Night Theatre
Hector
1950
The Champions
Duncan
1968
Blake's 7
Kommissar
1978
Centre Play
Humphrey
1973
Callan
1967Callan
Hunter
1967
An Age of Kings
Shallow / Epilogue
1960An Age of Kings
Owen Glendower
1960An Age of Kings
Chorus
1960
Jason King
1971Festival
The Rev Melvyn Thomas
1963
Marco Polo
Locandiere
1982
Where Eagles Dare
Thomas
1968
The Lord of the Rings
Gandalf (voice)
1978W. Somerset Maugham
Owen Griffiths
1969The Jazz Age
Mr. Urquhart
1968
The Verdict Is Yours
Counsel for Defence
1958
Half Hour Story
Alex
1967
The Black Arrow
Sir Daniel Brackley
1972The Black Arrow
The Stranger
1972
The XYY Man
Laidlaw
1976
Armchair Theatre
Paolo Bracchiana
1956
The Wars of the Roses
Suffolk / Buckingham
1965
Alexander the Great
Aeschenes
1956
The Venturers
Sir George Fielding
1975
Anne of the Thousand Days
Thomas More
1969
The Battle of the River Plate
Ray Martin
1956
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Frankland
1982Canterbury Tales
Chaucer
1969
The Man Who Never Was
Lt. Jewell
1956
The Wars of the Roses
Duke of Suffolk
1965
Pride and Prejudice
Mr Bingley
1958Prometheus: The Life of Balzac
1975
The Thirty Nine Steps
Harkness
1978
Les Misérables
Magistrate
1978
Dunkirk
Captain (uncredited)
1958
A Challenge for Robin Hood
Sir John
1967
Innocent Sinners
Father Lambert
1958
Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor
The Shadow
1979
The Long Dark Hall
Sergeant Cochcran
1951
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
Dr Clifford
1981Snooker
Humphrey
1975
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Self
1988
Callan: This Man Alone
Himself (archive)
2016
Testimony
Khatchaturyan
1988The Film That Never Was
1957
Puccini
Giacchi, the Doctor
1984Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To?
Alex
1967
Buffet
Arnold
1976
The Ghost Downstairs
Narrator
1982The Portable Phonograph
The Actor
1977