Cast & creator
Brian Blessed
Best known for Family Guy, Doctor Who, Peppa Pig
Brian Blessed OBE (born 9 October 1936)is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in Z-Cars; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of I, Claudius; King Richard IV in the first series of Blackadder; Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon; Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre; Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, in Henry V; Boss Nass in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; and the voice of Clayton and the Tarzan yell in Disney's Tarzan. In 2016, Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts and charity. Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of William Blessed, a socialist coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team, and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99. Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg, Lincolnshire; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg. Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF, in Bicester, before enrolling at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1956.
Also known as: B. Blessed, برایان بلسد
100
film credits
94
television credits
193
1951–2027 · acting roles
6.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (194)
Showing 194 of 194 credits
Family Guy
Prince Vultan (voice)
1999
Doctor Who
King Yrcanos
1963
Peppa Pig
Grampy Rabbit (voice)
2004
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
Self - Presenter
Have I Got News for You
Self - Host
1990
The Amazing World of Gumball
Santa Claus (voice)
2011
QI
Self
2003
The Avengers
Sergeant Hearn
1961The Avengers
Mark Dayton
1961
The Wednesday Play
Peter
1964The Wednesday Play
Will
1964
Minder
Freddie Dyer
1979
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Self – Actor
2022
Tales of the Unexpected
Detective Sergeant Jack Nolan
1979
BBC Play of the Month
Sgt. Kite
1965
ITV Playhouse
Reg Sugden
1967ITV Playhouse
Jim Carter
1967
Natural World
1983
GMTV
Self
1993
Z-Cars
PC Smith
1962Z-Cars
PC Fancy Smith
1962Z-Cars
PC William "Fancy" Smith
1962
Would I Lie to You?
Self
2007
The Paul O'Grady Show
2004Pebble Mill
Self
1991
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
Self - Participant
2011
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Self
2002
Space: 1999
Mentor
1975Space: 1999
Cabot Rowland
1975
Blackadder
King Richard IV
1983
Soccer AM
Self
1995The Heaven and Earth Show
1998
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Ted Gissing
1969
Close Enough
Sir Jack Kleghorn (voice)
2020
Who Do You Think You Are?
Self
2004
The Sweeney
Frank Kemble
1975
Lovejoy
Harry Catapodis
1986
The Expert
Hubert Innes
1968
Blake's 7
Vargas
1978
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Boss Nass (voice)
1999
Tarzan
Clayton (voice)
1999
Justice
Tiger Lawson
1971
Public Eye
Rev. William Pratt
1965
The Russell Howard Hour
Self
2017
Churchill's People
Guthrum
1974
Lady Chatterley
Petty Officer
1993
Crossbow
1987
Thriller
Det Sgt George Briggs
1973
The Troubleshooters
Eddie Barnaby
1965
War and Remembrance
Yevlenko
1988
Danger Mouse
Santa Claus (voice)
2015
Blankety Blank
Self - Panellist
2021
I, Claudius
Augustus
1976
Sooty
Father Christmas
2011
Alexander
Wrestling Trainer
2004
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Self
1982
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Lord Locksley
1991
The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
Squire Western
1997
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
The Pirate King (voice)
2012
Survivors
Brod
1975
Britain's Got More Talent
Self - Narrator
2007
The Trojan Women
Talthybius
1971
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Charlemagne (voice)
2021
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Jim Lawsey
1969
Sooty & Co.
Santa Claus
1993
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Captain Teach
1951
Flash Gordon
Prince Vultan
1980
Arthur of the Britons
Mark of Cornwall
1972
All Star Mr & Mrs
2008
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
Captain (voice)
1996
Much Ado About Nothing
Antonio
1993
Shirley's World
1972
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
Porthos
1967
Wizards vs Aliens
The Nekross King (voice)
2012
The Eagle Has Landed
Arthur Seymour (voice) (uncredited)
1976
The Three Musketeers
Porthos
1966
Best & Bester
Shouty Shirt (Voice)
2022
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return
Judge Jawbreaker (voice)
2014
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
Long John Silver
1986
The Last Days of Pompeii
Olinthus
1984
Boy Dominic
William Woodcock
1974
Hamlet
Ghost of Hamlet's Father
1996A Question of Entertainment
1988Fantasy World Cup
Self
1998
The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything
2000
Take Me Out
Announcer (voice)
2010Fun at the Funeral Parlour
2001
Henry V
Exeter
1989The Kumars
Self
2014
Space: 1999 4K Double Bill - Breakaway and The Metamorph
Mentor
2026
Was It Something I Said?
Self - Narrator
2013
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Self
2007
Johnny and the Dead
William Stickers
1995Saving Planet Earth UK
Himself - Presenter
2007
As You Like It
Duke Senior/Duke Frederick
2006
High Road to China
Suleman Khan
1983
The Castle of Adventure
Sam
1990
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
El Supremo (voice)
1992European Heritage
Narrator (voice)
1973
Day of Wrath
Lord Francisco del Ruiz
2006
My Family and Other Animals
Spiro
1987
Cold Comfort Farm
Reuben Starkadder
1968
Robin Hood: The Rebellion
Friar Tuck
2018
Man of La Mancha
Pedro
1972
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
Boss Nass (voice)
2012
The Gnostics
Guilhabert De Castres
1987
The Last Valley
Korski
1971The Underdog Show
2008
Henry VIII and His Six Wives
Suffolk
1972
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Geoffrey Lyons
1983
Notorious Woman
Albert Grzymala
1974The Little World of Don Camillo
Peppone
1981
Catherine the Great
Bestuzhev
1996The Day After Tomorrow
Dr. Tom Bowen
1975
MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis
Atticus
1994
Time Travel Is Dangerous!
Gavin the Octopus (voice)
2025In Confidence
2010
Brotherly Love
Jack Baird
1970
The Aphrodite Inheritance
Basileos
1979
Nobody's House
Jack Treadful
1976
Peppa's Cinema Party
Grampy Rabbit (voice)
2024
The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity
Dr. Tom Bowen
1975
Peppa Pig: Wedding Party!
Grampy Rabbit (voice)
2024
The Bruce
Edward I
1996
Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots
Grampy Rabbit (voice)
2015
Back in the USSR
Chazov
1992
Dudley & the Invasion of the Space Slugs
Arthur (voice)
2027
The Greatest Store in the World
Mr. Scottley
1999
Life After Flash
Self
2017The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
King Richard IV (archive footage) (uncredited)
2005
The Making of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Self - Actor
2002
Blake's 7: The Beginning
Vargas
1985
The Master of Ballantrae
Captain Teach
1984
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self
2022
Tales of Television Centre
Self
2012
Cosmic Princess
Mentor
1982
Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Old Deuteronomy
1998
I, Claudius: A Television Epic
Self
2002
Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy
Sir Gregory(voice)
2005
The Big Knights
Sir Morris
1999Exam Conditions
Mr. Carksdale
1992
So You Want To Be A Pirate!
The Pirate King
2012
Doctor Who: Mindwarp
King Yrcanos
1986
The Legend of the Tamworth Two
Wild Boar (voice)
2004
Agent Crush
Boris Goudphater (voice)
2008
Shed of the Dead
Narrator (voice)
2019
The Royal
Sir Edward Fawcett
2003
Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy
Sir Gregory (voice)
2006
Till Death Us Do Part
Sergeant
1969
The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
1995
David Macaulay: Roman City
Gaius Valerius (voice)
1994
448 BC: Olympiad of Ancient Hellas
Narrator
2004
Kidnapped
Cluny MacPherson
1995
David Macaulay: Pyramid
Ankhaf (voice)
1989
Galahad of Everest
George Mallory/Self
1991
Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments
Self
2008
Tales of the Unexpected: Lamb to the Slaughter
Detective Jack Noonan
1979
Prisoner of Honor
Gen. Gonse
1991
A Christmas Carol
Narrator (voice)
1977
Blood and Dust
Chatillon
1992
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Mark of Cornwall
1975
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord
2008
The Mumbo Jumbo
Lucifer Bounder
2000
David Macaulay: Cathedral
Master Guillaume (voice)
1986
Summit Fever
Self
1996
Peter O'Toole Réalta & Rógaire
Self
2021Wine of India
Will
1970
The Conclave
Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomin
2006
The Christmas Tree
1966The Castle of Adventure
Sam
1990
Chasing the Deer
Maj. Elliot
1994
The Seventeenth Kind
The Voice (voice)
2014
Brian Cox: Space, Time & Videotape
Self
2014
The Dark Side of Everest
Self
2003
The Queen: 70 Glorious Years
Self
2022
Bug-Eyed Monsters Invade the Earth!
Narrator
2022
A Midsummer Nightmare
Det Sgt George Briggs
1975The Old Man Of The Mountain
Narrator
1989Fee Fi Fo Yum
GTV Announcer
2010
Macbeth
Edward the Confessor
1997
Son of Man
Peter
1969Wojtek: The Bear That Went to War
Narrator
2011
Back in Business
Trevor Pilkington
2007
Eugenius!
Space Lord
2020
David Macaulay: Castle
Voice
1983
Genius: Pythagoras
Self
1996The Double Agent
Reg Sugden
1969
Devil's Harvest
Father Gabriel Norton
2003Old Rococo: The Life of Gioacchino Rossini
Voice of Rossini
1992
King Lear
King Lear
1999King Lear
Director
1999The Bristol Entertainment
Cabot / Wolstan / Pocock / Colston / Pope Gregory / Dr. Beddoes
1971
Dear Mr. Burton
Narrator
2020Mr. Bojagi
Mr. Bojagi
2010