James Laurenson

James Philip Laurenson (17 February 1940 – 18 April 2024) was a New Zealand stage and screen actor who spent the majority of his career based in the United Kingdom. Born in Marton, New Zealand, he studied theatre at Canterbury University College in Christchurch, now known as the University of Canterbury. There he came under the direction of Dame Ngaio Marsh, who cast him in the title role of Macbeth at the Civic Theatre Christchurch in 1962.

Laurenson relocated to the United Kingdom during the mid-1960s and made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in Women in Love, adapted from the D. H. Lawrence novel. That same year he appeared in an uncredited role as an Oxford rower in The Magic Christian, sharing scenes with Graham Chapman. His early British stage work encompassed numerous Shakespearean productions, among them Richard II and a performance as Rosencrantz in Hamlet. He also appeared as Piers Gaveston in the 1970 television production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, opposite Ian McKellen, and took on period roles including a French courtier in Elizabeth R and the Earl of Lincoln in Shadow of the Tower in 1972. His radio work during this period included the marathon series Vivat Rex.

Also in 1972, Laurenson took on the lead role of Detective Inspector Napoleon "Boney" Bonaparte in the Australian television drama series Boney, playing a police detective of half-Aboriginal heritage across two seasons. The casting drew criticism from some Australian critics and members of the Australian Aboriginal community, who argued that an Aboriginal actor would have been better suited to the role. It remained his most high-profile part. In 1974, he took the lead in The Prison, a television film based on a Georges Simenon novel and the first installment of the Thames Television and Euston Films series Armchair Cinema. He starred as Pink's Father in the 1982 film Pink Floyd — The Wall, and in 1984 took the lead role of Julian Marsh in the West End production of Gower Champion's musical 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane — his sole appearance in a musical. He also appeared at Greenwich Theatre in Falling Over England alongside Charlotte Cornwell.

Laurenson brought his stage work to Broadway in 1995, appearing in a production of Hamlet. His television career spanned decades and encompassed guest roles in a wide range of popular British series, including Z-Cars, Space: 1999, The Professionals, Armchair Thriller, Hammer House of Horror, Remington Steele, Cagney and Lacey, Inspector Morse, Bergerac, Lovejoy, Prime Suspect, Sharpe, A Touch of Frost, Silent Witness, Taggart, Midsomer Murders, State of Play, Hustle, Endeavour, and Spooks. On BBC Radio, his appearances included the role of the Squire of Altarnun in a 1991 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn.

In 2012, Laurenson played the Earl of Westmoreland in the BBC Two adaptations of Henry IV, Parts I and II. He appeared as Professor Hilary Ambrose in the Father Brown series, reprising the role in both 2014 and 2017. In 2015 he played the Earl of Shrewsbury in the first episode of Wolf Hall, and in 2016 he took on the recurring role of Doctor Weir across five episodes of the Netflix series The Crown. Later credits included Sir John Barrow in The Terror in 2018.

Laurenson was married twice, first to actress Carol MacReady, with whom he had one son. He made his long-term home in Frome, a market town in Somerset, England. He died on 18 April 2024 at the age of 84.