Michael Kitchen

Michael Roy Kitchen, born on 31 October 1948 in Leicester, England, is an English actor and television producer. The son of Arthur and Betty Kitchen, he was the firstborn of two boys; his brother Jeffrey followed three years later in 1951. Kitchen attended the City of Leicester Boys' Grammar School, where he made his stage debut in a production of Cymbeline. At fifteen, he was selected to train at the National Youth Theatre, and after completing school he spent a year at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, where his early roles included Ptolemy in Caesar and Cleopatra in 1966. A grant from Leicester City Council enabled him to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, from which he graduated in 1969 with an Acting Diploma.

Kitchen's screen career began in 1971 with the film Unman, Wittering and Zigo, followed by the Hammer production Dracula A.D. 1972. His early television work encompassed a wide range of roles, among them Branwell Brontë in The Brontes of Haworth in 1973, Martin in the original 1976 production of Dennis Potter's Brimstone and Treacle, Private Bamforth in the 1979 BBC television play The Long and the Short and the Tall, and Edmund in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of King Lear. He also appeared as the Antipholi in the same series' production of The Comedy of Errors and as Peter in Stephen Poliakoff's Caught on a Train. His film work during this period included Larner in Breaking Glass in 1980 and Rochus Misch in The Bunker in 1981.

Through the 1980s and 1990s Kitchen accumulated a substantial body of film and television work. He played Berkeley Cole in Out of Africa in 1985 and the King in To Play the King in 1993, a performance that earned him a BAFTA nomination. His portrayal of an English land agent during the Irish Famine in The Hanging Gale in 1995 brought him a Golden FIPA award the following year. That same year he began a recurring role as Bill Tanner in the James Bond franchise, appearing opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and returning in The World Is Not Enough in 1999. Additional film credits from this period include The Russia House, Fools of Fortune, Enchanted April, The Trial, Fatherland, Doomsday Gun, Kidnapped, and Mrs Dalloway. He also appeared in the television productions Dandelion Dead, The Buccaneers as Sir Helmsley Thwaite, and A Royal Scandal, and guest-starred in popular British series including Inspector Morse, Minder, A Touch of Frost, Between the Lines, and Dalziel and Pascoe.

From 2002 to 2015, Kitchen starred as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV mystery-drama Foyle's War, a role that brought him widespread recognition. The series ran for eight series, and Kitchen served as a producer on the show in addition to his lead acting duties. Later screen credits include Paul Abbott's Alibi in 2003, Andrew Davies' dramatisation of Falling in 2005, the ITV drama series Mobile in 2007, the Channel 4 telemovie Hacks in 2012, My Week with Marilyn in 2011, and the role of John Farrow in the mockumentary The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.

Kitchen's stage career has been equally extensive. He was a member of both the National Theatre Company and the Young Vic, where he played Iago in Othello. In 1973 he appeared as Will in Howard Brenton's Magnificence at the Royal Court, and in 1974 he performed at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre in Spring Awakening alongside Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Beryl Reid, and Cyril Cusack. He played Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet for the RSC at Stratford. Kitchen made his Broadway appearance in 1976 in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land, in which he performed opposite Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud in a production directed by Peter Hall. His later stage work included William Hogarth in Nick Dear's The Art of Success in 1986 to 1987, Melchior in Tom Stoppard's On the Razzle in 1981, and the cabin steward Dvornicheck in Stoppard's Rough Crossing in 1984.