Richard Griffiths

Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, to Thomas Griffiths, a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, and Jane Griffiths. Both of his parents were deaf, and Griffiths became fluent in British Sign Language from an early age. Three older siblings died in infancy before his birth. He was raised Roman Catholic and attended Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-on-Tees, which he left at age fifteen to work as a porter for Littlewoods. Encouraged by his employer to return to school, he enrolled in a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College and subsequently studied at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre, now known as Manchester School of Theatre, alongside actor Bernard Hill. As a child, Griffiths had been so underweight that he received radiation therapy on his pituitary gland at age eight, a treatment that permanently slowed his metabolism and contributed to lifelong struggles with obesity.

Following graduation, Griffiths secured a contract with the BBC Radio Drama Company and worked in small theatres in both acting and managerial capacities. He built an early reputation as a Shakespearean clown through roles including Pompey in Measure for Measure and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later played kings in Love's Labour's Lost and Henry VIII. After settling in Manchester and establishing himself in lead stage roles, he transitioned to television and made his film debut in It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet in 1976. By the early 1980s he had taken the lead role in the television thriller Bird of Prey, reprising his character Henry Jay in Bird of Prey 2 in 1984. In 1985 and 1986 he performed the role of Verdi in Julian Mitchell's After Aida in Wales and at the Old Vic Theatre in London.

Griffiths accumulated a substantial film career across both contemporary and period productions. His supporting roles in the early 1980s included Chariots of Fire, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Gandhi, all released between 1981 and 1982, followed by A Private Function in 1984 and Gorky Park in 1983. He became widely recognized for his portrayal of Uncle Monty in Withnail and I in 1987. Additional film credits included The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear in 1991, Sleepy Hollow in 1999, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 2005, in which he played the Vogon Jeltz, Venus in 2006, Ballet Shoes in 2007, Hugo in 2011, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011, in which he appeared in a cameo as King George II. He also provided the voice of Slartibartfast for the radio adaptation of Life, the Universe and Everything. On television, Griffiths originated the role of Inspector Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky, which ran from 1994 to 1997 and was a part created specifically for him, and made an extended appearance in the 2005 BBC adaptation of Bleak House.

Griffiths is perhaps most broadly recognized for portraying Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter film series, appearing in five of the eight films: Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows – Part 1, spanning 2001 to 2011.

His stage work brought him his most celebrated accolades. In 2004, Griffiths originated the role of Hector in Alan Bennett's The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner, at the National Theatre. The performance earned him the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play. When the production transferred to Broadway, Griffiths won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, and a Theatre World Award, all in 2006. He reprised the role in the film adaptation released in October 2006, which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Griffiths appeared on Broadway from 2006 to 2008, with his second Broadway credit being Equus, in which he starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe. The production, a revival of Peter Shaffer's play, ran at the Broadhurst Theatre beginning in October 2008. Griffiths and Radcliffe had previously performed the same production at the Gielgud Theatre in London. In 2009, Griffiths replaced Michael Gambon as W. H. Auden in The Habit of Art at the National Theatre, again directed by Hytner. In April 2012, he starred with Danny DeVito in a revival of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre in London, which previewed from 27 April, opened on 17 May, and ran for a limited twelve-week season closing on 28 July.

In his personal life, Griffiths met Heather Gibson in 1973 and married her in 1980; they had no children. He was the godfather of comedian Jack Whitehall. Griffiths received an honorary degree from Teesside University in 2006 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2008 New Year Honours. He died on 28 March 2013 in Coventry, West Midlands, at the age of sixty-five, following complications from heart surgery.