Ronald Pickup

Ronald Alfred Pickup was an English actor born in Chester on 7 June 1940, who worked across theatre, television, and film over a career spanning more than five decades. He died on 24 February 2021 following a long illness, at the age of 80. His father, Eric, worked as a lecturer, and his mother was Daisy, née Williams. Pickup attended the King's School, Chester, before reading English at the University of Leeds, where he graduated in 1962. He subsequently trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, earning the Bancroft Medal (silver) upon graduating in 1964. It was at RADA that he met his wife, Lans Traverse, whom he married that same year; the couple had two children, Rachel and Simon. Rachel Pickup also became an actress, and father and daughter appeared together in the Midsomer Murders episode "The Magician's Nephew" in 2008 and in the film Schadenfreude in 2016.

Pickup's professional stage career began in 1964 with the role of Friendly in Virtue in Danger at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester. His London debut followed in November of that year, when he played Octavius in Julius Caesar at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Lindsay Anderson. He became closely associated with Laurence Olivier's National Theatre company, making his first appearance with the company in a minor role in Michael Elliott's production of Miss Julie, staged at the Chichester Festival in 1965 and at the Old Vic in 1966. He went on to play Baron Tusenbach in Three Sisters in 1967 and appeared in Long Day's Journey into Night. That same year, he drew significant attention for his portrayal of Rosalind in Clifford Williams's all-male production of As You Like It at the Old Vic. Theatre critic Michael Billington described Pickup as a terrific stage star and an essential member of Olivier's National Theatre company.

Pickup made his Broadway debut in 1999, appearing in Amy's View. The production had already earned him a nomination for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. Later stage work included starring as Lucky in Sean Mathias's 2009 production of Waiting for Godot, alongside Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow, a production that toured multiple British cities before an extended run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. His final stage appearance was as Mazzini Dunn in Heartbreak House at the Chichester Festival in 2012.

On television, Pickup's career began in 1964 with a small role as a physician in part four of The Reign of Terror, during the first series of Doctor Who, for which he was paid £30. He went on to take the title role in the BBC drama series The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani, and played Prince Yakimov, a hapless Russo-British aristocrat, opposite Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the BBC serial Fortunes of War in 1987, based on Olivia Manning's novel cycle. He portrayed Friedrich Nietzsche in Wagner and appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, both in 1983. The following year he played Jan Tyranowski in the TV movie Pope John Paul II and Albert Einstein in the mini-series Einstein. He also portrayed George Orwell in Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura, which he later identified in 2012 as his favourite role. For that performance and for a 1983 BBC One adaptation of Waters of the Moon, he received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1984. From 1988 to 1990, he provided the voice of Aslan in the BBC television adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia. His many other television credits included roles in Foyle's War, Inspector Morse, Doc Martin, Hustle, Waking the Dead, Hornblower, Sherlock Holmes, and Downton Abbey, as well as four episodes of the Netflix series The Crown in 2016, in which he played Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Pickup's film work began with a role as a forger in The Day of the Jackal in 1973. Subsequent film appearances included Ken Russell's Mahler in 1974, Joseph Andrews in 1977, and The Thirty Nine Steps in 1978, in which he played one of the Prussian agents plotting to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He portrayed Thomas Cranmer in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Henry VIII in 1979, Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, and Don Hontar, the Portuguese governor, in The Mission in 1986. He appeared opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again in 1983. Pickup gained wide international recognition playing Norman Cousins in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 2012, a role he reprised in the 2015 sequel. In the 2017 film Darkest Hour, he portrayed Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain during the transfer of power to Winston Churchill in the early months of World War II.