John Shrapnel
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 27, 1942
- Died
- February 14, 2020
- Birthplace
- Birmingham, England, UK
Shrapnel was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Mary Lillian Myfanwy (née Edwards) and journalist/author Norman Shrapnel.[1] As a stage actor, he was a member of Laurence Olivier's Royal National Theatre company and the Royal Shakespeare Company and most recently appeared as Sir Oliver Surface in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre in 2011. He has also appeared extensively in film and on television in roles in Elizabeth R, Z-Cars, Edward and Mrs. Simpson, 101 Dalmatians, Space: 1999, Inspector Morse, Coogan's Run, Notting Hill and Foyle's War. He presented an episode of the 1983 BBC television travel series Great Little Railways. He gave performances in three entries in the BBC Television Shakespeare plays and as Creon in the BBC's 1984 productions of the Three Theban plays of Sophocles. In America, he has starred in supporting roles as Senator Gaius in Gladiator, Nestor in Troy and Pompey in the second episode of Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. He also played the Jail Warden in the 10th Kingdom, an epic fantasy miniseries. He has the rare achievement of appearing in two episodes of Midsomer Murders as two different characters, in Death in Chorus and Written in Blood. Shrapnel appeared in an episode of Jonathan Creek as Professor Lance Graumann in the episode The Omega Man. He appears in Chemical Wedding alongside Simon Callow, telling the tale of the resurrection of occultist Aleister Crowley. Shrapnel also has experience in the field of BBC radio drama through such characters as Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and William Gibson's Neuromancer. He is the son-in-law of Deborah Kerr through his 1975 marriage to her younger daughter Francesca Ann Bartley. They have three sons, the actors Lex Shrapnel (b.1979), Tom Shrapnel (b.1981) and the writer Joe Shrapnel (b.1976). They live in Highbury, north London.
Filmography
Hamlet Within 2022
Actor
King Charles III 2017
as Archbishop of Canterbury
Britain's Nuclear Bomb - The Inside Story 2017
as Narrator (Voice)
- The Return of the Flying Scotsman
The Return of the Flying Scotsman 2016
as Narrator - (Voice)
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale 2015
as Camilo
Hamlet 2015
as Claudius/Ghost
- OXI, an Act of Resistance
OXI, an Act of Resistance 2014
as Creon
Building Burma's Death Railway: Moving Half the Mountain 2014
as Narrator
National Theatre Live: Macbeth 2013
as Duncan/Seyton/Old Man
Run. 2013
as St. Peter
The Awakening 2011
as Reverend Hugh Purslow
National Theatre Live: Phèdre 2009
as Théramène
An Organization of Dreams 2009
as Father
The Duchess 2008
as General Grey
Mirrors 2008
as Lorenzo Sapelli
Chemical Wedding 2008
as Crowley
Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies 2007
as Himself (Narrator)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age 2007
as Lord Howard
Once Upon a Time on the Westway 2007
as Billy Palmer
Alien Autopsy 2006
as Michael Kuhn
Shadow of the Sword 2005
as Archbishop
Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece 2004
as Narrator
Troy 2004
as Nestor
Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt 2004
as Narrator
Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome 2004
as Narrator
The Race for Everest 2003
as Narrator
- Wild Women of Viramba
Wild Women of Viramba 2003
as Narrator
Whistle 2002
as Paul
K-19: The Widowmaker 2002
as Admiral Bratyeev
Claim 2002
as Lex Vandenberg
Alone 2002
as Hannah
The Gentleman Thief 2001
as Monty Sinclair
Animals of the Ocean Desert 2001
as Narrator
Mountain Men: The Ghosts of K2 2001
as Narrator
The Body 2001
as Moshe Cohen
The Misfit and the Matterhorn 2001
as Narrator
Horizon: Supermassive Black Holes 2000
as Narrator
Gladiator 2000
as Gaius
Lost on Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine 2000
as Self - Narrator
Mary, Mother of Jesus 1999
as Simon
Notting Hill 1999
as PR Chief
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters 1999
as General Charette
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka 1999
as Iwaszkiewicz
- Solo Shuttle
Solo Shuttle 1998
as Cain
Lion Queen 1998
as Narrator (voice)
101 Dalmatians 1996
as Skinner
Two Deaths 1996
as Cinca
King Arthur: His Life and Legends 1995
Actor
England, My England 1995
as Samuel Pepys
Fatherland 1994
as General Globus
Selling Hitler 1993
as Gerd Schulte-Hillen
Hamlet 1992
as Claudius
- SS-3: The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
SS-3: The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich 1992
as Narrator
The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story 1990
as BKA Police Chief
How to Get Ahead in Advertising 1989
as Psychiatrist
Testimony 1988
as Andre Zhdanov
Partition 1987
as General Flood
Personal Services 1987
as Lionel
Theban Plays: Antigone 1986
as Creon
Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus 1986
as Creon
Theban Plays: Oedipus the King 1986
as Creon
The Burston Rebellion 1985
as Rev. Charles Tucker Eland
- Poppyland
Poppyland 1985
as George Sims
King Lear 1982
as Earl of Kent
Troilus & Cressida 1981
as Hector
Timon of Athens 1981
as Alcibiades
- The Tom Machine
The Tom Machine 1980
Actor
- The Victim
The Victim 1980
as Vincent Craig
Gossip from the Forest 1979
as Matthias Erzberger
Edward & Mrs. Simpson 1978
as Maj. Alexander Hardinge
Flayed 1978
as Robert
- The Three Hostages
The Three Hostages 1977
as Gaudian
Professional Foul 1977
as McKendrick
- Hitting Town
Hitting Town 1976
as Leonard Brazil (voice)
Hennessy 1975
as Tipaldi
King Lear 1975
as Duke of Cornwall
Pope Joan 1972
as Father James
Nicholas and Alexandra 1971
as Petya
- It's Called the Sugar Plum
It's Called the Sugar Plum 1969
as Wally Zuckerman
- The Ha-Ha
The Ha-Ha 1969
as Jamie
Credits from TMDB.