Martin Shaw

For other people named Martin Shaw, seeMartin Shaw (disambiguation).

Martin Shaw
Shaw in 2020
Born	(1945-01-21)21 January 1945 Birmingham,Warwickshire,England
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–present
Spouse(s)	Jill Allen ​ ​ (m.1968, divorced)​ Maggie Mansfield ​ ​ (m.1985, divorced)​ Vicky Kimm ​ ​ (m.1996, divorced)​
Partner	Karen Da’Silva (since 2003)
Children	3, includingJoe Shaw

Martin Shaw(born 21 January 1945) is an English stage, television, and film actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle inITVcrime-action television drama seriesThe Professionals(1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles inThe Chief(1993–1995),Judge John Deed(2001–2007) andInspector George Gently(2007–2017). He has also acted on stage and in film, and has narrated numerous audiobooks and presented various television series.

Early life

Shaw was born inBirmingham.His childhood was spent in Alleyne Grove inErdingtonandSutton Coldfield.Shaw attendedGreat Barr School,where he excelled inEnglish literatureand drama lessons.At sixteen, he was offered a scholarship to a Birmingham drama school but declined.

In his youth, Shaw was involved in a drunken brawl with a friend, suffering broken teeth, injuries to his face and a fractured skull, and needed cheekbone surgery.

At age eighteen, Shaw moved to London to study acting at theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art(LAMDA).He served his apprenticeship inrepertoryas anassistant stage managerat theQueen's Theatre, Hornchurchand theBristol Old Vic.

Stage

Shaw took key roles in the first revival ofLook Back in Anger(Royal Court/Criterion, 1968); in theNational Theatre'sSaturday, Sunday, MondayoppositeLaurence Olivier(1973); and inA Streetcar Named Desirepresented by thePiccadilly Theatrein 1974. He later acknowledged the role ofStanley Kowalskiin 'Streetcar' as a point of breakthrough in his career.

In 1985, Shaw playedElvis PresleyinAlan Bleasdale'sAre You Lonesome Tonight?.It told the story of Presley's last few hours. After a long run in London, the production visitedSydney,MelbourneandAdelaidein Australia.

Shaw's portrayal of Lord Goring inAn Ideal Husbandon Broadway earned him aTony Awardnomination and a Drama Desk award.

After filming finished on the TV seriesJudge John Deed,Shaw took the role ofThomas MoreinRobert Bolt's playA Man for All Seasons.Shaw's daughter, Sophie, played opposite him as More's daughter, Margaret. The production toured Britain's cities before a run in London at theTheatre Royal Haymarket.

In 2013, in a new production of the classic playTwelve Angry Menat theGarrick TheatreLondon, Shaw played the part of the dissenting juror (identified as juror number 8).

In 2016 Shaw toured and returned to the West End again with a production ofHobson's Choiceat theVaudeville.After completing filming the final episode ofGeorge Gently,Shaw again toured in 2017 with the U.K. premiere ofGore Vidal's1960 political piece:The Best Man.Shaw played the part of William Russell, former US Secretary of State.

Television

Shaw began television work in 1967.Parts in one-off plays forGranada Televisionled to his playing hippy student Robert Croft, Lucile Hewitt's boyfriend, inCoronation Street.Another early role was booze and football-loving Welsh medical student Huw Evans in the television comedy seriesDoctor in the House.He later guest-starred, playing the same role, in the follow-up seriesDoctor at Large,now a nervous expectant father in the episode "Mother and Father Doing Well".The actor had been introduced to international audiences via his portrayal of Horatio in the 1970Hallmark Hall of Famepresentation ofHamlet,starringRichard Chamberlain.

Shaw appeared with future co-starLewis Collinsin an episode ofThe New Avengers.Both played the roles of terrorists.Shaw portrayed Ray Doyle ( "Agent 4–5" ) in the British television seriesThe Professionals(1977–1983), opposite Collins. Shaw played another law-enforcement role in the 1990s ITV productionThe Chief.

In 1983, Shaw playedRobert Falcon ScottinThe Last Place on Earth.The series was filmed atFrobisher Baynear the city ofIqaluitonBaffin Island,Canada. In interview at the time, Shaw commented that he generally responded well to the testing physical conditions, particularly when they enhanced the reality of the scene. In the same year he played Sir Henry Baskerville inThe Hound of the Baskervilles,an adaptation of the novel bySir Arthur Conan Doyle.He acted oppositeIan Richardson'sSherlock Holmesand Donald Churchill'sDr. Watson.

He playedCecil RhodesinRhodes,an eight-part serial that aired in 1996 and was filmed on location inSouth Africa.Shaw's younger son,Joe,took early leave of his drama school course to play the part of the youthful Rhodes.

Another television acting credit includes the role of Dr Robert Kingston inAlways and Everyone(1999–2002), a British accident and emergency medical series, played alongsideNiamh Cusack.

In 2001, he took the title role in theBBCdramaJudge John Deed.The character gave an editorial voice to the television writer and producerG.F. Newman's ideas about lifestyle choices such as vegetarianism and alternative medicine as well as issues of social justice. One episode about the safety of the MMR vaccine was banned.

Between seasons ofJudge John Deed,Shaw took the role of poetic bespectacled forensic detectiveAdam DalglieshinP.D. James'sDeath in Holy Ordersin 2003 andThe Murder Roomin 2005. After the sixth season ofJudge John Deedhad been filmed, Shaw appeared in the seriesApparitions,broadcast by the BBC in 2008. This was Shaw's first project as executive director.

From 2007 until 2017 he played the title role in the BBC TV seriesInspector George Gently. On 9 May 2015 Shaw recited "For the Fallen"atVE Day 70: A Party to RememberinHorse Guards Parade,London which was broadcast on BBC 1.

In 2021 he played the role of Dennis Stephenson, leader of a fictitious religious cult called the Barum Brethren, in theBritBoxoriginal seriesThe Long Call.The series premiered in autumn 2021, and is based on theAnn Cleevesbestselling novel.

Film

Shaw's first film role was as an Irish communist in a 1967 television adaptation of the novel,Love on the Dole.Better known is his 1971 role ofBanquoinRoman Polanski'sMacbeth.He has also been seen as an undercoverSecond World Waroperative in the 1975 productionOperation Daybreak;a singing and dancing futuristic magician "Zax" inFacelift;the role of Rachid in the 1973 filmThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad,and a wanted villain leading a life on the run in a circus troupe inLadder of Swords(1989).

Narration and documentaries

Shaw has narrated manyaudiobooks,includingTolkien'sThe HobbitandThe Silmarillion;Swift'sGulliver's Travels;andEmily Brontë'sWuthering Heights.In 2006, Shaw narrated and appeared in a DVD chronicling the "MerlinsoverMalta"project. This featured the return of a Second World WarSupermarine SpitfireandHawker Hurricanefrom Britain toMaltafor the first time in fifty years.

In December 2006, Shaw presented the six-partDiscovery ChannelReal Time TV seriesMartin Shaw: Aviators,produced byTwofour,which followed the two-year restoration of hisBoeing Stearmanbiplaneafter it was crashed by another pilot atOld Buckenhamairfield inNorfolk.Shaw fulfilled a lifetime ambition to take the controls of a Spitfire and, though take-off was not permitted, he also powered anEnglish Electric Lightningto 150 mph in three seconds along the runway atCranfield Airport.Shaw also compared notes with the builder and developer of the modernautogyro,Wing CdrKen Wallis.

In 2010 he presented a documentary for theBBCtitledDambusters Declassifiedin which he investigated and debunked some of the myths of the dambusters raid known asOperation Chastisestory which had been portrayed in the booksEnemy Coast AheadandThe Dambusters,and the filmThe Dam Busters.

Advertisements

Among several voiceovers and appearances, in 1974, Shaw starred in a three-minute advertisement for the Mk IIFord Capriand in 1987, a TV advert for theVauxhall Cavalier.

Activism and charity work

Shaw is a celebrity activist foranimal rightsandanimal welfare.He is the patron of theHillside Animal SanctuaryinFrettenhaminNorfolk,acharity organisationwhich provides a safe home for neglected and abused animals.He also supportsViva!andDr Hadwen Trust.

In March 2012, he also announced that he would become the official patron to the community organisationStop Norwich UrBanisationorSNUB,whose aim is to protectNorfolk's countryside from overdevelopment and excessive urbanisation. In the press release, he stated that he was "simply furious and upset by your plight and that of all of us who wish to live in quiet and peace. I will be your Patron and keep fighting".

Personal life

In 1971, Shaw became a follower ofCharan Singh,of theSant Matreligion.

Shaw lives inWreninghamin Norfolk.

On 18 August 2010, Shaw collapsed during the first act of the matinee showing ofA Country GirlatShrewsbury's Theatre Severn. His agent, Roger Charteris, said he had been suffering from cracked ribs and was taking antibiotics for a severe chest infection. Anunderstudywent on in his place.

Shaw has been avegetariansince about 1974.He has a prominent scar on his right cheek, the result of a physical attack during a mugging, after which he became ateetotal.

Awards and nominations

Shaw won two awards in 1996 for his performance as Lord Goring in the Broadway production ofAn Ideal Husbandand was nominated for a third:

• Winner of theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
• Winner of theTheatre World Special Award for Ensemble Performance
• Nominated for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play

Appearances

Television

• Coronation Street(1967-1968) as Robert Croft (5 episodes)
• On the Move(1975–1976) as Martin
• Helen: A Woman of Today(1973) as Frank Tully
• Love's Labours Lost(1975) as Ferdinand, King of Navarre
• The Duchess of Duke Street"Family Matters" (1976) as Arthur
• The Professionals(1977–1983) as Ray Doyle
• Doctor in the House(1969) as Huw Evans
• Doctor at Large(1971) as Huw Evans (11 episodes)
• Beasts(1976) as Dave (episode "Buddyboy" )
• Cream in My Coffee(byDennis Potter) (1980) as Jack Butcher
• East Lynne(1982) as Archibald Carlyle
• The Hound of the Baskervilles(1983) as Sir Henry Baskerville
• The Last Place on Earth(1985) asRobert Falcon Scott
• The Chief(1993–1995) as Chief Constable Alan Cade
• Rhodes(1996) asCecil Rhodes
• The Scarlet Pimpernel(1999–2000) asChauvelin
• A&E(1999–2002) as Robert Kingsford
• Judge John Deed(2001–2007) as Judge John Deed
• Death in Holy Orders(2003) asAdam Dalgliesh
• The Murder Room(2004) as Adam Dalgliesh.
• Martin Shaw: Aviators(2006)
• Cranford(2007) as Peter Jenkyns
• Inspector George Gently(2007–2017) as George Gently
• Lemur Street(2007)
• Apparitions(2008) as Father Jacob
• Agatha Christie's PoirotThree Act Tragedy(2010) as Charles Cartwright
• Dambusters Declassified(2010) as presenter
• Playhouse Presents(2012) as Piers Hunt
• Strike(2017) as Tony Landry
• The Long Call(2021) as Dennis Stephenson

Theatre

• Look Back in Anger(Royal Courttransferring to theCriterion Theatre,1968) as "Cliff Lewis".
• The Contractor(Royal Court, 1969; transferring to theFortune Theatre,1970) as "Paul".
• The Battle of Shrivings(Lyric Theatre,1970) as "David".
• Cancer(in the United States,Moon Children;Royal Court, 1970) as "Bob".
• The Bacchae(National Theatreat theOld Vic,1973) as "Dionysus".
• Saturday, Sunday, Monday(National Theatre at the Old Vic, 1973) as "Attilio" oppositeLaurence Olivier.
• A Streetcar Named Desire(Piccadilly Theatre,1974) as "Stanley Kowalski".
• Miss Julie(Greenwich Theatre,1975) as "Jean".
• Teeth 'n' Smiles(Wyndham's Theatre,1976) as "Arthur".
• They're Playing Our Song(Shaftesbury Theatre,1981) as "Vernon Gersch".
• The Country Girl(Apollo Theatre,1983).
• Are You Lonesome Tonight?(Phoenix Theatre,1985) as 'The OlderElvis Presley' (also Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)
• The Big Knife(Albery Theatre,1987) as Charles Castle
• Other People's Money(Lyric Theatre,1990) as "Garfinkel".
• Betrayal(Almeida Theatre,1991) as "Robert".
• Sienna Red,byStephen Poliakoffand co-starringFrancesca Annis(Richmond Theatre,May 1992).
• An Ideal Husband(Globe Theatre,1992) as "Lord Goring".
• Rough JusticebyTerence Frisby(Apollo Theatre, 1994) as "James Highwood".
• An Ideal Husband(Haymarket Theatretransferring to theOld Vic,1996; revived at the Haymarket in 1997 then transferred to theGielgud Theatre).
• Vertigo(Theatre Royal Windsor,October 1998) as "Roger Flaviares" alongside his subsequent co-starJenny SeagroveinJudge John Deed.
• A Man For All Seasons(Haymarket, 2005/6) as Sir Thomas More.
• The Country Girl(Apollo Theatre,October 2010) co-starring Jenny Seagrove, following a tour.
• Hobson's Choice,(Vaudeville Theatre,2016) as Henry Hobson.

Film

• Macbeth(1971) as Banquo.
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad(1973) as Rachid.
• Operation Daybreak(1975) as Sergeant Karel Čurda.
• Facelift(1984) as Zax.
• Intrigue(1988) As Roskov
• Ladder of Swords(1989).
• Oilman(short film).
• 6 Daysas Dellow
• Off the Railsas Federico

External links

• Martin Shawat theInternet Broadway Database
• Martin ShawatIMDb