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Jonathan Pryce

Acting Born Jun 1, 1947 Carmel, Flintshire, Wales, UK 178 credits

Biography

Jonathan Pryce, CBE, was born on 1 June 1947 in Carmel, Flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom. He is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer who studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Beginning his career on stage in the 1970s, he earned an award‑winning performance as the title character in the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Hamlet. His screen breakthrough came with Terry Gilliam’s 1985 cult film Brazil, after which he took supporting roles in film and television. In 2019 he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal in The Two Popes. Pryce is noted for playing smooth‑talking, complex characters and has been credited in more than 175 screen productions.

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Career

Career overview

Jonathan Pryce, CBE, was born on 1 June 1947 in Carmel, Flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he entered the professional world as a stage actor in the 1970s. His theatrical work includes an award‑winning performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatre’s production of “Hamlet,” a role that helped transition him into supporting parts on screen. In 1974 he met English actress Kate Fahy, who has been his long‑time partner.

Pryce’s breakthrough in film came with Terry Gilliam’s 1985 cult classic “Brazil,” after which he accumulated a substantial body of work across both cinema and television, tallying 175 credited roles according to the Movie Database. His versatility has been noted by critics, and his career includes appearances in large‑budget productions. In 2019 he received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in “The Two Popes.” In addition to acting, he is also recognised as a singer. He is occasionally credited under the variant name John Price. Throughout his career Pryce has been identified primarily for his acting contributions, establishing a reputation for portraying smooth‑talking, complex characters across a range of genres.

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Frequent co-stars

Career timeline

Elden Ring
Under Salt MarshFlavia
The Thursday Murder ClubWilliam TellThe Penguin Lessons
3 Body Problem
One Life
Slow HorsesAll the Old KnivesScrooge: A Christmas CarolSave the CinemaSoul of the Ocean
Stories of You and I
Tales from the Loop
The Two PopesPiney: The Lonesome PineHe Dreams of GiantsGone Hollywood
The Man Who Killed Don QuixoteTo Provide All People
TabooThe WifeThe Man Who Invented ChristmasThe HealerBecoming Cary Grant
The CrownMiss Saigon: 25th Anniversary PerformanceTo Walk InvisibleAberfan: The Green HollowThe White King
The Late Show with Stephen ColbertThe Late Show with Stephen ColbertWolf HallDocumentary Now!Woman in Gold
Late Night with Seth MeyersThe SalvationSluizer SpeaksListen Up PhilipThe Ghost and the Whale
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Patience (After Sebald)The Story of MusicalsKing LearDark Blood
Game of ThronesHysteriaCity StateWisdom of Changes - Richard Wilhelm and the I Ching
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
G.I. Joe: The Rise of CobraEchelon Conspiracy
Bedtime StoriesLeatherheadsIan Fleming: Where Bond BeganWhat Is Brazil?Clone
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's EndThe Alan Titchmarsh ShowCranfordThe Moon and the StarsHR
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestBrothers of the Head
The Brothers GrimmThe New WorldBroadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony AwardsThe Brothers Grimm: Bringing the Fairytale to Life
De-LovelyRonin: Filming in the Fast Lane
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearlWhat a Girl WantsQuest for the Giant SquidDavid Bowie - Sound and Vision
ChalkZoneTaliesin JonesUnconditional LoveBest Ever BondMad Dogs
Bride of the WindThe Affair of the NecklaceDeceitVictoria & AlbertVery Annie Mary
Easter TalesThe Suicide Club
StigmataTitanic: Answers From The AbyssDoctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death
RoninHey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron MackintoshHighly Classified: The World of 007

Full filmography

  • Elden Ring (2028)
  • Under Salt Marsh (2026) as Solomon Bevan
  • Flavia (2026) as Dr. Kissing
  • The Thursday Murder Club (2025) as Stephen
  • William Tell (2025) as Attinghausen
  • The Penguin Lessons (2025) as Headmaster Buckle
  • 3 Body Problem (2024) as Mike Evans
  • One Life (2023) as Martin Blake
  • Slow Horses (2022) as David Cartwright
  • All the Old Knives (2022) as Bill Compton
  • Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022) as Jacob Marley (voice)
  • Save the Cinema (2022) as Mr. Morgan
  • Soul of the Ocean (2022) as Self - Narrator
  • The Spirit of 1926 (2022) as Narrator
  • The Witness is a Whale (2022) as Self - Narrator (voice)
  • The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking (2022) as Self - Narrator
  • Stories of You and I (2021) as Narrator
  • Tales from the Loop (2020) as Russ
  • The Two Popes (2019) as Jorge Bergoglio / Pope Francis
  • Piney: The Lonesome Pine (2019) as Grandpa Sid
  • He Dreams of Giants (2019) as Self
  • Gone Hollywood (2019) as Benny Landau
  • The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) as Don Quixote
  • To Provide All People (2018) as Retired Neurosurgeon
  • Taboo (2017) as Stuart Strange
  • The Wife (2017) as Joe Castleman
  • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) as Mr. John Dickens
  • The Healer (2017) as Raymond Heacock
  • Becoming Cary Grant (2017) as Cary Grant (voice)
  • The Crown (2016) as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (2016) as Special Finale Guest Star
  • To Walk Invisible (2016) as Patrick Brontë
  • Aberfan: The Green Hollow (2016)
  • The White King (2016) as Colonel Fitz
  • One Last Dance (2016) as John
  • The Merchant of Venice - Live at Shakespeare's Globe (2016) as Shylock
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self - Guest
  • Wolf Hall (2015) as Cardinal Wolsey
  • Documentary Now! (2015) as Owen Teale-Griffith
  • Woman in Gold (2015) as Chief Justice Rehnquist
  • Narcopolis (2015) as Sidorov
  • Dough (2015) as Nat
  • Game of Thrones: A Day in the Life (2015) as Self
  • Shylock's Ghost (2015) as Self
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) as Self - Guest
  • The Salvation (2014) as Mayor Nathan Keane
  • Sluizer Speaks (2014)
  • Listen Up Philip (2014) as Ike
  • The Ghost and the Whale (2014) as Whale
  • Under Milk Wood (2014) as Mr. Pugh
  • G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) as U.S. President
  • Patience (After Sebald) (2012) as Voiceover
  • The Story of Musicals (2012) as Self
  • King Lear (2012) as King Lear
  • Dark Blood (2012) as Harry Fletcher
  • Game of Thrones (2011) as High Sparrow
  • Hysteria (2011) as Dr. Robert Dalrymple
  • City State (2011) as Jimmy
  • Wisdom of Changes - Richard Wilhelm and the I Ching (2011) as Jonathan Pryce Jonathan Pryce Richard Wilhelm - English(voice)
  • The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (2010)
  • G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) as U.S. President
  • Echelon Conspiracy (2009) as Mueller
  • Bedtime Stories (2008) as Marty Bronson
  • Leatherheads (2008) as CC Frazier
  • Ian Fleming: Where Bond Began (2008) as Ian Fleming (voice)
  • What Is Brazil? (2008) as Self
  • Clone (2008) as Dr Victor Blenkinsop
  • My Zinc Bed (2008) as Victor
  • The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen (2008) as Self / Horatio Jackson
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) as Governor Weatherby Swann
  • The Alan Titchmarsh Show (2007) as Self
  • Cranford (2007) as Mr. Buxton
  • The Moon and the Stars (2007) as James Clavel / Scarpia
  • HR (2007) as Peter
  • Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (2007) as Sherlock Holmes
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) as Governor Weatherby Swann
  • Brothers of the Head (2006) as Henry Couling
  • The Brothers Grimm (2005) as Delatombe
  • The New World (2005) as King James
  • Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards (2005) as The Engineer (segment "Miss Saigon") (archive footage)
  • The Brothers Grimm: Bringing the Fairytale to Life (2005) as Self
  • De-Lovely (2004) as Gabriel
  • Ronin: Filming in the Fast Lane (2004) as Self
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) as Governor Weatherby Swann
  • What a Girl Wants (2003) as Alistair Payne
  • Quest for the Giant Squid (2003) as Narrator
  • David Bowie - Sound and Vision (2003) as Narrator
  • ChalkZone (2002) as The Quicksand Man (voice)
  • Taliesin Jones (2002) as Da
  • Unconditional Love (2002) as Victor Fox
  • Best Ever Bond (2002) as Self / Elliot Carver
  • Mad Dogs (2002) as Supreme Being
  • Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (2002) as Master Schoemacker
  • Bride of the Wind (2001) as Gustav Mahler
  • The Affair of the Necklace (2001) as Cardinal Louis de Rohan
  • Deceit (2001) as Mark
  • Victoria & Albert (2001) as King Leopold I of Belgium
  • Very Annie Mary (2001) as Jack Pugh
  • Easter Tales (2000) as The Thief
  • The Suicide Club (2000) as Bourne
  • Stigmata (1999) as Cardinal Daniel Houseman
  • Titanic: Answers From The Abyss (1999) as Narrator
  • Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) as The Master
  • Ronin (1998) as Seamus O'Rourke
  • Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh (1998) as Professor Henry Higgins / The Engineer
  • Highly Classified: The World of 007 (1998) as Self
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) as Elliot Carver
  • David (1997) as Saul
  • Regeneration (1997) as Capt. William Rivers
  • The Secrets of 007 (1997) as Self
  • Davide (1997) as Saul
  • David (1997) as Saul
  • Evita (1996) as Juan Perón
  • A New Madonna: The Making of 'Evita' (1996) as Self
  • Carrington (1995) as Lytton Strachey
  • Shopping (1994) as Conway
  • A Troll in Central Park (1994) as Alan (voice)
  • Deadly Advice (1994) as Dr. Ted Philips
  • Great Moments in Aviation (1994) as Duncan Stewart
  • A Business Affair (1994) as Alec Bolton
  • The Age of Innocence (1993) as Rivière
  • Barbarians at the Gate (1993) as Henry Kravis
  • Thicker Than Water (1993) as Sam
  • Mr. Wroe's Virgins (1993) as John Wroe
  • Selling Hitler (1993) as Gerd Heidemann
  • Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) as James Lingk
  • Freddie As F.R.O.7. (1992) as Trilby (voice)
  • A Child's Garden of Verses (1992) as Narrator / Father (voice)
  • Selling Hitler (1991) as Gerd Heidemann
  • The Man from the Pru (1990) as William Wallace
  • The Rachel Papers (1989) as Norman
  • The Heat Is On: The Making of Miss Saigon (1989) as Self - 'The Engineer'
  • The Storyteller (1988) as King
  • Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988) as Himself
  • Consuming Passions (1988) as Mr. Farris
  • The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) as The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson
  • The World Within Us (1988) as Voice
  • Man on Fire (1987) as Michael
  • Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) as Jack
  • Haunted Honeymoon (1986) as Charles Abbot
  • Screen Two (1985) as William Wallace
  • Screen Two (1985) as Duncan Stewart
  • Brazil (1985) as Sam Lowry
  • The Doctor and the Devils (1985) as Robert Fallon
  • An Audience with Mel Brooks (1984) as Self (uncredited)
  • Martin Luther, Heretic (1983) as Martin Luther
  • The Ploughman's Lunch (1983) as James Penfield
  • Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) as Mr. Dark
  • Murder Is Easy (1982) as Mr. Ellsworthy
  • Praying Mantis (1982) as Christian Magny
  • Praying Mantis (1982) as Christian Magny
  • The Caretaker (1981) as Mick
  • Timon of Athens (1981) as Timon
  • Loophole (1981) as Taylor
  • The Day Christ Died (1980) as Herod
  • Breaking Glass (1980) as Ken
  • Comedians (1979) as Gethin Price
  • An Audience with... (1978) as Self
  • For Tea on Sunday (1978) as Nicholas
  • BBC2 Play of the Week (1977) as Nicholas
  • The Sound of Laughter (1977) as Mr. Ambrose
  • Voyage of the Damned (1976) as Joseph Manasse
  • Bill Brand (1976) as Jamie Finn
  • Play Things (1976) as Playleader
  • The Death of a Young Young Man (1975) as Tommy
  • Playhouse (1974) as Playleader
  • Great Performances (1971) as Self - Narrator (voice)
  • Film '72 (1971) as Self
  • Doomwatch (1970) as Police Constable
  • Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Winner
  • Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Winner / Performer
  • Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter
  • The Oscars (1953) as Self
  • Bristol
  • Mavis Eccleston as Dennis Eccleston
  • Keep Her Quiet as Bernie Porter
  • Sleeping Lions