John Lamin Wood (5 July 1930 – 6 August 2011) was an English actor known for his Shakespearean performances and his lasting association with Tom Stoppard. In 1976, he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Stoppard's Travesties. He was nominated for further Tony Awards for his roles in Sherlock Holmes (1975) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1968). His films included WarGames (1983), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Ladyhawke (1985), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Orlando (1992), Shadowlands (1993), The Madness of King George (1994), Richard III (1995), Sabrina (1995), and Chocolat (2000).
In 2007, Wood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year Honours List.
Early life
John Lamin Wood was born to Reginald and Norah (née Lamin) Wood on 5 July 1930 in Harpenden, Hertfordshire; he spent his early years there and in Derby. He was educated at Bedford School. His performance won the Evening Standard award for Best Actor of 1991. In that RSC season, he also played Don Armado in Terry Hands production of Love's Labour's Lost.
Thereafter, Wood appeared in far fewer plays but returned to playing character roles in films and television. This included Shadowlands (1993), Nicholas Hytner's The Madness of King George (1994), Sabrina (1995), and Ian McKellen's fascist-themed Richard III (1995). He also played Baron de Charlus in the 1997 radio adaptation of Harold Pinter's screenplay of Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu.
In 1994, he played the East End gangster in Philip Ridley's Ghost from a Perfect Place at the Hampstead theatre. Wood returned to the National Theatre in 1997 for Richard Eyre's production of The Invention of Love by Tom Stoppard. Wood played the aging classical scholar and poet A.E. Housman in a role written specifically for him by Stoppard, and for which he received a nomination for an Olivier Award.
He played Spooner at the National Theatre in 2001 in Harold Pinter's, No Man's Land. He last appeared on stage in 2005 at the National Theatre in both parts of Henry IV. He was supposed to appear in the Robert Altman-directed Resurrection Blues by Arthur Miller at the Old Vic but had to withdraw because of illness. Wood made his last television appearance guesting on Lewis in 2007.
Personal life and death
In 1957, Wood married Gillian Neason; they had a son and later divorced.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1953
| Salome
| Sword Dancer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1959
| Idol on Parade
| Jeremy
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1960
| Two-Way Stretch
| Captain
|
|-
| Let's Get Married
| Ice Cream Man
|
|-
| 1960
| The Challenge
| School Inspector
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1961
| Gorgo
| Sandwich board man
| Uncredited
|-
| The Rebel
| Poet
|
|-
| Wings of Death
| Photographer
| Short
|-
| Invasion Quartet
| Duty Officer - War Office
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1962
| Postman's Knock
| P.C. Woods
| John Woods
|-
| Live Now, Pay Later
| Curate
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1963
| Just for Fun
| Official
|
|-
| Love Is a Ball
| Julian Soames
|
|-
| The Mouse on the Moon
| Countryman
|
|-
| That Kind of Girl
| Doctor
|
|-
| 1965
| Lady L
| Photographer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1967
| Just like a Woman
| John Martin
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1970
| One More Time
| Figg
|
|-
| The Engagement
| Penciller
|
|-
| Which Way to the Front?
| Finkel
|
|-
| 1971
| Nicholas and Alexandra
| Colonel Kobylinsky
|
|-
| 1972
| Slaughterhouse-Five
| English Officer
| Tom Wood
|-
| 1978
| Somebody Killed Her Husband
| Ernest Van Santen
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1983
| Agent 000 and the Deadly Curves
| Agent 009
|
|-
| WarGames
| Dr. Stephen Falken
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| The Purple Rose of Cairo
| Jason
|
|-
| Ladyhawke
| Bishop of Aquila
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1986
| Lady Jane
| John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland
|
|-
| Heartburn
| British Moderator
|
|-
| Jumpin' Jack Flash
| Jeremy Talbott
|
|-
| 1992
| Orlando
| Archduke Harry
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1993
| The Young Americans
| Richard Donnelly
|
|-
| Shadowlands
| Christopher Riley
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Uncovered
| Cesar
|
|-
| The Madness of King George
| Thurlow
|
|-
| 1995
| Richard III
| King Edward IV
|
|-
| 1995
| Sabrina
| Tom Fairchild
|
|-
| 1996
| Jane Eyre
| Mr. Brocklehurst
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Metroland
| The Retired Commuter
|
|-
| The Gambler
| The General
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1998
| Sweet Revenge
| Col. Marcus
|
|-
| The Avengers
| Trubshaw
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| An Ideal Husband
| Lord Caversham
|
|-
| The Venice Project
| The Viscount
|
|-
| Mad Cows
| Alistair
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| The Little Vampire
| Lord McAshton
|
|-
| Chocolat
| Guillaume Blerot
|
|-
| 2001
| The Body
| Cardinal Pesci
|
|-
| 2003
| Imagining Argentina
| Amos Sternberg
|
|-
| 2004
| The Rocket Post
| Sir Wilson Ramsay
|
|-
| 2005
| The White Countess
| Prince Peter Belinsky
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1955
| Strange Experiences
| Man
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1960
| Barnaby Rudge
| Barnaby Rudge
| 12 episodes
|-
| 1962
| Saki
| Mr. Blenkinthrope
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1964
| Espionage
| Douglas
| Episode: "A Free Agent"
|-
| And Benbow Was His Name
| Captain Kirby
| TV movie
|-
| 1965
| A Tale of Two Cities
| Sydney Carton
| 8 episodes
|-
| 1966
| Out of the Unknown
| Brenner
| Episode: "Too Many Cooks"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1967
| The Avengers
| Edgar Twitter
| Episode: "The Bird Who Knew Too Much"
|-
| Hondo
| Goya
| Episode: "Hondo and the Gladiators"
|-
| Armchair Theatre
| Brian
| Episode: "Poor Cherry"
|-
| 1971
| Doomwatch
| Nigel Waring
| Episode: "No Room for Error"
|-
| 1991
| Thatcher: The Final Days
| Michael Heseltine
| TV movie
|-
| 1993
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
| Charles Webster Leadbeater
| Episode: "Benares, January 1910 "
|-
| 1995
| Citizen X
| Prosecutor Gorbunov
| TV movie
|-
| 1997
| Kavanagh QC
| Mr. Justice Way
| Episode: "Mute of Malice"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Longitude
| Sir Edmond Halley
| TV movie
|-
| The Canterbury Tales
| The Knight
| Voice, 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2001
| Love in a Cold Climate
| Lord Merlin
| TV Mini-Series
|-
| Victoria and Albert
| The Duke of Wellington
| TV movie
|-
| 2002
| Napoleon
| Pope Pius VII
| Episode: "1800-1807"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2004
| The Return of the Dancing Master
| Jonas Andersson
| TV movie
|-
| Foyle's War
| Sir Michael Waterford
| Episode: "Enemy Fire"
|-
| 2007
| Lewis
| Edward Le Plassiter
| Episode: "Expiation"
|}
Awards and honours
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Results
! Ref.
|-
| 2006
| Clarence Derwent Awards
| Best Male in a Supporting Role (UK)
| Henry IV, Part 2
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1976
| Drama Desk Awards
| Outstanding Actor in a Play
| Travesties
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1983
| Saturn Awards
| Best Supporting Actor
| WarGames
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2000
| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
| Chocolat
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1968
| rowspan="3"| Tony Awards
| Best Supporting or Featured Actor in a Play
| Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1975
| rowspan="2"| Best Leading Actor in a Play
| Sherlock Holmes
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1976
| Travesties
|
| align="center"|
|}
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Wood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List of 2007.
References
- Obituary, The Times (London), 11 Aug 2011
- Michael Coveney (11 August 2011), Obituary, The Guardian
- Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 11 August 2011
- Margalit Fox (11 August 2011). Obituary, The New York Times
- "John Wood: an actor who made us see things anew", Michael Billington, The Guardian, 11 August 2011
- Obituary, The Independent, 18 August 2011
- "Why Did Broadway's Leading Man, John Wood, Do a Movie with Farrah Fawcett-Majors? 'Money, People, 4 September 1978
- "John Wood: At Long Last Lear", Theatre Week, 1990
External links
- Obituary in The Guardian
- Obituary in The Telegraph