Editing Brian Blessed (section)

{{short description|English actor (born 1936)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Brian Blessed
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|size=100%}}
| image              = Brian Blessed 2012 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Blessed in 2012
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1936|10|9|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Mexborough]], England
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = [[Bristol Old Vic Theatre School]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* Actor
* presenter
* writer
* explorer
}}
| years_active       = 1956–present
| works              = [[List of Brian Blessed performances|Filmography]]
| spouse             = {{ubl|{{marriage|Ann Bomann|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Hildegarde Neil]]|1978|2023|end=died}}}}
| children           = 2
}}
'''Brian Blessed''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|l|ɛ|s|ɪ|d}} {{Respell|BLES|id}}; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''[[Z-Cars]]''; [[Augustus]] in the 1976 [[BBC]] television production of ''[[I, Claudius (TV series)|I, Claudius]]''; [[List of Blackadder characters#King Richard IV of England|King Richard IV]] in the [[The Black Adder|first series]] of ''[[Blackadder]]''; [[Prince Vultan]] in ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]''; [[Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats|Bustopher Jones]] and [[Old Deuteronomy]] in the 1981 original London production of ''[[Cats (musical)|Cats]]'' at the [[Gillian Lynne Theatre|New London Theatre]]; [[Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter]], in ''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]''; [[Boss Nass]] in ''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace]]''; and the voice of Clayton and the [[Tarzan yell]] in Disney's ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]''.

In 2016, Blessed was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) for services to the arts and charity.{{cn|date=May 2025}}