Editing Brian Blessed (section)

===Acting===
{{Main|List of Brian Blessed performances}}
One of Blessed's earliest roles was that of PC "Fancy" Smith in the [[BBC]] television series ''[[Z-Cars]]'', between 1962 and 1965.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/f3c56a1d1bd747fe942a1ea1d39f6ff0 |title=Z Cars: 5: Big Catch – BBC Television – 30 January 1962 |date=30 January 1962 |publisher=[[BBC Genome]]}}</ref> In 1966, he appeared in a production of ''[[Incident at Vichy]]'' at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]] in London. Also in 1966, he was offered the titular role of [[the Doctor]] in BBC's [[Science fiction|sci-fi]] drama, ''[[Doctor Who]]'', to take over from [[William Hartnell]], but had to turn it down due to conflicting projects.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/aug/05/brian-blessed-turned-down-doctor-who-bbc|title=Brian Blessed: I turned down Doctor Who|date=5 August 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> In 1967, he played Porthos in a 10-part BBC adaptation of ''[[The Three Musketeers]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/80ee1436ca7f44ea942296349c236416 |title=The Three Musketeers – BBC One London – 8 January 1967 |date=8 January 1967 |publisher=BBC Genome}}</ref> Blessed also had minor roles in cult TV series such as ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' (1967, 1969) and the original ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]'' (1969). He interpreted the role of King [[Mark of Cornwall]] in the [[ITV Wales & West|HTV]] television series ''[[Arthur of the Britons]]'' (1972–1973). He appeared as William Woodcock in the [[Yorkshire Television]] series ''Boy Dominic'' (1974). He played [[Caesar Augustus]] in the [[BBC Two]] drama series ''[[I, Claudius (TV series)|I, Claudius]]'' (1976),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/114be1caa91c438c92a85fd33d037a9b |title=I, Claudius – BBC Two England – 6 December 1976 |date=6 December 1976 |publisher=BBC Genome}}</ref> Vargas in the ''[[Blake's 7]]'' episode Cygnus Alpha (1978) and Basileos in ''[[The Aphrodite Inheritance]]'' (1979).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/af32c1fb31c84ee1ac59f3ed1a38ac30 |title=The Aphrodite Inheritance – BBC One London – 14 February 1979 |date=14 February 1979 |publisher=BBC Genome}}</ref> He hosted a docudrama on the life of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] called ''The Joy of Bach'' (1978), in which he also played Bach in a number of scenes.

Blessed also appeared in two episodes of the British science fiction television series ''[[Space:1999]]''. He played scientist Dr. Rowland Cabot in the 1975 episode ''[[Death's Other Dominion]]'' and as Mentor in the 1976 episode ''[[The Metamorph]]''.

Blessed played Long John Silver in the 10-part serial ''[[Return to Treasure Island (TV series)|Return to Treasure Island]]'' (1986), King Yrcanos in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Mindwarp]]'' (1986), General Yevlenko in the mini-series ''[[War and Remembrance (miniseries)|War and Remembrance]]'' (1988), and Lord Loxley, the father of [[Robin Hood]], in the Hollywood film ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]'' (1991).

In 1981, Blessed appeared in [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s musical, ''[[Cats (musical)|Cats]]'', as both [[Old Deuteronomy]] and [[Bustopher Jones]], for the original [[West End theatre]] production.<ref name="lawson">{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jan/13/brian-blessed-rosalind-blessed-interview-cats-astronaut|title=Brian Blessed: 'All my life, 90% of men have bored the arse off me'|date=13 January 2020|website=The Guardian|accessdate=1 November 2022}}</ref>

Blessed has appeared in a number of [[Shakespearean]] roles on both stage and screen, including four of the five Shakespeare films directed by [[Kenneth Branagh]]: as the [[Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter|Duke of Exeter]] in ''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]'' (1989), Antonio in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)|Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1993), the [[Ghost (Hamlet)|Ghost of Hamlet's Father]] in ''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]'' (1996), and both [[Characters in As You Like It#Duke Frederick|Duke Frederick]] and [[Characters in As You Like It#Duke Senior|Duke Senior]] in ''[[As You Like It (2006 film)|As You Like It]]'' (2006).

In comedies, Blessed portrayed [[Prince Vultan]] in the film ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'' (1980);<ref name=picasso>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/11977486/Brian-Blessed-Picasso-gave-me-a-50m-picture.-I-threw-it-away.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/11977486/Brian-Blessed-Picasso-gave-me-a-50m-picture.-I-threw-it-away.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Brian Blessed: 'Picasso Gave me a £50m picture – I threw it away' |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=8 November 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> the mad, comical figure of [[Richard IV of England (Blackadder)|Richard IV]] in the first series of ''[[The Black Adder]]'' (1983), a role Blessed has claimed to be one of his most cherished{{citationneeded|date=June 2024}}; and Spiro Halikiopoulos in the TV mini-series ''[[My Family and Other Animals (TV series)|My Family and Other Animals]]'' (1987), a BBC adaptation of [[Gerald Durrell]]'s [[My Family and Other Animals|book by the same name]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5339326.stm |date=15 September 2006 |title=Gerald Durrell's Lasting Legacy |access-date=5 May 2008 | work=[[BBC News Online]]}}</ref> Blessed has joked that he was due to appear in ''[[Blackadder II]]'' (1986) as [[Elizabeth I]], but was unavailable for filming.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2001/aug/22/climbingholidays.livechats?page=3 |date=22 August 2001 |title=Brian Blessed Web Chat |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=1 September 2008 }}</ref> In 1989, he made an appearance in the comedy/drama ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'', as [[Detective Inspector]] Freddie Dyer of the [[Serious Crime Squad]] in the episode ''The Last Video Show.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.minder.org/episodeguide/S07E04_TheLastVideoShow.htm|title=#7.4 The Last Video Show|website=www.minder.org|access-date=8 August 2020}}</ref>

In 1997, Blessed portrayed Squire Western in the [[The History of Tom Jones: a Foundling (TV series)|BBC adaptation]] of [[Henry Fielding]]'s 1749 comic novel ''[[The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|Tom Jones]]''. He later recalled accidentally punching [[Peter Capaldi]] whilst filming and said of the event, "I thought I'd killed the poor bastard."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-10-09/the-day-brian-blessed-punched-and-knocked-out-peter-capaldi |date=9 October 2014 |title=The day Brian Blessed punched and knocked out Peter Capaldi |magazine=[[Radio Times]] |access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, Blessed provided both the voice and live-action reference for the [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] character [[Boss Nass]] in ''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace]]'', and also provided the voice of the villainous hunter Clayton in Disney's animated feature film ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]'', a role he later reprised in the video game based on the film and in the critically acclaimed ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' in 2002; he also did the [[Tarzan yell]] after [[Tony Goldwyn]] was unable to do it himself. He voiced "Sir Morris" in the 1999 cartoon series ''[[The Big Knights]]''. He read the story "The White City" for the album series ''[[Late Night Tales]]'', recording it in four parts released over four albums,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/290589-Brian-Blessed?type=Appearances | title=Brian Blessed discography.| website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref> and was also the voice of [[Jean Valjean]] in [[Focus on the Family]] Radio Theatre's audio adaptation of [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Les Misérables]]''. Blessed was one of the narrators for ''[[Story Teller (Marshall Cavendish)|Story Teller]]'', a children's magazine partwork series in the 1980s. He has further provided vocal links for the [[Sony Radio Academy Awards|Sony-Award]]-winning [[Christian O'Connell]] Breakfast Show on [[Virgin Radio]], and introduced advertisements for [[Orange (telecommunications)|Orange]] mobile phones.

[[Image:Brian Blessed by Offwhitehouse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blessed at the [[Cambridge Film Festival]] in 2007]]
In 2002, under the direction of [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] director [[Adrian Noble]], he originated the role of [[Baron Bomburst]] for the stage musical version of ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)|Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''. From December 2005 to January 2006, Blessed headlined the [[Christmas pantomime]] production of ''[[Peter Pan]]'', alongside [[CBBC]] presenter [[Kirsten O'Brien]], at [[Ipswich]]'s [[Regent Theatre (Ipswich)|Regent Theatre]].{{cn|date=March 2024}} From 2007 to 2008, he appeared in the same play as [[Captain Hook]] at the Grove Theatre in [[Dunstable]]; he reprised the role for the Christmas 2008 season at the [[Fairfield Halls]], [[Croydon]]. For Christmas 2006, he presented a production of ''[[Cinderella]]'' for Virgin Radio, starring [[David Tennant]], [[Thandiwe Newton]] and others.

Since October 2008, Blessed has presented the English-language dub of the Japanese TV game show ''[[Unbeatable Banzuke]]'' on [[Challenge TV|Challenge]], under the pseudonym "Banzuke Brian". He was the narrator of the [[Sky 1]] series ''Crash Test Dummies'', starring [[Steve Marsh (comedian)|Steve Marsh]] and Dan Wright. In animation, he has provided the voices of Bob in ''Kika & Bob'' (2008)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kikaandbob.com/castandcrew.html|title=KIKA & BOB :: submarine productions|website=www.kikaandbob.com|access-date=8 August 2020}}</ref> and Grampy Rabbit in ''[[Peppa Pig]]'' (2004–present).

In 2009 Blessed starred with his wife, Hildegarde Neil, in the short film Mr Bojagi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1487977/|title=IMDB|website=www.imdb.com|access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref>

Following a [[Facebook]] campaign, [[satellite navigation]] manufacturer [[TomTom]] recorded Blessed's voice for use in its products; he has been available as a voice command option since October 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wallop |first=Harry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7930644/Brian-Blessed-new-voice-of-TomTom-Sat-Nav.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7930644/Brian-Blessed-new-voice-of-TomTom-Sat-Nav.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Brian Blessed new voice of TomTom Sat Nav
|publisher= Telegraph Media Group Limited |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=19 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In September 2010, Blessed recorded the voice of Great Sultan Shahryār for ''Sheherazade, or The Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon!'', an album of children's stories set to [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s classical music composition ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]'', co-starring [[Rory Bremner]] and released as an instalment of ''Grandma Dingley's Ingeniously Musical Tales'' in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.GrandmaDingley.com |title=''Sheherazade or The Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon!'' &#124; ''Grandma Dingley's Ingeniously Musical Tales'' |publisher=Grandmadingley.com |date=21 March 2011 |access-date=8 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2018, Blessed voiced German military engineer [[Konrad Kyeser]] in the open-world medieval [[Role-playing video game|RPG]], ''[[Kingdom Come: Deliverance]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kingdom Come: Deliverance presents: Brian Blessed as Lord Konrad Kyeser|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWdx0o8mrAY&t=0s|website=YouTube| date=5 May 2017 |publisher=Warhorse Studios|access-date=5 May 2017}}</ref> He voiced the megalomaniacal Red Ivan in the 2021 base building game ''[[Evil Genius 2: World Domination]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Evil Genius 2 Voice Cast Announced Featuring Samantha Bond and Brian Blessed|url=https://gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/378048/EVIL_GENIUS_2_VOICE_CAST_ANNOUNCED_FEATURING_SAMANTHA_BOND__BRIAN_BLESSED.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302173646/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/378048/EVIL_GENIUS_2_VOICE_CAST_ANNOUNCED_FEATURING_SAMANTHA_BOND__BRIAN_BLESSED.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2021|website=Gamasutra|access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref>