Denis Lawson

Denis Stamper Lawson[1] (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House, as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, as DI Steve McAndrew in BBC One's New Tricks, and as Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy. He is an uncle of actor Ewan McGregor.

Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson at the 2006 Crieff Highland Games
Born	Denis Stamper Lawson[1] 27 September 1947 Crieff, Scotland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–present
Spouse(s)	Sheila Gish ​ ​ (m. 2004; died 2005)​ Karen Prentice ​ ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1
Relatives	Ewan McGregor (nephew)

Early life

Lawson was born in Crieff, Perthshire, the son of Phyllis Neno (née Stamper), a merchant, and Laurence Lawson, a watchmaker.[1] Lawson was educated at Crieff Primary School (then called Crieff Public School). After the 11-plus examination, he attended Morrison's Academy as a day pupil before attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, having first unsuccessfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He then sold carpets and did amateur theatre work for a year in Dundee before auditioning again at RADA in London and successfully at RSAMD in Glasgow.[2]

Career

Lawson began his acting career with a small role in a 1969 stage production of The Metamorphosis in London's West End. and has since starred in television dramas such as The Merchant of Venice (1973) opposite Laurence Olivier as Shylock, Rock Follies (1976) and Dead Head (1986).

Lawson played X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles in all three films of the original Star Wars trilogy. In 2001, he reprised the role, in voiceover form, for the Nintendo GameCube game Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.

He has appeared often on the West End stage, notably in the musical Mr. Cinders at the Fortune Theatre from 1983–84.[3]

In 1999, Lawson directed a production of Little Malcolm & His Struggle Against the Eunuchs which was first staged at the Hampstead Theatre before transferring to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End starring his nephew Ewan McGregor in the lead role of Malcolm Scrawdyke.

He appeared on an episode of Loose Ends hosted by Ned Sherrin on BBC Radio 4 on 10 December 2005.

In 2005, he played the leading role of John Jarndyce in the critically acclaimed BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, receiving an Emmy nomination. Two years later he played Peter Syme in the BBC One drama serial Jekyll, a modern version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.[4] Lawson also appeared as Captain "Dreadnought" Foster in ITV's dramatisations of C.S. Forester's Hornblower. He appeared in Robin Hood in which he played the Harold of Winchester.

He also appeared in the West End playing the character of Georges in the revival of the musical hit La Cage Aux Folles. No stranger to musical theatre, Lawson previously starred in the London revival of Pal Joey.

He starred as the lead in Above Their Station, a sitcom for the BBC written by Rhys Thomas about Community Support Officers; it was made as a pilot but never commissioned, being shown only as a one-off special.[5] Lawson appeared alongside actress Helena Bonham Carter in the BBC Four movie based on the life of Enid Blyton, playing Kenneth Darrell Waters, a London surgeon who becomes Blyton's second husband. In July 2009 Lawson appeared as Alexander Fleming in a BBC Four drama called Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin alongside Dominic West. Lawson played the part of Alice's grandfather in ITV1's supernatural crime thriller Marchlands which was shown in February 2011.

Lawson appeared at the Royal Court Theatre once more in The Acid Test by Anya Reiss in 2011.[6]

Lawson replaced James Bolam in the BBC One series New Tricks in its ninth series in 2012.[7]

Lawson has said he was asked to reprise his role as Wedge Antilles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but reportedly turned down the role because he believed it would have "bored" him.[8] However, Lawson later said he actually declined to appear in The Force Awakens due to a scheduling conflict, and would have appeared in the film had he been available.[9] Lawson returned to the role in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[10]

Personal life

In 1979, Lawson fathered a child, Jamie Lawson (now an anthropologist),[11] with actress Diane Fletcher, with whom he had a relationship for more than ten years after meeting in a stage production of Twelfth Night.

He met his wife, actress Sheila Gish, on the set of the 1985 film That Uncertain Feeling. They lived together for nearly 20 years before marrying in March 2004 in Antigua; she died of cancer a year later (9 March 2005). He married Karen Prentice in Italy in the summer of 2017.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Wedge Antilles	Cameo
2013	The Machine	Thomson
2013	The Wee Man	Willie
2012	Broken	Mr Buckley
2011	Perfect Sense	Restaurant Owner
2006	Dolls	Monsieur Nicholas	Short film
2001	Leonard	Leonard	Short film
1996	Cervellini fritti impanati
1988	The Zip	Eric	Short film
1984	The Chain	Keith
1983	Local Hero	Gordon Urquhart
1983	Return of the Jedi	Wedge Antilles
1983	Bitter Cherry		Short film
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Wedge Antilles
1977	Providence	Dave Woodford
1977	Star Wars	Wedge Antilles

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Death in Paradise	Philip Marston	1 episode: Series 7, Episode 1
2017	Victoria	Duke of Atholl	1 episode: Series 2, Episode 7 "The King Over the Water"
2016	In Plain Sight		Episode 2
2014	Inside No. 9	Gerald	1 episode: Series 1, Episode 2 "A Quiet Night In"
2012–2015	New Tricks	DI Steve McAndrew
2011	Candy Cabs	Kenny Ho
2011	Marchlands	Robert Bowen
2011	Hustle	Benny	1 episode: Series 7, Episode 4
2010	Just William	Headmaster
2010	Above Their Station	Chief Constable Keith Boone
2009	Mister Eleven	Len
2009	No Holds Bard	Miekel
2009	Enid	Kenneth Darrell Waters
2009	Breaking the Mould – The Story of Penicillin	Alexander Fleming
2009	Criminal Justice	DCI Bill Faber
2009	Law and Order:UK	Philip Woodleigh	1 episode: "Sacrifice"
2008	The Passion	Annas	Episode 1–3
2008	Mumbai Calling	Phillip Glass
2007	Robin Hood	Harold of Winchester	1 episode: "For England!"
2007	Jekyll	Peter Syme
2007	Marple	Leo Argyle	1 episode: "Ordeal By Innocence"
2006	Dalziel and Pascoe	John Barron	2 episodes: "The Cave Woman", Parts 1 and 2
2006	The Thieving Headmistress	Father Plunkett
2006	Feel the Force	Gordon Campbell
2005	Bleak House	John Jarndyce
2005	Sensitive Skin	Al Jackson
2003	Lucky Jim	Julius Gore-Urquat
2003	A World in Arms	Narrator
2003	The Ride	Tommy
2002–2004, 2019	Holby City	Tom Campbell-Gore	Regular character
2001	The Fabulous Bagel Boys	DI Morris Rose	TV film
2000	Other People's Children	Tom	Series 1, Episodes 2 and 3
1999	Bob Martin	Greg
1998	The Round Tower	Arthur Brett
1998	The Ambassador	John Stone
1998	Hornblower	Captain 'Dreadnought' Foster	1 episode: "The Examination for Lieutenant"
1998	Cold Feet	Alex Welch	1 episode: Series 1, Episode 4
1996	A Royal Scandal	Henry Brougham
1997	Pie in the Sky	Nick Spencer	1 episode: "In the Smoke"
1996	Tales from the Crypt	Frank
1992	Natural Lies	James Towne
1992	Screen One; Born Kicking	Victor Grace
1992	El C.I.D.		1 episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
1991	Bejewelled	Alistair
1990	Boon	James Marian	1 episode: "Bully Boys"
1989	The Justice Game	Dominic Rossi
1989	Screen One; One Way Out	Bernard
1987	Love After Lunch	Miles
1986	Dead Head	Eddie Cass
1986	Kit Curran	Kit Curran
1985	That Uncertain Feeling	John Aneurin Lewis
1985	Victoria Wood As Seen on TV	Phiilip and Singer	2 episodes: Series 1, Episode 2 and 5
1984	The Kit Curran Radio Show	Kit Curran
1983	Bergerac	Giroux	1 episode: "Miracle Every Week"
1982	Crown Court	John Dickens	1 episode: "Talking to the Enemy"
1980	The Good Companions	Albert Tuggridge	2 episodes:  "Stumbling Chronicles"  "In Which We Meet the Company"
1980	If Winter Comes
1980	Play for Today: The Flipside of Dominick Hide	Felix
1979	Diary of a Nobody	Frank Mutlar
1978	Play of the Week: Fearless Frank	Ernest Dowson/Prof Byron Smith
1978	Armchair Thriller: The Girl Who Walked Quickly	David Cooper
1977	The Man in the Iron Mask	Claude
1977	Rock Follies of '77	Ken Church
1977	Seven Faces of Woman	Jerome	1 episode: "She: Anxious Anne"
1977	Providence	Dave Woodford
1976	Play for Today; The Jumping Bean Bag	Snare
1975	Rock Follies	Ken Church
1975	Survivors	Norman	1 episode: "The Future Hour"
1974	Ms or Jill and Jack	Jerry
1973	Beryl's Lot	Peter Jaret	1 episode: "Getting Up"
1973	The Merchant of Venice	Launcelot Gobbo
1969	Dr. Finlay's Casebook	Andy Donald	1 episode: "Action, Dr. Cameron"

Theatre

Year	Title	Character	Production	Notes
2018	Art	Marc	UK and Ireland tour
2011	The Acid Test	Jim	Royal Court Theatre
2008	La Cage Aux Folles	George	Playhouse Theatre	nominated for the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical
1995	Lust	Horner	Haymarket Theatre
1993	Oleanna	John	Duke of York's Theatre
1990	Volpone	Mosca	Almeida Theatre
1988	The Film Society	Jonathon Balton	Hampstead Theatre
1987	The Importance of Being Earnest	Algernon Moncrieff	Royalty Theatre
1986–87	Ashes	Colin	Bush Theatre
1986	Lend Me a Tenor	Max	Globe Theatre
1984	The Lucky Chance	Bellmour	Royal Court Theatre
1983–84	Mr Cinders	Jim Lancastar	King's Head Theatre then Fortune Theatre	won the 1983 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical
1979	Fifty Words—Bits of Lenny Bruce		King's Head Theatre
1978	A Greenish Man	Patrick	Bush Theatre
1978	We Can't Pay! We Won't Pay!	Luigi	Half Moon Theatre
1977	Censored Scenes from King Kong	Stephen	Open Space Theatre
1977	The Dog Ran Away	Brother David	Hampstead Theatre
1975	Kidnapped at Christmas	Warder Mullins	Shaw Theatre
1973	Sarah B. Divine		Cochrane Theatre
1973	Kaspar		Almost Free Theatre
1972	England's Ireland		Round House Theatre
1971	Titus Andronicus	Martius	Round House Theatre

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader	Wedge Antilles	Voice
2020	Star Wars: Squadrons	Wedge Antilles	Voice

References

1. Pendreigh, Brian (April 1999). Ewan McGregor. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1-56025-239-1.
2. "Denis Lawson interview". The Wright Stuff. 25 March 2010 – via YouTube.
3. "Mr. Cinders". Musical-theatre.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
4. "An all-star cast to appear in BBC ONE's Jekyll". BBC Press Office. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
5. "Above Their Station". BBC Three.
6. "Cast update for The Acid Test at Royal Court Theatre". Londontheatre.co.uk.
7. "Denis Lawson replaces James Bolam on New Tricks". Digital Spy.
8. McCormick, Rich (12 May 2014). "Wedge Antilles actor rejected 'Star Wars: Episode VII' role because it would 'bore' him". TheVerge. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
9. Johnston, Rich (9 December 2017). "Denis Lawson, Wedge Antilles from Star Wars, Did Not Reject Doing the New Films After All". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
10. Nero, Dom (8 October 2019). "Wedge Antilles's Return in the 'Rise of Skywalker' Confirms a Huge 'Star Wars' Theory". Esquire. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
11. "Jamie Lawson". Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2006.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
12. Churchill, Carolyn (11 October 2017). "Star Wars actor marries in Italy" (PDF). www.heraldscotland.com.

External links

• Denis Lawson at IMDb