Kenneth Colley
Birthday: 1937-12-07
Place of Birth: Manchester, England, UK
Synopsis
Kenneth Colley (born 7 December 1937) is an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in The Life of Brian, having also appeared in the earlier Monty Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure in 1979.
Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood movie Firefox, where he played a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets.
Colley went on to play SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing".
According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the 1978 BBC television drama, Pennies from Heaven. He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law.
He currently lives at Hythe in Kent.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting
Scar Tissue
as Weaver
When Luke wakes up and finds a mutilated corpse in his bathroom, his life changes for ever. Stalked by a terrifying psychopathic serial killer, he has to place his trust in the hands of a smart but volatile female cop, Sam Cross. The secret they uncover shatters Luke s life and brings Sam face to face with demons from her tragic childhood..
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
as Admiral Piett (voice)
Luke Skywalker embarks on a mission to destroy an Imperial base, but is relentlessly chased by a group of fanatic girls who think of him as a celebrity. Meanwhile, Darth Vader engages a rivalry with Darth Maul, in order to prove that he's the best Sith Lord.
Greetings
as Ken
It's Cathy's party, but she's not having a good time. The boys have found an Ouija board and are out for some harmless fun. When strange things start to happen, they blame each other, but the joke goes too far and soon they realize it isn't a joke at all...
Like Father Like Son
as Rawsthorne
Life for Dee Stanton is improving at every turn. Her legal career is blossoming and her boyfriend Dominic unexpectedly proposes to her. Things were very different 11 years ago when her husband Paul was jailed for the brutal murders of four girls and Dee was hounded from her home. Dee has kept all this a secret from her 15-year-old son Jamie. Now he has discovered the truth about his father and demands to see him.
Shadow Run
as Larcombe
Haskell is assigned a job by his boss, the aristocratic Landon-Higgins, to highjack a high security van in broad daylight while it's in the shadow run (out of radio contact with the main security firm). He assembles a team to carry out the heist, but things don't go according to plan and Haskell begins to think his boss might be double crossing him. Add to this, a teenage boarding school pupil has already witnessed some of the meetings of the team and Haskell's in real trouble.
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I Hired a Contract Killer
as The Killer
After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.
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The Plot to Kill Hitler
as Wilhelm Keitel
A historical recreation of the 1944 attempt by several German High Command Officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take control of the German government.
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A Summer Story
as Jim
A bittersweet tale of lost love, based on a short story ("The Apple Tree") by John Galsworthy.
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The Whistle Blower
as Bill Pickett
A war veteran tries to investigate the murder of his son who was working as a Russian translator for the British intelligence service during the Cold War. He meets a web of deception and paranoia that seems impenetrable...
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John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
as Ben Gunn
Ten years after the events of 'Treasure Island,' an adult Jim Hawkins once again encounters his old adversary Long John Silver and the pirate Joseph Savage.
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Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
as Adolph Eichmann
The story of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat responsible for saving thousands of lives from the Nazi Holocaust.
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The Scarlet and the Black
as Capt. Hirsch
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
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Firefox
as Colonel Kontarsky
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.
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Measure for Measure
as Duke Vincentio
When the Duke of Vienna takes a mysterious leave of absence and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, things couldn't be worse for Claudio, who is sentenced to death for premarital sex. His sister, Isabella (a nun-in-training), however, is a very persuasive pleader. She goes to Angelo, but instead of freeing her brother, she gets an offer from Angelo to save Claudio's life if Isabella sleeps with him. The only sympathetic friend Isabella has is a priest who, in actuality, is the Duke in disguise...and he has a plan.
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Life of Brian
as Jesus
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
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Hitler: The Last Ten Days
as Boldt
Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it provides a bleak look at the goings-on within, and without.
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The Music Lovers
as Modeste Tchaikovsky
Composer, conductor and teacher Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky struggles against his homosexual tendencies by marrying, but unfortunately he chooses a wonky, nymphomaniac girl whom he cannot satisfy.
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Performance
as Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive.
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Seventy Deadly Pills
as Covent Garden porter
A small boy, Dickie Goodwin, finds some strychnine pills mixed with sweets in a stolen car left in a deserted garage. With them he buys his way into the Rocket Gang. Brian, the leader, shares out the pills for swaps next day. One of the gang eats hers and collapses. The police frantically search for the pills and a broadcast appeal is made. Brian hears this and reaches the gang at Battersea funfair just in time to save them.
