Boisterous British actor Brian Blessed is known for his hearty, king-sized portrayals on film and television. A giant of a man accompanied by an eloquent wit and booming, operatic voice, Brian was born in 1936 and grew up in the mining village of Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire. His father was a miner who wanted a better life for his son; Brian lost three uncles in the pit. At a young age, he displayed an acute talent for acting in school productions, but also had a penchant for boxing, a direction that would be short-lived. Working various blue-collar jobs from undertaker's assistant to plasterer, Brian managed to attend the Bristol Old Vic and was off and running. He has lent his musical talents to several productions - from playing "Old Deuteronomy" in "Cats" to "The Baron" in the more recent "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". In the 1970s, he began appearing more and more on-camera with both classical and contemporary performances. In costumed television movies, he has played "Porthos" in _"The Three Musketeers" .
He is the father of Rosalind Blessed.
He was nearly killed when filming his death scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves .
In Flash Gordon , his character, Prince Vultan, says "Who wants to live forever?" during the battle between the Hawkmen and Mings Imperial Fleet. This later became the title of a Queen song on the soundtrack for Highlander .
He attempted to climb Mount Everest three times.
As a child, he and his friends used to play at "Flash Gordon", inspired by the Buster Crabbe serial films. In these childhood games, Brian would always play "Vultan", leader of the Hawkmen. In the cult science fiction film Flash Gordon , he played the same role as he had in childhood.
His younger brother Alan, seven years his junior, died in 1996 at age 52.
He frequently gives up his time to appear at fan conventions for different series in which he has appeared.
He has starred opposite his real-life wife Hildegard Neil in King Lear (which he also directed) and the short film Mr. Bojagi .
He and Nick Brimble appeared together in the "Space: 1999" episode "Space: 1999" {The Metamorph (#2.1)} , many years before appearing together in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves .
He has been close friends with Patrick Stewart since childhood, when the two (both with a love of theatre) would hitch on coal wagons to London in order to see plays.
At age 14, he attended the Second World Peace Congress held in Sheffield during November 1950, where he encountered Pablo Picasso , challenging him to draw something. The artist penned a dove of peace, which the young Blessed scorned before sketching a similar bird himself and presenting it to an amused Picasso. Blessed would not accept Picassos offer of his picture, thereby unwittingly earning his fathers wrath.
He is the oldest person to have reached both the geographical North Pole and the magnetic North Pole.
He has completed Cosmonaut training and is first reserve to travel to the International Space Station. He plans to travel there in 2014.
He was considered for the role of Dr. Bukovsky in the science fiction horror film Lifeforce , which went to Michael Gothard.
He was considered for many guest roles in "Doctor Who" : Grugger in "Meglos", Login in "Full Circle", Richard Mace in "The Visitation", Captain Stanley in "Time Flight", Ranulf in "The Kings Demons", Vorshak in "Warriors of the Deep", Lytton in "Resurrection of the Daleks", Russell in "Attack of the Cybermen", The Governor in "Vengeance on Varos", Shockeye in "The Two Doctors", Merdeen in "The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet" and Sabalom Glitz in "The Trial of a Time Lord". He would eventually play Lord Ycranos in "The Trial of a Time Lord: Mindwarp". He was also going to make a cameo as his "Z Cars" role PC Fancy Smith in "Doctor Who" {The Feast of Steven (#3.16)} , but this was vetoed by the producers. He was originally cast as Odin in "Doctor Who" {The Girl Who Died (#9.5)} , but had to drop out due to illness.
Patrick Stewart suggested Blessed for the role of Admiral Doughtery in Star Trek: Insurrection , which went to Anthony Zerbe.
Because of his ever present beard and deep booming voice, he is often confused for actor John Rhys-Davies.
As a reference to his loud booming voice, York University voted in 2011 to name its newly-built study centre "Brian Blessed Centre for Quiet Study".
He was nominated for the 1981 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his stage performance in Cats.
He has appeared in four films directed by Kenneth Branagh : Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet and As You Like It .
He has two roles in common with his Hamlet co-star Charlton Heston : (1) Heston played King Henry VIII in The Prince and the Pauper while Blessed played him in The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything and "Henry 8.0" Blessed played Long John Silver in "John Silvers Return to Treasure Island" while Heston played him in Treasure Island .
During the 1980s, he was often linked in the UK press to the role of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" when the role became vacant.
He was forced to leave a touring production of "King Lear" in January 2015 due to heart problems.
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to the arts and charity in Surrey, England.
He had a love-hate relationship with Peter OToole that lasted for thirty years.
He was considered for the role of Governor Ratcliffe in Pocahontas .
Blessed is a patron of PHASE Worldwide, which works to improve education, healthcare and livelihoods in remote areas of Nepal.
He accidentally knocked out Peter Capaldi while filming "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" .
He befriended Katharine Hepburn while filming The Trojan Women .
He was Kenneth Branagh s original choice to play Odin in Thor . The role went to Anthony Hopkins.
Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the arts and charity.
He befriended Keanu Reeves while filming Much Ado About Nothing and taught him about meditation.
He is a teetotaller.
He is embarrassed by his guest role in "Blakes 7" {Cygnus Alpha } , as he felt that his performance was too over-the-top.
He has become notorious for his unrestrained delivery of expletives during live television appearances.
Has sparred with the Dalai Lama.
Has stated he prefers climbing and exploration over acting.
Stated a favourite film he could rewatch again and again was Sergey Bondarchuk s Voyna i mir (War and Peace").
Sang "I Still Suits Me" with Paul Robeson at the Second World Peace Congress in Sheffield, 1950.
It would be greedy to want another.
[on "Doctor Who" (1963) in 1995] Like all the kind of traditional,programmes on the BBC from the past, it is timeless and I do hope it,comes back.
Women are my religion. 90 per cent of men have always bored the derriere,off me as people.
I would love to play the Doctor, absolutely!,I would love to be in "Doctor Who" (2005) if they could find me,another part.
I fed my yak on my spare Cadbury chocolate 21,0000ft up Everest. It was a blonde, very sweet female yak. I made it my pet after that.
My parents taught me honesty, truth, compassion, kindness and how to care for people. Also, they encouraged me to take risks, to boldly go. They taught me that the greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure.
