David Schofield
Schofield in 2011
Born (1951-12-16) 16 December 1951
Wythenshawe, Manchester, England
EducationLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active1972–present
SpouseLally Percy
Children2

David Schofield (born 16 December 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Ian Mercer in the films Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). He also appeared in the films An American Werewolf in London (1981), Gladiator (2000), From Hell (2001), Valkyrie (2008), The Wolfman (2010) and Darkest Hour (2017).

Early life

Schofield was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England on 16 December 1951, one of ten children in a working-class family. He attended St. John Fisher and Thomas More R.C. Primary School, along with his brother, Peter. His first acting experience was at Manchester Boys' School at the age of 12. In 1967 he was accepted as student assistant stage manager at a local repertory theatre. He worked in every department as a prop-maker, sound-man, writer, stage sweeper, waiter and tea-maker, putting in 14-hour days, six days a week. After two seasons, at the age of 19, he became a student of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, which he left early to pursue his path as a working actor.

Career

Film and television

Schofield earned credits in TV series such as Band of Gold, Footballers' Wives and Holby City among many other TV productions. On the big screen he is best known as the paranoid darts player in the Slaughtered Lamb in An American Werewolf in London (1981), and his other films include The Dogs of War (1980), Tree of Hands (1989), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Anna Karenina (1997), Gladiator (2000), From Hell (2001), and as Ian Mercer in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He has also appeared in Valkyrie (2008) as anti-Hitler conspirator Erwin von Witzleben, The Wolfman (2010), F (2010), Burke and Hare (2010), Lord of Tears (2013) and as Peter Carmichael in the suspense thriller Last Passenger (2013). On TV he appeared alongside Jimmy Jewel in the ITV comedy-drama Funny Man (1981), played the title role Shackleton (1983), in Jekyll & Hyde (1990) starring Michael Caine, and played DCS John Salway in the award-winning BBC series Our Friends in the North in 1996. In 2008, he starred as Kirill, in the web series of the same name. In 2009 Schofield guest starred as King Alined in the BBC fantasy drama series Merlin. In 2011 he played the sinister Police Sergeant Foley in Hugo Blick's The Shadow Line, a seven-part series for BBC Two. In autumn 2015, he was seen as Odin in the episode "The Girl Who Died" in the ninth series of the BBC1 series Doctor Who. In 2016 he appeared as Vivan Wolsey in the BBC series' Father Brown episode 4.1 "The Mask of the Demon" and The Coroner episode 2.6 "Life". In 2017 he appeared as Abbot Eadred in The Last Kingdom. In 2018, he appeared as Thomas the Apostle in the film Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson.[1][2]

Stage

Schofield has performed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and the Royal Exchange, Manchester. He created the role of John Merrick in Bernard Pomerance’s play The Elephant Man for its premiere in 1977.[3][4] He played Roy Cohn in the National's 1993 production of Angels in America. He also acted in musicals (Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens) and plays on the West End stage in London.

Radio

In 2001-02 Schofield appeared as Javert in a BBC radio adaptation of Les Misérables.[5] Since 2007 he has played Frank Twist in the BBC Radio 4 drama series Brief Lives set in a Manchester legal practice.[6] In 2011, he played Tellwright in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Anna of the Five Towns.[7]

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Dogs of War Endean's Man
1981 An American Werewolf in London Dart Player
1989 Tree of Hands Detective Inspector
1992 The Last of the Mohicans Sergeant Major
1997 Anna Karenina Nikolai
Tangier Cop Omar Larbi
2000 The Miracle Maker Caiaphas Voice
Gladiator Senator Falco
2001 Chunky Monkey Frank
The Musketeer Rochefort, Richelieu Henchman
From Hell McQueen
Superstition Roberto Fallaci
2004 Unstoppable Dr. Collins
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Mr. Ian Mercer
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Freebird Dart player scenes deleted
2008 Valkyrie Erwin von Witzleben
2010 The Wolfman Constable Nye
Devil's Bridge Parry
F Robert Anderson
Burke & Hare Fergus
2011 Ghosted Donner
2013 All Things to All Men Police Commissioner
Da Vinci's Demons Piero da Vinci
Last Passenger Peter Carmichael
Lord of Tears Owl Man
2016 Mindhorn Chief Inspector Derek Newsome
2017 Darkest Hour Clement Attlee
2015–2017 The Last Kingdom Abbot Eadred
2018 Mary Magdalene Thomas the Apostle
2020 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Tony King Episode 3.2 "See Thyself, Devil!"
The Adventures of Paddington Mr. Gruber Voice
2022 Mad Heidi Alpöhi

Theatre

Personal life

David Schofield's wife is Lally and their children are Fred and Blanche. Schofield is a patron of the Gesar Foundation.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "David Schofield | BFI". Archived from the original on 3 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Mary Magdalene movie review & film summary (2019) | Roger Ebert".
  3. ↑ "David Schofield". Filmbug. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. ↑ UNFINISHED HISTORIES: Recording the History of Alternative Theatre
  5. ↑ "BBC Genome Project". Les Misérables. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Brief Lives". BBC Radio. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Anna Of The Five Towns". www.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "The Gesar Foundation, About Gesar". Archived from the original on 9 October 2007.
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