David Suchet
English actor (born 1946)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir David Courtney Suchet (/ˈsuːʃeɪ/ SOO-shay; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial Oppenheimer (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his performance as Augustus Melmotte in the British serial The Way We Live Now (2001). International acclaim and recognition followed his performance as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot[2] in Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–2013), for which he received a 1991 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor nomination.[3][4]
2 May 1946
David Suchet | |
|---|---|
Suchet in 2006 | |
| Born | David Courtney Suchet 2 May 1946 |
| Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Spouse |
Sheila Ferris (m. 1976) |
| Children | 2 |
| Father | Jack Suchet |
| Relatives |
|
A prolific stage actor, Suchet has been nominated for nine Olivier Awards and a Tony Award.
Early life and family
David Suchet was born on 2 May 1946 in the Paddington area of London,[5][1] the son of Jack Suchet and his wife Joan Patricia (née Jarché; 1916–1992), an actress. Jack emigrated from South Africa to England in 1932, trained to be a physician at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, in 1933, and became an obstetrician and gynaecologist.[5][6][7]
Suchet's father was of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, the son of Izidor Suchedowitz,[8] originally from Kretinga in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. At some point, the family name was recorded as "Schohet", a Yiddish word, from Hebrew shochet, defining the profession of kosher butcher. Suchet's father changed his surname to Suchet while living in South Africa. David's mother was born in England and was Anglican. She was of Russian-Jewish descent on her father's side, and English Anglican on her mother's side.[6] He was raised without religion, but became a practising Anglican in 1986, and was confirmed in 2006.[6][9][10][11][12]
Suchet and his brothers, John and Peter, attended Grenham House boarding school in Birchington-on-Sea, Kent. Then, after attending another independent school, Wellington School in Somerset, he took an interest in acting and joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 16. He trained and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,[13] where he later became a vice president, retiring in 2018.[14]
Career
Theatre
Suchet began his acting career at the Gateway Theatre, Chester in 1969. He then appeared in many reps, including Worthing, Birmingham, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Liverpool Playhouse, and the Watermill Theatre. In 1973, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1981–82, he played Bolingbroke in Richard II opposite Alan Howard. In 1993 he played "John" in the drama Oleanna at the Royal Court Theatre. It was directed by Harold Pinter, and co-starred Lia Williams as "Carol".
He made his West End debut opposite Saskia Reeves in the Kempinski play Separation, at the Comedy Theatre in 1987. In 1996–97 he played opposite Dame Diana Rigg in the West End production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He was featured as Salieri from 1998 to 2000 in the Broadway production Amadeus. In 2007, at the Chichester Festival Theatre, he played Cardinal Benelli in The Last Confession, about the death of Pope John Paul I.[15] In 2014, he reprised the role of Benelli in the Australian tour of the play.[16][17]
He has been starring as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at the Vaudeville Theatre in London since June 2015 and on tour.[18] In January 2022, Suchet had a three-week residency at the Harold Pinter Theatre performing Poirot and More, A Retrospective.[19]
Television and film
In 1985 he played Inspector James Japp in the Hercule Poirot television film Thirteen at Dinner starring Peter Ustinov as the main character Suchet would later play from 1989 till 2013 in Agatha Christie's Poirot.
In 1985, Suchet played Blott in Blott on the Landscape.
In 1988, Suchet played Leopold Bloom in the Channel 4 documentary The Modern World: Ten Great Writers, in which some of James Joyce's Ulysses was dramatised.[20] In 1988 Suchet appeared in the penultimate episode of the television series Tales of the Unexpected. He appeared as Yves Drouard, a scheming adulterer, in the episode A Time to Die.[21]
In 1989, he took the title role of Hercule Poirot for the long-running television series Agatha Christie's Poirot. In his book, Poirot and Me, Suchet mentions that prior Poirot actor Peter Ustinov one day approached him and told him that Suchet could play Poirot and would be good at it. Suchet then spoke to Brian Eastman from ITV, who sent him some of the novels to read. "And as I did so, it slowly dawned on me that I'd never actually seen the character I was reading about on the screen...He was quite, quite different: more elusive, more pedantic and, most of all, more human than the person I'd seen on the screen."[22]
Still unsure, Suchet rang his brother John, who advised him against it, calling Poirot "a bit of a joke, a buffoon. It's not you at all." Suchet took his brother's advice as a challenge and accepted the role. In preparation, he wrote a five-page character study of Poirot detailing 93 different aspects of his life. Suchet said he took the list on set with him and "gave a copy to every director I worked with on a Poirot film."[22] Suchet went on to play the role in adaptations of every novel and short story featuring the character written by Agatha Christie.[23] In preparation for the role, he says that he read every novel and short story and compiled an extensive file on Poirot.[3][4]
In 2001, he had the lead role in the David Yates-directed BBC television serial The Way We Live Now. In April 2002, he played the real-life barrister George Carman in the BBC drama Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC.[24]
In 2003, Suchet starred as the ambitious Cardinal Wolsey in the two-part ITV drama Henry VIII opposite Ray Winstone as Henry VIII and Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn. In May 2006, he played the role of the fallen press baron Robert Maxwell in Maxwell, a BBC2 dramatisation of the final 18 months of Maxwell's life. In 2006, he voiced Poirot in the adventure game Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express.[4]
At Christmas 2006, he played the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing in a BBC adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. He appeared in the disaster film Flood, released in August 2007, as the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, at a time when London is devastated by flooding. Suchet appeared on daytime-TV chat show Loose Women on 6 February 2008 to talk about his film The Bank Job, in which he played Lew Vogel, alongside Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows. In 2008, he took part in the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?.[25]
He starred in the 2009 CBC made-for-TV film Diverted. He starred as the main antagonist, Reacher Gilt, in the 2010 Sky TV adaptation of Going Postal, based on Pratchett's book of the same name. He appeared in the film Act of God as Benjamin Cisco. In 1987, Suchet played a bigfoot hunter in Harry and the Hendersons. He had roles in two Michael Douglas films, A Perfect Murder and The In-Laws. In 1997, he starred in the independent film Sunday.
Between 2014 and 2015, Suchet appeared in and narrated two BBC Television documentaries, undertaking an epic journey spanning the Mediterranean, inspired by the life and travels of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul.
In 2016, Suchet took on the role of the narrator in the BBC live production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, where he serves as the sole "professional" among the cast. At one point during the broadcast, when one of the actors is electrocuted, he is asked to distract the audience. His solution is to take Captain Hook's moustache and start acting like Poirot, even delivering his lines in a Belgian accent. This prompts the director (who is also playing Captain Hook) to retrieve the moustache and dismiss Suchet.[26]
In 2017, Suchet starred as Dr Fagan in the BBC One adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall, and guest starred in the role of a character called "The Landlord", for an episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who entitled Knock Knock.
Canal Trust and River Thames Alliance
After starting work at Stratford-on-Avon in 1973, Suchet had a narrowboat named Prima Donna fitted out to his specification as a residence there.[27] He later became vice-president of the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Trust, whose most challenging achievement has been securing funding, via an appeal and from influencing government decisions, concerning the building of the new M6 Toll motorway, where it cuts the lines of the Lichfield Canal and the Hatherton Canal, both of which the Trust wishes to see reopened.[28]
He was voted in as chairman of the River Thames Alliance in November 2005.[29] At the July 2006 Annual General Meeting of the River Thames Alliance, he agreed to continue being chairman for another year. He is a patron of the River Thames Boat Project.[28]
Awards, honours and appointments
In 2002, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In October 2008, Suchet was awarded an honorary degree for his contributions to the Arts, from the University of Chichester. This was presented by the Vice-Chancellor at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
On 7 January 2009, he was awarded Freedom of the City of London, at the Guildhall in London. In July 2010, David Suchet was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury.[30] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for "services to drama".[31][32][33] On 18 March 2014, Suchet was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the RTS Programme Awards 2013 for his outstanding performance in Agatha Christie's Poirot.[34] Suchet is Honorary President of The Leica Society.[35]
Suchet was knighted in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.[36][37]
Personal life
Family and genealogy
In 1972, Suchet first met his wife, Sheila Ferris, at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, where they were both working; he says that he fell in love with her as soon as he saw her, and that it took a while to persuade her to go out for a meal with him.[53] They were married on 30 June 1976; the couple have a son and daughter.
Suchet is the brother of John Suchet, a former national news presenter for Five News, and former ITN newscaster, and presenter of the evening concert on Classic FM (2020).[54]
Suchet's maternal grandfather, James Jarché, was a famous Fleet Street photographer notable for the first pictures of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson and also for his pictures of Louis Blériot (1909) and the Siege of Sidney Street. Suchet first became interested in photography when his grandfather gave him a Leica M3 camera as a present.[53] The Jarché family was originally named Jarchy, and were Russian Jews.[6][25]
Suchet's great-great-great-grandfather, George Jezzard, was a master mariner. He was captain of the brig Hannah, which sank nine miles off the coast of Suffolk during a violent storm on 28 May 1860, in which more than 100 vessels sank and at least 40 people died. Jezzard and six others of his crew were saved by local rescuers just before their ship sank.[6]
Religious beliefs
Raised without religion, in 1986 Suchet underwent a religious conversion after having read Romans 8 in his hotel room. Soon afterwards, he was baptised into the Church of England.[55][56] Suchet stated in an interview with Strand Magazine: "I'm a Christian by faith. I like to think it sees me through a great deal of my life. I very much believe in the principles of Christianity and the principles of most religions, actually—that one has to abandon oneself to a higher good."[57]
In 2012, Suchet made a documentary for the BBC on his personal hero, Saint Paul, to discover what he was like as a man by charting his evangelistic journey around the Mediterranean.[58] In 2014, he filmed a documentary about the apostle Saint Peter.[55]
In November 2012, the British Bible Society appointed David Suchet and Dr Paula Gooder as new vice-presidents. They joined the existing vice-presidents: John Sentamu (Archbishop of York), Vincent Nichols (Archbishop of Westminster), Barry Morgan (Archbishop of Wales), David F. Ford (Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge), Joel Edwards (International Director of Micah Challenge) and Lord Alton of Liverpool.[59] Following the time when he bade farewell to his role as Hercule Poirot, Suchet fulfilled a 27-year ambition to make an audio recording of The Bible's New International Version, which was released in April 2014.[55]
Political views
In August 2014, Suchet was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the September 2014 referendum on that issue.[60]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Taming of the Shrew: An Introduction | Unknown | |
| Henry IV, Part 2: An Introduction | |||
| 1980 | Schiele in Prison | Gustav Klimt | |
| 1982 | The Missionary | Corbett | |
| 1983 | Trenchcoat | Inspector Stagnos | |
| 1984 | Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | Buller | |
| The Little Drummer Girl | Mesterbein | ||
| 1985 | The Falcon and the Snowman | Alex | |
| A Song for Europe | Dyre | ||
| 1986 | Iron Eagle | Minister of Defense Colonel Akir Nakesh | |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | Jacques LaFleur | |
| 1988 | A World Apart | Muller | |
| To Kill a Priest | Bishop | ||
| 1989 | When the Whales Came | Will | |
| 1993 | The Lucona Affair | Rudi Waltz | |
| 1996 | Executive Decision | Nagi Hassan / Altar | |
| 1997 | Sunday | Oliver / Matthew Delacorta | |
| 1998 | A Perfect Murder | Detective Mohamed Karaman | |
| 1999 | Wing Commander | Captain Jason Sansky | |
| 2000 | Sabotage! | Napoleon | |
| 2002 | Pinocchio | Geppetto / Judge | English version, Voice |
| 2003 | The In-Laws | Jean-Pierre Thibodoux | |
| Foolproof | Leo Gillette | ||
| 2004 | Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets | The Narrator | TV movie, Voice |
| 2006 | Flushed Away | Rita's Dad | Voice |
| Arthur and the Invisibles | The Narrator | English version, Voice | |
| 2007 | Flood | Deputy Prime Minister Campbell | |
| Maxwell | Robert Maxwell | ||
| 2008 | The Bank Job | Lew Vogel | |
| 2009 | Act of God | Dr. Benjamin Cisco | |
| 2011 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | |
| 2014 | Effie Gray | Mr. Ruskin | |
| Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone | ||
| 2015 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Lady Bracknell | |
| 2016 | Near Myth: The Oskar Knight Story | Himself | |
| 2017 | American Assassin | CIA Director Stansfield | |
| 2018 | Dinner with Edward | Edward |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Public Eye | Martin Kulman | And When You've Paid the Bill You're None the Wiser'x |
| 1973 | The Protectors | Leo | Episode: "Fighting Fund" |
| 1978 | The Professionals | Krivas | Episode: "Where The Jungle Ends" |
| 1980 | A Tale of Two Cities | John Barsad | TV movie |
| Oppenheimer | Edward Teller | 6 episodes | |
| 1981 | Play for Today | Reger | Episode: "The Cause" |
| 1982 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Clopin Trouillefou | TV movie |
| 1983 | The Last Day | Howard | |
| Red Monarch | Beria | ||
| Being Normal | Bill | ||
| Reilly, Ace of Spies | Inspector Tsientsin | Episode: "Prelude to War" | |
| 1984 | Master of the Game | André d'Usseau | 3 episodes |
| Freud | Dr. Sigmund Freud | 6 episodes | |
| Oxbridge Blues | Colin | 2 episodes | |
| 1985 | Gulag | Matvei | TV movie |
| Blott on the Landscape | Blott | 6 episodes | |
| A Crime of Honour | Steve Dyer | TV movie | |
| Thirteen at Dinner | Inspector Japp | ||
| Mussolini: The Untold Story | Dino Grandi | 2 episodes | |
| 1986 | Murrow | William L. Shirer | TV movie |
| King and Castle | Devas | Episode: "Partners" | |
| 1987 | The Last Innocent Man | Jonathan Gault | TV movie |
| Cause Célèbre | T.J. O'Connor K.C. | ||
| 1988 | Tales of the Unexpected | Yves Drouard | Episode: "A Time to Die" |
| Once in a Life Time | Herman Glogauer | TV movie | |
| 1989–2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Hercule Poirot | 13 series; 70 episodes |
| 1990 | The Play on One | Joe | Episode: "Separation" |
| Theatre Night | William Shakespeare | Episode: "Scenes of Money and Death" | |
| 1992 | Science Fiction | Roger Altounyan | Episode: "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Link" |
| The Secret Agent | Alfred Verloc | 3 episodes | |
| 1995 | Moses | Aaron | TV movie |
| 1996 | Cruel Train | Ruben Roberts | |
| Screen Two | Vlachos | Episode: "Deadly Voyage" | |
| 1997 | Solomon | Joab | TV movie |
| The Phoenix and the Carpet | The Phoenix | 6 episodes | |
| 1998 | Seesaw | Morris Price | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | RKO 281 | Louis B. Mayer | TV movie |
| 2001 | Murder in Mind | Edward Palmer | Episode: "Teacher" |
| Victoria & Albert | Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar, M.D. | TV movie | |
| The Way We Live Now | Augustus Melmotte | 4 episodes | |
| 2001–2002 | NCS: Manhunt | DI John Borne | Pilot & Series; 8 episodes |
| 2002 | Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC | George Carman QC | TV movie |
| Live From Baghdad | Naji Al-Hadithi | ||
| 2003 | Henry VIII | Cardinal Thomas Wolsey | |
| 2004 | A Bear Named Winnie | General Hallholland | |
| 2006 | Dracula | Abraham Van Helsing | |
| 2007 | Maxwell | Robert Maxwell | |
| Flood | Deputy Prime Minister Campbell | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Diverted | Samuel Stern | TV movie |
| 2010 | Going Postal | Reacher Gilt | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Hidden | Sir Nigel Fountain | 3 episodes |
| Great Expectations | Jaggers | ||
| 2012 | The Hollow Crown | Duke of York | Episode: Richard II |
| 2014 | In the Steps of St. Paul | Narrator | 2 Episode BBC TV Documentary |
| 2015 | In the Steps of St. Peter | ||
| 2016 | Peter Pan Goes Wrong | TV movie | |
| 2017 | Decline and Fall | Dr. Fagan | 3 episodes |
| Doctor Who | The Landlord | Episode: "Knock Knock"[61] | |
| Capitaine Marleau | Herbert White | Episode: "Sang & Lumière" | |
| 2018 | Urban Myths | Salvador Dalí | Episode: "The Dalí & The Cooper" |
| Press | George Emmerson | 3 episodes | |
| 2019 | His Dark Materials | Kaisa (voice) | 5 episodes[62] |
| 2025 | The Au Pair | George |
Stage
Video games
Interviews and TV documentaries
Poirot and Agatha Christie
- David Suchet interviewed by Clive Anderson BBC, Wogan 1990s[104]
- The Agatha Christie code ITV 2005[105]
- David Suchet on playing Hercule Poirot – Dead Man’s Folly Q&A – BFI[106]
- David Suchet Final Poirot scene hardest of my career BBC 2013[107]
- Au revoir Hercule Poirot – BBC News[108]
- Poirot's David Suchet ITV[109]
- The David Suchet Interview by Studio 10 (Australia) The ultra-smooth talking David Suchet aka Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot drops by Studio 10.[110]
- Premier.tv : David Suchet talks about Poirot[111]
- Holly and Phil chat with David Suchet BBC – 13 November 2013[112]
- The Mystery of Agatha Christie ITV Perspectives, 2013.[113]
- Agatha Christie BBC documentary[114]
- Being Poirot[115] BBC documentary (2014)
- Today Tonight – David Suchet Channel Seven, Perth (Australia) 2014[116]
- David Suchet on Poirot's Death Loose Women ITV 2015[117]
- Travels With Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet, More4 2025[118]
BBC documentaries
Other interviews
- The One Show: David Suchet – Interview (30 April 2015) BBC[122]
- Long Day's Journey into Night David Suchet on acting, Digital Theatre Plus 2013[123]
- Roles, Characters, Empathy: David Suchet (On) Acting 2012[124]
- Suchet receives CBE BCC 2011[125]
- David Suchet, Actor – A Birthday Tribute 2011[126]
- International Emmy Winner – David Suchet BBC 2009[127]
- David Suchet – Who Do You Think You Are BBC 2009[128]
- Cannes Interview with David Suchet May 1997[129]
Further reading
- Suchet, David and Wansell, Geoffrey. Poirot and Me. Headline Book Publishing, 7 November 2013 (UK), 1 October 2014 (US). ISBN 0-75-536422-8 ISBN 978-0-755-36422-0
