Henry Goodman

Television

Goodman played Dr. Robert Silwood in "Secrets of the Dead", a 2001 episode of Dalziel and Pascoe. In 2010, he played Cecil Bernstein - co-founder, with his brother Sidney, of Granada Television - in The Road to Coronation Street, about how the long-running soap was created. In 2003, he guest starred in the ITV series Foyle's War as corrupt American industrialist Howard Paige in “Fifty Ships”, the opening episode of Season 2 of the British TV crime drama set in WWII. In 2013, he played the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby in the remake of Yes, Prime Minister which was launched on the Gold television channel.^[6] He played Mr. Fischer in the Christmas 2025 episode of Call the Midwife.

Theatre

In 1991, he originated the role of Roy Cohn in the world premiere of Angels in America.^[7]

He portrayed Charles Guiteau in the London premiere of Assassins at the Donmar Warehouse in 1992.^[8] He starred as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at the Royal National Theatre in 1996.^[9][10] The next year, he portrayed Billy Flynn in the West End revival of Chicago.^[11]

Goodman appeared on Broadway in three shows. He briefly replaced Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock in The Producers in 2002, but was fired after one month due to creative differences with Mel Brooks.^[12] The following year he returned to Broadway in Tartuffe.^[13]

In 2007, he starred as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End.^[14]

In 2010, he played the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby in the stage version of Yes, Prime Minister^[15] at the Chichester Festival Theatre^[16] and later at the Gielgud Theatre, in London's West End from 17 September 2010.^[17]

In 2012, he played the title role in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui in Chichester and then in the West End to critical acclaim.^[18][19]

In 2015, he played the title role in Ben Jonson's Jacobean comedy Volpone at the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Trevor Nunn and co-starring Matthew Kelly and Miles Richardson.^[20] His previous RSC appearance was in 2003 as Richard III.^[21]

In 2017, he played Lucian Freud in Looking at Lucian, written by Alan Franks, at the Ustinov Studio at Theatre Royal, Bath.^[22][23] Of this part, he said "I share an intense hunger to want theatre to be as meaningful as he wanted painting to be."^[24]

In 2022, he played Hercule Poirot in Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express at the Chichester Festival Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Bath.^[25] He was nominated for a UK Theatre Award for his performance.^[26]

Film

In 1999, Goodman played a memorable cameo role as the Ritz concierge in Notting Hill. He portrayed a Hydra doctor in the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, though he was not listed in the credits. He played the character again, now named Dr. List, on the second season of the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron.^[27][28]

Radio

Goodman is also a respected radio actor. He portrayed Pierre Beaumarchais in the BBC Radio 4 series Beaumarchais in 1996, "Melvin" in The Attractive Young Rabbi (BBC Radio 4, 1999-2002), Ghassan Mehmoud in The Way We Live Right Now (a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the Anthony Trollope novel The Way We Live Now) in 2008, and Leopold Bloom in BBC Radio 4's all-day adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses for 'Bloomsday' in 2012.^[29] He has also played author and chemist Primo Levi^[30] and a large number of other, often Jewish, characters on Radio 4.^{[citation needed]}

Goodman is the narrator in the 2005 premiere recording by the Hallé Orchestra of the complete The Wasps that Vaughan Williams wrote for the 1909 Cambridge Greek Play production of The Wasps by Aristophanes.^[31]

Television

Film

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes^[54] TCM^[55] AllMovie^[56]