Suchet, David 1946–

PERSONAL

Surname is pronounced "Soo-shay"; born May 2, 1946, in London, England; son of Jack (a doctor) and Joan (maiden name, Jarche) Suchet; brother of John Suchet (a British newscaster); married Sheila Ferris (an actress), June 31, 1976; children: Robert, Katherine. Education: Trained for the stage at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, 1966–69. Religion: Christian. Avocational Interests: Playing the clarinet and drums, horseback riding, photography, theology, ornithology, narrow boating.

Addresses: Agent—Endeavor, 9601 Wilshire Blvd., 3rd Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210; Ken McReddie Ltd., 91 Regent St., London W1B 4EL, England.

Career: Actor and producer. Appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, U.S. cities, 1975, and Israeli and European cities. University of Nebraska, visiting professor of theatre, 1975; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, council member, 1985–; lectured at other universities in the United States.

Member: British Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, Savile Club.

Awards, Honors: Evening Standard Award nomination, best actor, 1978, and Society of West End Theatre Award, both for The Merchant of Venice; Best Radio Actor Award, Pye Radio Awards, 1979, for The Kreutzer Sonata; Society of West End Theatre Award nomination, best supporting actor, 1980, for Once in a Lifetime; Marseilles Film Festival Award, best actor, 1983, for Red Monarch; Craft Award, British Industry and Scientific Film Association, 1986, for Stress; Royal Television Society Performance Awards, best actor, 1986, for The Life of Freud, Blott on the Landscape, and The Song for Europe; TV Award nomination, best actor in a supporting role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1989, for A World Apart; TV Award nomination, best actor, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1991, for Poirot; Royal Variety Club Award, best actor, 1994, Evening Standard Award, best actor, Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, best actor, all for Oleanna; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination, best actor, 1997, Critics' Circle Award, best actor, South Bank Award, Evening Standard Award nomination, best actor, all for Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?; Special Prize of the Jury, Istanbul International Film Festival, 1998, for Sunday; Laurence Oliver Theatre Award nomination, best actor, 1999, Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best actor in a play, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, outstanding actor in a play, L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, lead performance, 2000, Drama League Award, outstanding performance, Back Stage Award, best actor, all for Amadeus; Royal Television Society Award, best actor—male, Broadcasting Press Guild Award, best actor, TV Award nomination, best actor, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2002, all for The Way We Live Now; Order of British Empire, 2002; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination, best actor, for Separation; Evening Standard Award, best actor, for Timon of Athens; Grapevine Award, for lifetime achievement for services to the performing arts.

CREDITS

Stage Appearances:

Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, 1973.

Messenger, Richard II, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1973.

Orlando, As You Like It, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1973.

Tranio, The Taming of the Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1973.

Zamislov, Summerfolk, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1974, then Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY, 1975.

Wilma, Comrades, Royal Shakespeare Company, Palace Theatre, London, 1974.

The Fool, Lear, Royal Shakespeare Company, Palace Theatre, 1974, then Brooklyn Academy of Music, 1975.

Pisanio, Cymbeline, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, then Aldwych Theatre, both 1974.

Hubert, King John, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1975.

Ferdinand, King of Navarre, Love's Labour's Lost, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, then Brooklyn Academy of Music, both 1975.

Lucio, Measure for Measure, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, England, then Lyttleton Theatre, London, 1977.

Thomas Gilthead, The Devil Is an Ass, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, then Lyttleton Theatre, 1977.

Grigory Stephanovich Smirnov, "The Bear," and Posdnyshev, "The Kreutzer Sonata," in The Kreutzer Sonata, Theatre Upstairs, London, 1977, then Royal Court Theatre, London, 1978.

Tsaravitch and Georg Wochner, Laughter!, English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, 1978.

Herman Glogauer, Once in a Lifetime, Royal Shakespeare Company, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1978.

Caliban, The Tempest, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978.

Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978.

Grumio, The Taming of the Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978, then Aldwych Theatre, 1979.

Sir Nathaniel, Love's Labour's Lost, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978, then Aldwych Theatre, 1979.

Sextus Pompey, Antony and Cleopatra, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978, then Aldwych Theatre, 1979.

Angelo, Measure for Measure, Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, 1979.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Barbican Concert Hall, London, 1983.

Iago, Othello, 1986.

Joe Green, Separation, Hampstead Theatre Club, then Comedy Theatre, both London, 1987.

Title role, Timon of Athens, Young Vic, London, 1991.

Oleanna, Royal Court Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1993.

George, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Aldwych Theatre, 1996.

(Broadway debut) Salieri, Amadeus, London, 1998, then Music Box Theatre, 1999–2000, later Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 2000.

Also appeared in This Story of Yours, Hampstead Theatre Club; as Achilles, Troilus and Cressida, Royal Shakespeare Company; Bolingbroke, Richard II.

Major Tours:

Man and Boy, U.K. cities, 2005.

Film Appearances:

Gustav Klimt, Schiele in Prison, Concord Films Council, 1980.

Corbett, The Missionary, Columbia, 1982.

Laurenti P. Beria, Red Monarch, Goldcrest, 1983.

Inspector Stagnos, Trenchcoat, Buena Vista, 1983.

Buller/Prince Max Von Hesse, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, Warner Bros., 1984.

Mesterbein, The Little Drummer Girl, Warner Bros., 1984.

Alex Okana, The Falcon and the Snowman, Orion, 1985.

Steven Dyer, A Song for Europe (also known as A Crime of Honour), 1985.

Defense minister, Iron Eagle, TriStar, 1986.

Jacques Lafleur, Harry and the Hendersons (also known as Bigfoot and the Hendersons), Universal, 1987.

Muller, A World Apart, Atlantic, 1988.

The Bishop, Popielusko (also known as To Kill a Priest and Popieluszko), Columbia, 1988.

Will, When the Whales Came (also known as Why the Whales Came), Signet Films, 1989.

Rudi Waltz, Der Fall Lucona (also known as The Lucona Affair), 1993.

Nagi Hassan, Executive Decision (also known as Critical Decision), Warner Bros., 1996.

Oliver/Matthew Delacorta, Sunday, CFP Distribution, 1997.

Detective Mohamed Karamn, A Perfect Murder, Warner Bros., 1998.

Captain Jason Sansky, Wing Commander (also known as Wing Commander: Space Will Never Be the Same), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1999.

Napoleon, Sabotage! (also known as Sabotage!! and Sabotaje), 2000.

(U.S. version) Voice of narrator, Geppetto, and the Judge, Pinocchio (also known as Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio"), Miramax, 2002.

Jean-Pierre Thibodoux, The In-Laws (also known as Ein Ungleiches Paar and Wild Wedding—ein ungleiches Paar), Warner Bros., 2003.

Leo Gillette, Foolproof (also known as A toute epreuve), DEJ Productions, 2003.

Day of Wrath, Americana World Pictures, 2005.

Television Appearances; Series:

(Uncredited) Voiceover in titles, Sapphire and Steel, ITV, 1979.

Inspector Tsientsin, Reilly: The Ace of Spies, Euston, then broadcast as segments of Mystery, PBS, 1984.

Hercule Poirot (title role), Poirot (also known as Agatha Christie's "Poirot"), ITV, PBS, and Arts and Entertainment, 1989–94.

Detective Inspector John Borne, NCS Manhunt, BBC, 2002.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

(Debut) Edward Teller, Oppenheimer, BBC, 1978, then broadcast as a segment of American Playhouse, PBS, 1982.

Himself, Playing Shakespeare, London Weekend Television, then PBS, 1983.

Andre D'Usseau, Master of the Game, CBS, 1984.

Dr. Sigmund Freud (title role), The Life of Freud (also known as Freud), BBC, 1984.

Blott, Blott on the Landscape, BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1985.

Dino Grandi, Mussolini: The Untold Story, NBC, 1985.

The Modern World: Ten Great Writers, 1988.

Aaron, Moses (also known as The Bible: Moses, Die Bibel-Moses, Die Bibel: Moses, and La Bible: Moise), TNT, 1996.

Voice of the Phoenix, The Phoenix and the Carpet, BBC, 1997.

Joab, Solomon (also known as Die Bibel-Salomon and Salomone), PAX, 1997.

Morris Price, Seesaw, 1998.

Frederich "Stocky" von Stockmar, M.D., Victoria & Albert, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Augustus Melmotte, The Way We Live Now, BBC and PBS, 2001.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Barsad, A Tale of Two Cities, CBS, 1980.

Trouillefou, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (also known as Hunchback), CBS, 1982.

Inspector Japp, Agatha Christie's "Thirteen at Dinner" (also known as Thirteen at Dinner), CBS, 1985.

Matvei, Gulag, HBO, 1985.

William L. Shirer, Murrow, HBO, 1986.

Jonathon Gault, The Last Innocent Man, HBO, 1987.

Joe, Separation (also known as Don't Hang Up), BBC, 1990.

Hercule Poirot, Hercule Poirot's Christmas, PBS, 1994.

Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Links (also known as Poirot: Murder on the Links), LWT, 1995.

Hercule Poirot, Hickory Dickory Dock, ITV1, 1995.

Ruben Roberts, Cruel Train, BBC, 1995.

Vlachos, Deadly Voyage, HBO, 1996.

Hercule Poirot, Dumb Witness (also known as Poirot: Dumb Witness), PBS, 1996.

Louis B. Mayer, RKO 281 (also known as RKO 281: The Battle over Citizen Kane), HBO, 1999.

Hercule Poirot, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (also known as Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd), Arts and Entertainment, 2000.

Hercule Poirot, Lord Edgeware Dies, Arts and Entertainment, 2000.

Hercule Poirot, Evil under the Sun (also known as Poirot: Evil under the Sun), ITV and Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Hercule Poirot, Murder in Mesopotamia, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Naji Al-Nadithi, Live from Baghdad, HBO, 2002.

Hercule Poirot, Poirot: Five Little Pigs, Arts and Entertainment and ITV, 2003.

Hercule Poirot, Poirot: Sad Cypress, Arts and Entertainment, 2003.

Hercule Poirot, Poirot: Death on the Nile, Arts and Entertainment and ITV, 2004.

Hercule Poirot, Poirot: The Hollow, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.

General Hallholland, A Bear Named Winnie, CBC, 2004.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Detective Inspector John Borne, NCS: Manhunt, BBC, 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

The Last Day, 1983.

Herman Glogauer, Once in a Lifetime, BBC, then broadcast as a segment of Great Performances, PBS, 1988.

T. J. O'Connor, Cause Celebre, Anglia TV, then broadcast as a segment of Mystery, PBS, 1988.

Carver, "More Than a Touch of Zen," 4 Play: Nobody Here But Us Chickens (also known as Nobody Here But Us Chickens), 1989.

The Life of Agatha Christie, Arts and Entertainment, 1990.

Adolf Verloc, "The Secret Agent," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS and BBC2, 1992.

Leopold Bloom, James Joyce's "Ulysses," PBS, 1993.

Narrator, Days of Majesty, PBS, 1994.

Presenter, The Laurence Olivier Awards 2003, 2003.

Narrator, Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets, BBC, 2004, The Discovery Channel, 2005.

Narrator, Space Odyssey: The Robot Pioneers, BBC, 2004, The Discovery Channel, 2005.

Also appeared as Howard Bollsover, Saigon: The Last Days, BBC; Yves Drouard, Time to Die, Anglia TV; in Being Normal, BBC; Kings and Castles, Thames.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Martin Kulman, "And When You've Paid the Bill You're None the Wiser," Public Eye, 1971.

Leo, "Fighting Fund," The Protectors, ITV, 1973.

"Goodbye George," The Protectors, ITV, 1978.

Krivas, "Where the Jungle Ends," The Professionals, 1978.

Devas, "Partners," King & Castle, Thames, 1986.

Colin, "The Muse," Oxbridge Blues, BBC, then Arts and Entertainment, 1986, then PBS, 1988.

Yves Drouard, "A Time to Die," Tales of the Unexpected, syndicated and ITV1, 1988.

Narrator, "The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship," Long Ago and Far Away, PBS, 1989.

Edward Palmer, "Teacher," Murder in Mind, BBC, 2001.

Himself, This Morning, ITV, 2004.

Himself, GMTV, ITV, 2004.

Television Associate Producer; Movies:

Poirot: Five Little Pigs, Arts and Entertainment and ITV, 2003.

Poirot: Sad Cypress, Arts and Entertainment, 2003.

Poirot: Death on the Nile, Arts and Entertainment and ITV, 2004.

Poirot: The Hollow, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.

RECORDINGS

Taped Readings:

Evil under the Sun: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie, AudioEditions, 2002.

WRITINGS

(With others) Players of Shakespeare (2 volumes) 1985, 1988.

Also wrote essays on interpretations of roles.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

British Heritage, December, 1999, p. 42.