Vernon Dobtcheff

Vernon Dobtcheff
Born	(1934-08-14) 14 August 1934 Nîmes, Gard, France
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–present

Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, born in France. Although best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted numerously in stage productions.

Biography

Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a family of Russian descent.

He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup. One of his many television roles was as the Chief Scientist in the Doctor Who series The War Games in 1969, in which he became the first actor ever to mention the Time Lords by name. He also appeared in the Blake's 7 episode "Shadow" as the Chairman of the Terra Nostra in 1979. The most famous movies in which he has appeared are The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Before Sunset (2004).

In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, British actor Rupert Everett describes an encounter with Dobtcheff on the boat train to Paris, and reveals his extraordinary reputation as the "patron saint" of the acting profession, stating that Dobtcheff "was legendary not so much for his acting as for his magical ability to catch every first night in the country". Widely travelled and prone to pop up in the most unlikely of locales, if unable to attend an opening night, Dobtcheff will still endeavour to send the cast a card wishing the production good luck.

Dobtcheff appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama The Children of Seth in which he plays the role of Shamur.

Filmography

• Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965) as French Team Member (uncredited)
• Darling (1965) as Art Critic (uncredited)
• Return from the Ashes (1965) as Man breaking up nightclub fight (uncredited)
• The Idol (1966) as Man at Party
• The Taming of the Shrew (1967) as Pedant
• A Dandy in Aspic (1968) as Stein
• Baby Love (1969) as Man in Cinema
• The Assassination Bureau (1969) as Baron Muntzof
• Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) as Mendoza
• Darling Lili (1970) as Otto Kraus
• The Beast in the Cellar (1970) as Sir Bernard Newsmith
• Them (1970) as Brisbane
• Les mariés de l'an II (1971) as Le pasteur
• The Horsemen (1971) as Zam Hajji
• Fiddler on the Roof (1971) as Russian Official
• Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as Dr. Lazovert
• Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) as Duc François de Guise
• The Canterbury Tales (1972) as The Manager
• Up the Front (1972) as Muller
• Far from Dallas (1972)
• The Day of the Jackal (1973) as The Interrogator
• Story of a Love Story (1973)
• Revolt of the City (1973)
• Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974) as Padre
• Fall of Eagles (1974) as Count Stookau
• The Marseille Contract (1974) as Lazar
• Murder on the Orient Express (1974) as Concierge
• Scent of a Woman (1974) as Don Carlo (uncredited)
• Galileo (1975) as First Secretary
• Playing with Fire (1975) as Un messager
• India Song (1975) as George Crown
• Le Chat et la souris (1975) as le complice de Germain
• Il Messia (1975) as Samuele
• Operation Daybreak (1975) as Pyotr
• Le Sauvage (1975) as Coleman
• Michel Strogoff (1975) (TV miniseries) as Harry Blount
• Dickens of London (1976) as Legal gentleman
• Joseph Andrews (1977) as Fop Two
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) as Max Kalba
• March or Die (1977) as Mean corporal
• La petite fille en velours bleu (1978) as Lamberti
• CIA contro KGB (1978) as Le réceptionniste
• L'Amour en question (1978) as Peter, le consul anglais à Nice
• Nijinsky (1980) as Sergei Grigoriev
• Sredni Vashtar (1981) as the Doctor
• Masada (1981) as Roman Chief Priest
• San-Antonio ne pense qu'à ça (1981) as Un tueur russe
• Condorman (1981) as Russian Agent
• L'Amour nu (1981) as John, le patron de Claire
• La nuit de Varennes (1982) as Le juge saisie
• Enigma (1982)
• Nutcracker (1982) as Markovitch
• Marco Polo (1982) as Pietro D'Abano
• Wagner (1983) as Giacomo Meyerbeer
• Ronde de nuit (1984) as James – le majordome
• The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (1984)
• My Friend Washington (1984)
• A.D. (1985) as Titus Flavius Sabinus
• Morenga (1985) as Lohmann
• Mata Hari (1985) as Prosecutor
• Caravaggio (1986) as Art Lover
• Je hais les acteurs (1986) as Fritz Kesselberger
• The Name of the Rose (1986) as Hugh of Newcastle
• Maschenka (1987) as Yasha
• Natalia (1988) as Alfred Grabner
• Catacombs (1988) as Brother Timothy
• Pascali's Island (1988) as Pariente
• Madame Sousatzka (1988) as Music Critic
• Testimony (1988) as Gargolovsky
• Splendor (1989) as Don Arno
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) as Butler
• Berlin-Jerusalem (1989) as Editor
• The Hostage of Europe (1989) as Hudson Lowe
• The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990) as Erich Fellgiebel
• The Krays (1990) as Teacher
• Flight from Paradise (1990) as Merrill
• The Garden (1990)
• A Season of Giants (1990) as Jacopo Galli
• Vincent and Me (1990) as Dr. Winkler
• Hamlet (1990) as Reynaldo
• Near Mrs. (1990) as Ivan, Paris KGB Chief
• Let Him Have It (1991) as Clerk of Court
• Prisoner of Honor (1991) as Rennes Prosecutor
• L'ambassade en folie (1992) as Ivan
• Les Enfants du naufrageur (1992)
• Toutes peines confondues (1992) as Thurston
• Venice/Venice (1992) as Alexander
• Obiettivo indiscreto (1992)
• M. Butterfly (1993) as Agent Etancelin
• The Hour of the Pig (1993) as Apothecary
• Agatha Christie's Poirot – Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1994) as Simeon Lee
• Jefferson in Paris (1995) as King's Translator
• England, My England (1995) as Dr. Spratt
• Surviving Picasso (1996) as Diaghilev
• Jude (1996) as Curator
• The Ogre (1996) as Lawyer
• La montagne muette (1997) as L'ingénieur
• Anna Karenina (1997) as Pestov
• The Odyssey (1997) as Aegyptus
• As Time Goes By (1997) as Dr Stoker
• Déjà vu (1997) as Konstantine
• Father Ted Are You Right There Father Ted? (1998) as Old Nazi
• Merlin (1998) as 1st Physician
• Jinnah (1998) as Lord Willingdon
• Hilary and Jackie (1998) as Professor Bentley
• Spanish Fly (1998) as Carl's Friend
• Vigo (1998) as Papa Lozinska
• St. Ives (1998) as Bonnefoy
• Dreaming of Joseph Lees (1999) as Italian Doctor
• The Strange Case of Delphina Potocka or The Mystery of Chopin (1999) as Art Gallery lecturer
• Le prof (2000) as Patte Folle
• Falling Through (2000) as Father
• The Body (2001) as Monsignor
• Revelation (2001) as Curé at Rennes-le-Chateau
• Festival in Cannes (2001) as Millie's Escort
• The Order (2001) as Oscar Cafmeyer, Rudy's father
• The Red Siren (2002) as Vitali
• Merci Docteur Rey (2002) as François
• The Wonderland Experience (2002) as Vincent
• White Teeth (2002) as 'The Devil of Dachau'
• Brocéliande (2003) as Professeur Brennos
• Before Sunset (2004) as Bookstore Manager
• Evilenko (2004) as Bagdasarov
• Pontormo (2004) as Riccio
• Iznogoud (2005) as Kitussé
• Empire of the Wolves (2005) as Kudseyi
• An American Haunting (2005) as Elder #1
• Othello: A South African Tale (2005) as Brabantio
• Courts mais GAY: Tome 12 (2006) (segment "Le moment venu")
• Priceless (2006) as Jacques
• Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008) as Un druide (uncredited)
• Le Plaisir de chanter (2008) as Le lecteur du bar
• Godforsaken (2010) as The Surgeon
• Undisputed III: Redemption (2010) as Rezo
• La Clinique de l'amour (2012) as Johnattan Stork
• Zarafa (2012) as Le vieux sage (voice)
• La Vie d'une autre (2012) as Dimitri Speranski
• The Great Beauty (2013) as Arturo
• Seven Lucky Gods (2014) as Lawrence
• Horsehead (2014) as George
• The Invisible Boy (2014) as Artiglio
• The Man with the Iron Heart (2017) as Emile Hacha
• The 15:17 to Paris (2018) as Older Man
• The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020) as Enos

External links

• Vernon Dobtcheff at IMDb
• Le coin du cinéphage