RIP David Warner

[Autbot_Benz]

David Warner, an English actor who gave memorable performances on the big screen, in a key role in “The Omen,” and as villains in “Time After Time,” “Time Bandits” and “Tron,” has died. He was 80.

The actor died of a cancer-related illness, his family told the BBC. “Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” his family said in a statement shared with the public broadcaster.

“He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous and compassionate man, partner and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years. We are heartbroken,” the statement continued.

Warner was Emmy-nominated for playing Reinhard Heydrich, a Nazi official who was a key architect of the Final Solution, in the landmark 1978 miniseries “Holocaust,” and won an Emmy for playing the sadistic Roman political opportunist Pomponius Falco in the 1981 miniseries “Masada.”

He reprised the role of the Nazi Heydrich in the 1985 telepic “Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil.”

Recently, Warner appeared in Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” in 2018, “You, Me and Him” in 2017 and on Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful” as Professor Abraham Von Helsing in 2014. He was among the large cast of James Cameron’s 1997 epic “Titanic” but was wasted in the role of a thug-like butler. He played a simian senator in Tim Roth’s 2001 reimagining of “Planet of the Apes” and a doctor in the 2005 hit comedy “Ladies in Lavender.”

The mid ’70s and to mid ’80s probably represented the zenith of the actor’s career.

In 1976’s “The Omen,” one of the seminal horror movies of the 1970s, he played Jennings, the photographer who develops images on which the specific manner of death for the individuals depicted is superimposed.

He played Stevenson, a friend of H.G. Wells, who turns out to be a chilling Jack the Ripper, in the excellent 1979 thriller “Time After Time,” which posits that Wells actually created the time machine he described in his book; Wells (played by Malcolm McDowell, who himself usually played villains) must follow Warner’s Jack the Ripper into the future, to contemporary San Francisco, in an effort to defeat him.

The same year Warner starred with Nick Mancuso in killer-bat horror film “Nightwing” (the New York Times said: “Mr. Warner is quite funny — intentionally, I suspect — when he attempts to explain his fanaticism. He fairly shakes with moral indignation as he describes a typical bat cave with ‘millions of bats wrestling, fighting, mating, hanging upside down…They are the quintessence of eeevilll!’ “

In 1982’s “Tron,” boasting then-state-of-the-art special effects, Warner is a villain named Dillinger who steals the plans for some video games and breaks down our hero, played by Jeff Bridges, into the ones and zeroes that represent life within the computer, where the two battle in a landscape within that world that was unlike anything that had been seen before.

Other significant credits from this period include Terry Gilliam’s 1981 “Time Bandits,” in which Warner played a villain simply called Evil, and 1985’s “The Company of Wolves,” director Neil Jordan’s exploration into the Red Riding Hood fairy tale in which Warner starred with Angela Lansbury.

The actor made two films with director Sam Peckinpah: “The Ballad of Cable Hogue” (1970), in which his performances as a somewhat eccentric minister marked one of his first feature appearances, and 1977 WWII thriller “Cross of Iron.”

Warner was also tied to various franchises, including “Star Trek.” He played two unrelated roles in “Star Trek” movies. In “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989), he played St. John Talbot, the broken-down, cigarette-smoking Federation ambassador to Nimbus III, who, like his Romulan and Klingon counterparts, comes under the influence of the renegade Vulcan Sybok; in “Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country” (1991), he played Gorkon, chancellor of the Klingon High Council, who pursued peace with the Federation but was murdered.

And on TV, in the two-part “Chain of Command” (1992), the only truly disturbing episode in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Warner gave a tour de force performance as Gul Madred, a Cardassian intelligence officer who tortures a captured Captain Picard both physically and psychologically.

The actor was also tied to the U.K.’s iconic “Dr. Who” series, voicing Lord Azlok in the “Dreamland” miniseries in 2009 and appearing as Professor Grisenko in 2013.

He played ruthless businessman Thomas Eckhardt in David Lynch’s seminal “Twin Peaks” series in 1991. In the similarly enigmatic miniseries “Wild Palms,” he played Eli Levitt, a former history professor who’s founder of libertarian movement the “Friends” and is imprisoned for terrorism. More recently he recurred on the popular “Wallender” mystery series, starring Kenneth Branagh, as Wallender’s father in 2008-10.

David Warner was born in Manchester, England. His father changed jobs frequently, which meant the family moved from town to town, and David from school to school, where he performed poorly. His parented separated, and years went by before he saw his mother again — and then only on her deathbed.

He receiving his training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.

Warner made his professional stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre in January 1962, playing the minor role of Snout in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Tony Richardson. In March at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, he played Conrad in “Much Ado About Nothing,” and in June he appeared as Jim in David Rudkin’s “Afore Night Come” at the New Arts Theatre in London.

He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1963, playing Trinculo in “The Tempest” and Cinna the Poet in “Julius Caesar”; in July he played Henry VI in the John Barton adaptation of “Henry VI,” Parts I, II and III. At the Aldwych Theatre, London, he reprised the role of Henry VI in the complete Wars of the Roses history cycle in 1964. Returning to Stratford in April, he performed the title role in “Richard II,” Mouldy in “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry VI.” At the Aldwych in October 1964, he was cast as Valentine Brose in Henry Livings’ play “Eh?,” reprising the role in the 1968 film adaptation “Work Is a Four-Letter Word.”

He played the title role in “Hamlet” at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1965. His “Hamlet” was revived in the 1966 Stratford season, and he played Sir Andrew Aguecheek in “Twelfth Night.” At the Aldwych in January 1970, he played Julian in Edward Albee’s “Tiny Alice.”

Warner’s other theater work has included “The Great Exhibition at Hampstead Theatre” and “I, Claudius,” both in 1972.

The actor made his big screen debut with a supporting role in 1963 film “Tom Jones,” starring Albert Finney.

Warner starred with Vanessa Redgrave in Karel Reisz’s 1966 feature comedy “Morgan — A Suitable Case for Treatment,” in which he played a man obsessed with Karl Marx and gorillas who resorts to all sorts of bizarre tactics to prevent his upper-class ex-wife from remarrying. At Cannes the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or, and Redgrave was nominated for an Oscar.

In Sidney Lumet’s 1968 Chekhov adaptation of “The Sea Gull,” he played Konstantin, the writer son of Simone Signoret’s Arkadina. The same year he appeared in a Peter Hall-directed adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as Lysander.

After “The Ballad of Cable Hogue” in 1970, he starred with Jane Fonda in Joseph Losey’s 1973 adaptation of “A Doll’s House.”

In 2001 he made his American stage debut — and returned to the theater after decades away — playing Andrew Undershaft in a Broadway revival of “Major Barbara” that also featured Dana Ivey and Cherry Jones.

Back in the U.K., he subsequently appeared in “A Feast of Snails” at the Lyric Theatre in 2002 and “Where There’s a Will” at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In 2005 he played the title role in “King Lear” at Chichester Festival Theatre.

He returned to Stratford for the first time in more than four decades in August 2007, as an RSC Honorary Artist, to play Sir John Falstaff in the Courtyard Theatre revival of “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry IV, Part 2.”

Warner was also a voiceover artist who contributed to animated series including “The Legend of Prince Valiant” (as Duke Richard of Lionsgate), “Batman: The Animated Series” (as Ra’s al Ghul), “Gargoyles” (as Archmage), “Freakazoid” (as the Lobe), “Spider-Man” (Herbert Landon), “Toonsylvania,” “Superman,” “Batman Beyond,” “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” “Men in Black: The Series” and a variety of videogames.

The actor was twice married and divorced, first to Harriet Lindgren (1969-72), then to Sheilah Kent (1979-2005).

He is survived by a daughter, Melissa, from his marriage to Kent.

https://variety.com/2022/film/obitua...on-1235324582/

[CyberCubed]

Prof. Jordan Perry is what I remember him the most. I also can't believe I didn't realize he was the voice of Ras Al Gul in B:TAS until decades later

[CyberCubed]

What a shame.

[member_removed]

There are FOUR lights!
RIP Gul Madred.

I once got a nod of recognition from Patrick Stewart at a convention. During his panel a fan asked "how many lights". Stewart obliged with standard answer. He then asked the crowd "Who played his Cardassian captor. I shouted out David Warner.

I should finally get around to watching Time After Time.

[Vicky82]

He played the Archmage in Gargoyles too, RIP David Warner.

[Andrew NDB]

This is crazy. I swear I read about him dying like 5 years ago.

[triplexxx]

Another highly recognizable face seen all over TV and cinema for decades, including a role in the TMNT franchise. David Warner was a superb on screen presence, and from what his loved ones described, a wonderful gentleman and upstanding individual. May you rest well in heaven, David Warner.

[triplexxx]

David Warner lived a good long life and will be remembered fondly for many roles, including this one here.

[Andrew NDB]

Seriously, this is major deja vu. Like 4-5 years ago I remember seeing threads for David Warner about his passing.

[ZariusTwo]

One of the best character actors ever. He could do everything.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by member_removed

There are FOUR lights!
RIP Gul Madred.

I once got a nod of recognition from Patrick Stewart at a convention. During his panel a fan asked "how many lights". Stewart obliged with standard answer. He then asked the crowd "Who played his Cardassian captor. I shouted out David Warner.

I should finally get around to watching Time After Time.

And he was the Klingon chancellor that was assassinated in The Undiscovered Country! Great actor....

[Antoniocafe]

That's unfortunate. He was incredible as Ra's all Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series.

[Andrew NDB]

And as Jack the Ripper in "Time After Time" and even in computer games like Privateer 2. I feel like he was everywhere for a good pocket of time.

This is so weird. I feel like I was just writing about him being dead just a few years ago.

[Leo656]

Must be a side effect of all the necroposting in years-dead threads, it's messing with your sense of space and time. You're not even sure When you presently exist anymore. That's my current working theory.

Also: Bummer. Liked the guy enough in the few things I saw him in.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

This is crazy. I swear I read about him dying like 5 years ago.

Oh, yeah, I am in the same boat! Mandella Effect?

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Must be a side effect of all the necroposting in years-dead threads, it's messing with your sense of space and time. You're not even sure When you presently exist anymore. That's my current working theory.

Also: Bummer. Liked the guy enough in the few things I saw him in.

Was he your voice for Ras Al Ghaul or are you team Neeson?

[IMJ]

Oh geeze I mean the guy unarguably brought Ras to life for an entire generation of cartoon watchers. Neeson's character was well played - he's a great actor, but the animated Ras not only encapsulated the comic book version, but enhanced it with performance and gravitas completely.

[Turo602]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

This is crazy. I swear I read about him dying like 5 years ago.

Same. I could have sworn I looked him up years ago and saw he was dead and thought so for years. Looked him up more recently and saw he was alive. Now this.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Turo602

Same. I could have sworn I looked him up years ago and saw he was dead and thought so for years. Looked him up more recently and saw he was alive. Now this.

Even here, I could've sworn there was a R.I.P. David Warner thread and we were all sharing our memories of him. I was talking about how he was the best part of TMNT II, etc.

Weird!

[IndigoErth]

Sad... But I guess if you have to go from "cancer-related illness" then doing so at 80 still at least got you a normal lifetime.