Tom Courtenay

Acting

Tom Courtenay

Born

1937-02-25 (89)

Place of birth

Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

72 titles

Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. A notable figure of the British New Wave, he has received numerous accolades, including three BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, two Silver Bears, and a Volpi Cup, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He was knighted for his services to cinema and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours. He came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Billy Liar (1963), and Dr. Zhivago (1965). Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre. Description above from the Wikipedia artic…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

2010s · 15 titles

The Queen's Corgi poster
5.9

Since his arrival at Buckingham palace, Rex lives a life of luxury. Top dog, he has superseded his three fellow Corgis in Her Majesty’s heart. His arrogance can be quite irritating. When he causes a diplomatic incident during an official dinner with the President of the United States, he falls into disgrace. Betrayed by one of his peers, Rex becomes a stray dog in the streets of London. How can he redeem himself? In love, he will find the resources to surpass himself in the face of great danger…

The Queen's Corgi

2019

The Aeronauts poster
6.8

In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.

The Aeronauts

2019

King of Thieves poster
5.6

London, England, April 2015. Brian Reader, a retired thief, gathers an unlikely gang of burglars to perpetrate the biggest and boldest heist in British history. The thieves assault the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company and escape with millions in goods and money. But soon the cracks between the gang members begin to appear when they discuss how to share the loot.

King of Thieves

2018

Night Train to Lisbon poster
6.5

Raimund Gregorius, having saved a beautiful Portuguese woman from leaping to her death, stumbles upon a mesmerizing book by a Portuguese author, which compels him to suddenly abandon the boring life he has led for years and to embark on an enthralling adventure. In search of the author, Gregorius acts as detective, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves political and emotional intrigue and the highest possible stakes. His voyage is one that transcends time and space, delving into the realms of history, medicine and love, all in search of true meaning to his life.

Night Train to Lisbon

2013

The Legend of Barney Thomson poster
6.1

Barney Thomson, awkward, diffident, Glasgow barber, lives a life of desperate mediocrity and his uninteresting life is about to go from 0 to 60 in five seconds, as he enters the grotesque and comically absurd world of the serial killer.

The Legend of Barney Thomson

2015

Dad's Army poster
5.0

A cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968). The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German spy as World War II draws to its conclusion.

Dad's Army

2016

Quartet poster
6.5

Cissy, Reggie, and Wilf are in a home for retired musicians. Every year, there is a concert to celebrate Composer Giuseppe Verdi's birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on, and it does.

Quartet

2012

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society poster
7.4

Free-spirited writer Juliet Ashton forms a life-changing bond with the delightful and eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed during the occupation of Guernsey in WWII.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

2018

Gambit poster
5.5

An art curator decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen.

Gambit

2012

45 Years poster
6.6

There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

45 Years

2015

Cinderella: After Ever After poster
7.1

Cinderella weds her Prince Charming, only to find married life isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Cinderella: After Ever After

2019

Grandpa's Great Escape poster
6.1

Many years ago, Grandpa was a World War II flying ace, but sadly he is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease. When his family can no longer look after him, he is moved to Twilight Towers, an old people's home. It soon becomes clear that Miss Dandy is running Twilight Towers for her own ulterior motives, and it is up to Grandpa and grandson Jack to make a daring escape. Failure could have the direst of consequences, but success will give Grandpa a final chance to relive his past and take to the sky once again in his beloved Spitfire.

Grandpa's Great Escape

2018

The First Film poster
6.2

Leeds born filmmaker David Nicholas Wilkinson's thirty three year quest to prove that the worlds film industry started in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in 1888.

The First Film

2015

The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa poster
8.4

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash discuss the creation of The Royle Family, with a look behind the scenes at the production of the show and interviews with the cast.

The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa

2010

The End of an Era poster
NR

Human extinction is almost impossible to imagine, but the notion is never far away in environmental debates. This animation takes an insect eye view to explore these deeply troubling themes with wit and generosity.

The End of an Era

2011

2000s · 8 titles

The Golden Compass poster
6.1

In a parallel universe, after overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.

The Golden Compass

2007

Nicholas Nickleby poster
6.8

Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

Nicholas Nickleby

2002

Last Orders poster
6.0

Jack Dodd was a London butcher who enjoyed a pint with his mates for over 50 years. When he died, he died as he lived, with a smile on his face watching a horse race on which he had bet, with borrowed money. But before he died he had a final request, 'Last Orders', that his ashes be scattered in the sea at Margate. The movie follows his mates, Ray, Lenny and Vic and his foster son Vince as they journey to the sea with the ashes. Along the way, the threads of their lives, their loves and their disappointments are woven together in their memories of Jack and his wife Amy

Last Orders

2001

Flood poster
5.3

Timely yet terrifying, The Flood predicts the unthinkable. When a raging storm coincides with high seas it unleashes a colossal tidal surge, which travels mercilessly down England's East Coast and into the Thames Estuary. Overwhelming the Barrier, torrents of water pour into the city. The lives of millions of Londoners are at stake.

Flood

2007

The Royle Family: The New Sofa poster
7.7

Festive special edition of the hit family sitcom. Inspired by Nigella Lawson, Denise decides to cook Christmas dinner for the family. Jim provides the yuletide log and, much to his dismay, Dave's mum and dad are invited to join the festivities.

The Royle Family: The New Sofa

2008

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? poster
6.2

It's 1976, and Vinny is a confused teenager who can't decide whether he is a disco king or a proto punk rocker.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

2000

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories poster
7.0

A film biography with a difference, Sir John Mills' Moving Memories charts the life of one of Britain's most distinguished actors. Compiled from interviews with the man himself and with his family and friends, it traces his career from humble beginnings to all-time great of British cinema. The many film clips reveal an electric screen presence and a willingness to undertake a range of difficult, challenging roles.

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

2000

Ready When You Are, Mr McGill poster
7.3

Remake of the 1976 TV drama by Jack Rosenthal. An extra in a TV drama is finally given a line to say. He goes on to cause mounting chaos

Ready When You Are, Mr McGill

2004

1990s · 8 titles

Let Him Have It poster
6.7

In 1950s England, slow-witted Derek Bentley falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, a teenager with a fondness for American gangster films. Chris and Derek's friendship leads to their involvement in the true case which would forever shake England's belief in capital punishment.

Let Him Have It

1991

The Last Butterfly poster
5.8

Stage mime Antoine Moreau is compelled by the Gestapo to put on a performance for the children of Terezin, a "model" concentration camp, to convince the Red Cross observers that the camp is truly what it seems. Reluctant at first, Moreau slowly learns the true nature of the camp, including the meaning of the "transports" on which people leave. With a world-class orchestra (made up of people interned in the camp) and a cast of children, Moreau stages a show to end all shows.

The Last Butterfly

1991

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye poster
5.6

The war in Europe ends but a new adventure begins for Indy when a mysterious man's dying words, "The eye of the peacock!" send him and Remy on a thrilling treasure hunt for one of Alexander the Great's most prized possessions. Pursued by a dangerous one-eyed man, Indy follows the trail of the diamond from London to Alexandria to the South Seas, where he has a run-in with a murderous band of Chinese pirates. The shipboard battle that ensues is a spectacular display of swords, guns and flying fists. Marooned by the pirates on a remote desert island, Indy is captured by savage headhunters, but before they can turn him into a shrunken head and cannibal stew, he is rescued by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski, and makes a life-altering decision.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye

1995

The Boy from Mercury poster
8.0

Set in 1960s Dublin, a fatherless eight-year-old boy who feels alienated by his family, escapes his reality by deciding he's been sent from Mercury to study life on Earth. His fantasies mirror the life of his hero, Flash Gordon, from the serial he watches each week at the local cinema. His escapades result in dilemmas that drive his mother to such distraction that she turns to the boy's strange uncle for help.

The Boy from Mercury

1996

A Rather English Marriage poster
5.5

A squadron leader and a retired milkman decide to bury their differences and move in together after they are both widowed on the very same night. They become a companionable if odd couple, until their unlikely friendship is threatened by the arrival of an alluring woman with a hidden agenda.

A Rather English Marriage

1998

Famous Fred poster
5.8

Based on the book by Posy Simmonds. Mischievous kitten Fred grows up to be feline singing superstar, but a case of cat flu threatens to cut short his musical career.

Famous Fred

1996

The Old Curiosity Shop poster
7.2

A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.

The Old Curiosity Shop

1995

Redemption poster
7.0

After 16 years away Stan Peachey returns to his village. His wife still loves him but his sister wants revenge. What was his crime?

Redemption

1991

1980s · 6 titles

The Dresser poster
6.8

In a touring Shakespearean theater group, a backstage hand - the dresser - is devoted to the brilliant but tyrannical head of the company. He struggles to support the deteriorating star as the company struggles to carry on during the London Blitz. The pathos of his backstage efforts rival the pathos in the story of Lear and the Fool that is being presented on-stage, as the situation comes to a crisis.

The Dresser

1983

Leonard Part 6 poster
2.9

After separating from his wife, Leonard Parker quit the spy business and became a restaurateur. His wife refuses to speak with him, and his daughter, who changes her career more often than her clothes, has begun dating a man old enough to be Leonard's father! On top of it all, the government has asked him to come back and save the world again.

Leonard Part 6

1987

Me and the Girls poster
3.0

Ken Taylor's adaptation of the Noel Coward short story, "Me and the Girls", one of a series called "Noel Coward's The Master's Collection". George Banks, a homosexual dancer, looks back over his life as he lies dying in a Swiss sanatorium.

Me and the Girls

1985

Happy New Year poster
5.8

Small time crooksters Nick and Charlie have an elaborate plan to rob an exclusive jewelers store. Using a variety of disguises and posing as rich old men and women they begin the set-up, but then Nick falls for the owner of a neighboring antique store and things get a little complicated.

Happy New Year

1987

No artwork available
NR

A visit by the Moscow Arts Theatre company to Chekhov's country villa at Yalta in 1900. Based on the stage play by John Driver and Jeffrey Haddow.

Chekhov in Yalta

1988

Absent Friends poster
7.0

Adaptation of the play by Alan Ayckbourn.

Absent Friends

1985

1970s · 4 titles

1960s · 13 titles

Doctor Zhivago poster
7.6

The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.

Doctor Zhivago

1965

The Night of the Generals poster
6.8

A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, two of whom are also involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

The Night of the Generals

1967

Operation Crossbow poster
6.7

Allied agents infiltrate the Nazi rocket complex at Peenemunde in order to obtain their secrets and sabotage the plant. The film alternates between German developments of the V-1 missile and V-2 rocket (with a German cast speaking their own language) and discovery by British Intelligence of the weapon.

Operation Crossbow

1965

A Dandy in Aspic poster
6.9

Double-agent Alexander Eberlin is assigned by the British to hunt out a Russian spy, known to them as Krasnevin. Only Eberlin knows that Krasnevin is none other than himself! Accompanying him on his mission is a ruthless partner, who gradually discovers his secret as Eberlin tries to maneuver himself out of a desperate situation.

A Dandy in Aspic

1968

Billy Liar poster
6.8

A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.

Billy Liar

1963

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner poster
7.2

A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

1962

King Rat poster
7.1

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.

King Rat

1965

King and Country poster
7.1

During World War I, Army Private Arthur James Hamp is accused of desertion during battle. The officer assigned to defend him at his court-martial, Captain Hargreaves, finds out there is more to the case than meets the eye.

King and Country

1964

Otley poster
6.3

A petty crook finds himself mistaken for a murderer and a secret agent.

Otley

1969

Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean poster
8.5

In this promotional short for the feature film Doctor Zhivago (1965), director David Lean explains why he chose the performers for the leading roles in the movie.

Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean

1965

The Day the Fish Came Out poster
4.8

A plane carrying a weapon more dangerous than a nuclear weapon goes down near Greece. To prevent panic, the officials go in dressed as tourists (who are dressed so casually that the pilots assume that they are all gay). The pilots are not to make themselves known and can't contact the rescue team. The secrecy causes a comedy of errors including the desolate Greek Isle deciding that since tourists have now arrived, they have to become touristy.

The Day the Fish Came Out

1967

Moscow in Madrid poster
7.0

When David Lean made his film Doctor Zhivago (1965), he realized that it would be impossible to do location shooting in Moscow. Instead, he found a location on the plains outside Madrid, Spain and built a set to look like the Russian capital. This promotional film gives viewers a short look at the set under construction.

Moscow in Madrid

1965

Private Potter poster
5.5

A military mission is interrupted when a British soldier claims that God had appeared to him in a transcendental vision.

Private Potter

1962

Series credits

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

Parkinson poster
NR

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

Parkinson

1998

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

Unforgotten poster
7.6

London police detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunny Khan investigate historic cold cases involving missing persons, murder and long-hidden secrets.

Unforgotten

2015

ScreenPlay poster
6.0

Screenplay was a drama anthology television series, broadcast on BBC between 1986 and 1993. Numerous episodes were produced including one named "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands" starring Robbie Coltrane as English writer Samuel Johnson who in the autumn of 1773, visits the Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland. That episode was directed by John Byrne and co-starred John Sessions and Celia Imrie.

ScreenPlay

1986

The North Water poster
7.4

Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon, signs up as ship's doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic; on board he meets Henry Drax, the harpooner, a brutish killer whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world. Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, Sumner finds himself on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath. In search of redemption, his story becomes a harsh struggle for survival in the Arctic wasteland.

The North Water

2021

Mandy poster
7.5

Mandy is a woman with dreams. Big dreams. Most of all she dreams of breeding Doberman Pinchers. But there are hurdles to overcome before that dream can become a reality. In the series we'll see her go on a health kick, rent out her small back bedroom on Airbnb and attempt a series of short-lived jobs in the modern gig economy.

Mandy

2020

Little Dorrit poster
7.9

Amy Dorrit spends her days earning money for the family and looking after her proud father who is a long term inmate of Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. Amy and her family's world is transformed when her employer's son, Arthur Clennam, returns from overseas to solve his family's mysterious legacy and discovers that their lives are interlinked.

Little Dorrit

2008

Theatre Night poster
NR

A series of dramas featuring staged theatre plays.

Theatre Night

1985

Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule poster
8.0

Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule is a panel show that sees Harry Hill presiding over two teams tasked with saving planet earth from alien invasion! Each team must find clips, people, basically anything that is fun or funny enough for Harry to place in a capsule which, in the event that we're invaded by aliens, we can present to them to demonstrate earthlings are good fun and therefore worthy of saving. Over a series of rounds, the two teams of two present Harry with fun stuff which Harry must adjudicate on and ultimately decide what's in and what's out of the Fun Capsule with the triumphant team winning bragging rights. Along the way there will be sketches, studio items and special guests. And the occasional appearance of an alien.

Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule

2017

Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties poster
7.0

Five programmes that trace a remarkable decade in British film-making through interviews with its stars and directors.

Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties

1993

No artwork available
NR

Series of 20-minute monologues by famous British actors, portraying historical characters or reading poetry.

Solo

1970

No artwork available
NR

BBC anthology series of classic plays.

Stage 2

1971