John Hollis

Acting

John Hollis

Born 1931-01-24 · Nottinghamshire, England, UK

John Hollis was an English actor. He played the role of Lobot in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and the German porter at the chateau in The Dirty Dozen. He appeared in the classic 1978 film Superman as one of the Elders of Krypton, and reprised his role in the 1980 theatrical version of Superman II. He also played the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the cold open of the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, going uncredited due to the controversy over the film rights and characters of Thunderball. In this sequence, his character was famously lifted from a wheelchair and dropped to his death down a chimney stack by Bond after he had attempted to kill Bond by using a remote control link to Bond's MI6 helicopter. Hollis also took the role of Sondergaard in the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who in the story The Mutants, and appeared in The Avengers episode The Cybernauts as a sensei and also in The Tomorrow People. John Hollis was a versatile character actor for BBC Radio. Notable roles include Magwitch in Great Expectations, Leonard Bast in Howards End, Conan Doyle's Inspector Lestrade and Shakespeare's Bardolph.

Acting credits

Casino Royale poster
5.3

Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.

Casino Royale

1967

The Empire Strikes Back poster
8.4

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

The Empire Strikes Back

1980

Superman poster
7.2

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.

Superman

1978

Superman II poster
6.8

Three Kryptonian criminals led by General Zod team up with Lex Luthor to conquer Earth, forcing a depowered Superman to regain his strength and stop them.

Superman II

1980

For Your Eyes Only poster
6.5

A British spy ship has sunk and on board was a hi-tech encryption device. James Bond is sent to find the device that holds British launching instructions before the enemy Soviets get to it first.

For Your Eyes Only

1981

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace poster
4.6

With global superpowers engaged in an increasingly hostile arms race, Superman leads a crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But Lex Luthor, recently sprung from jail, is declaring war on the Man of Steel and his quest to save the planet. Using a strand of Superman's hair, Luthor synthesizes a powerful ally known as Nuclear Man and ignites an epic battle spanning Earth and space.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

1987

The Dirty Dozen poster
7.6

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.

The Dirty Dozen

1967

Flash Gordon poster
6.3

A football player and his mates travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

Flash Gordon

1980

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother poster
6.0

After spending decades living in the shadow of his more famous and successful sibling, Consulting Detective Sigerson Holmes is called upon to help solve a crucial case that leads him on a hilarious trail of false identities, stolen documents, secret codes... and exposed backsides.

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

1975

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter poster
6.2

When several young girls are found dead, left hideously aged and void of blood, Dr. Marcus suspects vampirism. He enlists the help of the Vampire Hunter. Mysterious and powerful, Kronos has dedicated his life to destroying the evil pestilence. Once a victim of its diabolical depravity, he knows the vampire's strengths and weaknesses as well as the extreme dangers attached to confronting the potent forces of darkness.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

1973

Valhalla poster
6.8

Two children in the Viking age find their way into the magical world of Norse mythology.

Valhalla

1986

Esther poster
6.8

Esther, the beautiful queen of Persia, intervenes to save the Jewish people from a bloody massacre.

Esther

1999

Freelance poster
4.3

A street-smart witness to a gangland slaying tries to beat the hit man at his own game.

Freelance

1970

Doctor Who: The Mutants poster
7.2

The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo on a mission to deliver a sealed message pod to an unknown party aboard a Skybase orbiting the planet Solos in the 30th century. They are caught quickly in a power struggle between the cruel Marshal of Solos and the young Solonian Ky over the future of Solos - a future that hinges on the contents of the message.

Doctor Who: The Mutants

1972

James Bond: The First 21 Years poster
6.7

A look back at the first 21 years of Britain's most successful film series.

James Bond: The First 21 Years

1983

Blake's 7: Aftermath poster
NR

The Intergalactic War is over. The Combined forces of Earth's galaxy have triumphed over the invasion force from Andromeda, but the price of victory has been high.

Blake's 7: Aftermath

1986

Ghost in the Noonday Sun poster
4.9

A pirate crewman kills his captain after learning where he has hidden his buried treasure. However, as he begins to lose his memory, he relies more and more on the ghost of the man he just murdered to help him find the loot.

Ghost in the Noonday Sun

1973

Creatures the World Forgot poster
4.9

As the first nomadic tribes wander across the vast wilderness of the infant planet they confront hostilities created by the harsh environment and each other. After a massive volcanic eruption a tribal chief is killed and his two sons fight for supremacy, not only for the leadership of the tribe but also for the love of a beautiful young woman. The age-old battlegrounds of rivalry, envy and passion are explored in this tale of prehistoric adventure.

Creatures the World Forgot

1971

No artwork available
7.5

The once-reknowned escape-artist and magician, Kandinsky, is now reduced to confounding the staff and inmates of his retirement home.

The Great Kandinsky

1995

Too Many Cooks poster
NR

Dr Andrew Cook, inventor of a process for making living replicas of human beings, has unwittingly duplicated himself and becomes a secret weapon in the Solar System's struggle for economic survival against a powerful alien culture, the Sentients.

Too Many Cooks

1966

Detective Waiting poster
8.0

A cat and mouse game develops between a big man of crime and a young detective constable. But the big man doesn't realize, that this mouse roars.

Detective Waiting

1971

The Adventures Of Don Quixote poster
10.0

A self-proclaimed "knight" and his hapless squire travel the Spanish countryside, attacking "giants" that are really windmills in his attempt to win the love of the fair Dulcinea.

The Adventures Of Don Quixote

1973

No artwork available
8.0

The story of the attempted kidnapping of the son of a visiting African potentate.

On the Run

1968

Low Water poster
NR

In North East England men make a living collecting coal washed-up on beaches from underground seams.

Low Water

1966