Michael Jayston

Acting

Michael Jayston

Born 1935-10-29 · Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, was an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have included playing the Valeyard in all fourteen episodes of the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord (1986) and appearing in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Time on Our Hands" (1996) as Raquel's father, James.

Acting credits

Highlander III: The Sorcerer poster
4.7

Deceived that he had won the Prize, Connor MacLeod wanders through the world; however, he is awakened from his peaceful life when an entombed immortal magician, Kane, escapes and comes seeking the Highlander.

Highlander III: The Sorcerer

1994

Tales That Witness Madness poster
5.5

Enigmatic asylum owner Dr Tremayne houses four very special cases. Visited by his colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each patient went mad, be they a ritualistic 'luau', a time-travelling bicycle, a toy tiger, and a tree stump.

Tales That Witness Madness

1973

Nicholas and Alexandra poster
7.0

Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

Nicholas and Alexandra

1971

Cromwell poster
6.6

Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.

Cromwell

1970

Zulu Dawn poster
6.1

In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.

Zulu Dawn

1979

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland poster
6.3

An all-star cast highlights this vibrant musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's immortal tale. One day, plucky young Alice follows a white rabbit down a hole and discovers a world of bizarre characters.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

1972

Follow Me! poster
7.8

A strait-laced British banker hires an eccentric private detective to follow his free-spirited American wife, whom he suspects is cheating on him.

Follow Me!

1972

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster
5.9

In the 19th century, an expert marine biologist is hired by the government to determine what's sinking ships all over the ocean. His daughter follows him. They are intercepted by a mysterious captain Nemo and his incredible submarine.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

1997

Doctor Who: Mindwarp poster
7.7

As the Doctor's trial continues, evidence is presented showing his most recent adventure, one where he faces an old adversary, Sil. As a scientist conducts his unethical experiments to prolong the life of Sil's boss Kiv, the Doctor's memories of the events begins to return and an unpleasant surprise awaits him.

Doctor Who: Mindwarp

1986

Craze poster
5.1

A demented art dealer and antique shop owner performs nightly rituals in honour of the African god Chuku, whom he believes will reward him with unimaginable wealth and power if he merely offers human sacrifice.

Craze

1974

The Internecine Project poster
6.0

Offered a job as a presidential adviser, a professor is forced to dispose of those who knew him when he was a spy.

The Internecine Project

1974

A Midsummer Night's Dream poster
6.3

Peter Hall's film adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy, filmed in and around an English country house and starring actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

1968

The Merchant of Venice poster
8.5

An Edwardian take on the Shakespeare play starring Laurence Olivier.

The Merchant of Venice

1973

Macbeth poster
6.0

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Macbeth

1970

Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba poster
7.3

Reflecting Peter O'Toole's theatrical legacy, this feature documentary is structured into four acts, each introduced by a quote about O'Toole that encapsulates his life during a specific period.

Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

2022

The Homecoming poster
6.2

In a dreary North London flat, the site of perpetual psychological warfare, a philosophy professor visits his family after a nine-year absence and introduces the four men - father, uncle and two brothers - to his wife.

The Homecoming

1973

Element of Doubt poster
6.5

A woman has doubts about the intentions of her husband, even to the point where she thinks he might kill her.

Element of Doubt

1996

Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids poster
4.7

As evidence for the defense at his ongoing trial, the Doctor presents an adventure from his future when he is travelling with a computer programmer named Mel. Answering a mysterious distress call from the space liner Hyperion III, they find that the passengers aboard include unscrupulous scientists, secret agents, saboteurs, thieves and a murderer. And lurking in the shadows are the Vervoids, the product of sinister botanical experiments, who will stop at nothing to destroy all non-plant life.

Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids

1986

From a Far Country poster
4.6

This heroic story follows the life of Karol Wojtyla, a Polish Roman catholic who ascends the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. As a young boy, Karol is a bright and talented student. Archbishop Sapieha recognizes the very special, moving qualities Karol possesses and encourages him to consider the priesthood. Although determined to study Polish literature, Karol turns to the church; he is ordained and studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. Torn by fear and repression in post-Stalin Eastern Europe, Karol becomes a poisonous thorn in the communists' side. His deer reverence and commitment return him to Poland as Pope John Paul II.

From a Far Country

1981

Dominique poster
4.9

The wife of a greedy man comes back to haunt him after he scares her to death.

Dominique

1980

Doctor Who: The Mysterious Planet poster
6.2

The Doctor is summoned before the High Council of Time Lords to stand trial for the charges of harmful interference to the course of events during his travels which have threatened the sanctity of the universe. Indignant at these accusations, the Doctor pleads his case to the Inquisitor with the hope that she will see him as a source of hope and goodwill for existence. However, his prosecuting attorney, a sinister Time Lord known simply as the Valeyard, begins a crusade against the Doctor with the motive of framing him as a villainous renegade.

Doctor Who: The Mysterious Planet

1986

King Lear poster
10.0

King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

King Lear

1975

Love's Labour's Lost poster
8.0

A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.

Love's Labour's Lost

1965

She Fell Among Thieves poster
5.3

While on a Pyrenees vacation in 1922, upright English gentleman Richard Chandos (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange, Heroes) encounters the villainous Vanity Fair (Eileen Atkins, Cold Mountain). Mistress of the turreted Chateau Jezreel and leader of a motley band of criminals, she will inherit millions if she can force her stepdaughter to marry. Pitting his wits against this formidable adversary, Chandos determines to rescue the beautiful young woman. But Vanity Fair keeps one step ahead of him, a trick forever up her sleeve and murder in her heart.

She Fell Among Thieves

1978