Steven Berkoff

Acting

Steven Berkoff

Born 1937-08-03 · Stepney, East London, England

Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Berkovian theatre", which combines elements of physical theatre, total theatre and expressionism. His work has sometimes been viewed as an example of in-yer-face theatre, due to the intense presentation and taboo-breaking material in a number of his plays. As a screen actor, he is known for his performances in villainous roles, including the portrayals of General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Lt. Col. Podovsky in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Adolf Hitler in War and Remembrance (1988–89).

Acting credits

A Clockwork Orange poster
8.2

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?

A Clockwork Orange

1971

Rambo: First Blood Part II poster
6.7

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.

Rambo: First Blood Part II

1985

Beverly Hills Cop poster
7.2

Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.

Beverly Hills Cop

1984

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo poster
7.4

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011

RED 2 poster
6.5

Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.

RED 2

2013

The Tourist poster
6.2

American tourist Frank meets mysterious British woman Elise on the train to Venice. Romance seems to bud, but there's more to her than meets the eye.

The Tourist

2010

Octopussy poster
6.4

James Bond is sent to investigate after a fellow “00” agent is found dead with a priceless Fabergé egg. Bond follows the mystery and uncovers a smuggling scandal and a Russian General who wants to provoke a new World War.

Octopussy

1983

Barry Lyndon poster
8.0

An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.

Barry Lyndon

1975

Fair Game poster
5.2

Max Kirkpatrick is a cop who protects Kate McQuean, a civil law attorney, from a renegade KGB team out to terminate her

Fair Game

1995

Legionnaire poster
5.9

Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.

Legionnaire

1998

Outland poster
6.4

On the sunless moon Io, Marshall William T. O’Niel goes toe-to-toe with the corrupt manager of a mining colony and his gang of roughnecks while investigating a rash of worker suicides.

Outland

1981

Manhattan Night poster
5.9

Porter Wren is a Manhattan tabloid writer with an appetite for scandal. On the beat he sells murder, tragedy, and anything that passes for the truth. At home, he is a dedicated husband and father. But when Caroline, a seductive stranger asks him to dig into the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband Simon, he is drawn into a very nasty case of sexual obsession and blackmail--one that threatens his job, his marriage, and his life.

Manhattan Night

2016

44 Inch Chest poster
5.5

Colin is in agony, shattered by his wife’s infidelity, so his friends kidnap the wife's lover so he can have his revenge.

44 Inch Chest

2009

The Flying Scotsman poster
6.5

Based on the incredible true story of amateur cyclist Graeme Obree, who breaks the world one-hour record on a bike he made out of washing machine parts.

The Flying Scotsman

2006

Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher poster
6.1

At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.

Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher

2022

Another 9 1/2 Weeks poster
4.5

Despondent at losing his lover, a man wanders the streets of Paris and has an affair with her kinky friend.

Another 9 1/2 Weeks

1997

The Passenger poster
7.2

David Locke is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman, Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.

The Passenger

1975

We Still Kill the Old Way poster
6.1

A group of aging London gangsters go on a vigilante killing spree when one of their number is murdered by a street gang.

We Still Kill the Old Way

2014

Head in the Clouds poster
5.9

Gilda Bessé shares her Paris apartment with an Irish schoolteacher, Guy Malyon, and Mia, a refugee from Spain. As the world drifts toward war, Gilda defiantly pursues her hedonistic lifestyle and her burgeoning career as a photographer. But Guy and Mia feel impelled to join the fight against fascism, and the three friends are separated.

Head in the Clouds

2004

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

Attila poster
7.3

A vengeful beauty foils the plans of the bloodthirsty Hun warrior to conquer Rome.

Attila

2001

Revolution poster
5.4

New York trapper Tom Dobb becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution after his son Ned is drafted into the Army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy. Tom attempts to find his son, and eventually becomes convinced that he must take a stand and fight for the freedom of the Colonies, alongside the aristocratic rebel Daisy McConnahay. As Tom undergoes his change of heart, the events of the war unfold in large-scale grandeur.

Revolution

1985

Rise of the Footsoldier: Part II poster
5.4

On 6 December 1995, three Essex gang members were brutally murdered in cold blood. In early 1997, the perpetrator has yet to be brought to justice. An associate of the men, still mourning the loss of his friends, is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before he’s next.

Rise of the Footsoldier: Part II

2015

Forest of the Gods poster
7.8

The story about one man - an artist and an intellectual - who was imprisoned by two brutal regimes, the Nazis and the Soviets. 'The Professor' is a man who lives by his own personal version of the Ten Commandments. After miraculously surviving imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp through a bit of ironic fate, he writes a memoir of his life, which becomes the target of the Soviet censors. The so-called "freedom" of Communism becomes just as oppressive as the German concentration camp.

Forest of the Gods

2005

Behind the camera

Metamorphosis poster
7.5

TV film of Steven Berkoff's stage adaption of Kafka's famous story in which a young man, who is the sole financial supporter of his family, awakes one morning in the form of a giant dung beetle and thereby becomes a nuisance to his family, who must now learn to rely upon themselves.

Metamorphosis

1989

Metamorphosis poster
10.0

Steven Berkoff's iconic adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novella, which tells the tale of a traveling salesman who is transformed into an insect, is brought to life in this highly physical and visually striking production. Captured live at the Parco Theater in Tokyo, this landmark performance is in Japanese with English subtitles. Considered one of Berkoff’s masterpieces and performed multiple times since it first appeared in 1969, Metamorphosis combines elements of sound, physicality and minimalist design to recreate Kafka’s absurdist world on stage.

Metamorphosis

2010

Metamorphosis poster
10.0

Steven Berkoff's iconic adaptation of Franz Kafka’s novella, which tells the tale of a traveling salesman who is transformed into an insect, is brought to life in this highly physical and visually striking production. Captured live at the Parco Theater in Tokyo, this landmark performance is in Japanese with English subtitles. Considered one of Berkoff’s masterpieces and performed multiple times since it first appeared in 1969, Metamorphosis combines elements of sound, physicality and minimalist design to recreate Kafka’s absurdist world on stage.

Metamorphosis

2010

Steven Berkoff's Tell Tale Heart poster
NR

Steven Berkoff's own feature length interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's original short story about a servant who plots to murder his master because of his 'vulture' eye.

Steven Berkoff's Tell Tale Heart

2019

No artwork available
NR

Steven Berkoff brings Sophocles’ tragedy to life in this vivid retelling of the condemned King and his battle with destiny. Captured live at the Nottingham Playhouse, this dynamic adaptation conveys Oedipus' downfall through carefully constructed movements, larger-than-life expressions and a compelling ensemble performance.

Oedipus

Coriolanus poster
3.0

"Set in the context of 1930s Fascism, Steven Berkoff’s reimagining of William Shakespeare’s final tragedy brings power to the masses as they turn against their ambitious leader, Coriolanus. This highly physical and meticulously choreographed production was captured live at the Globe in Tokyo."

Coriolanus

1997

Oscar Wilde's Salome poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Oscar Wilde's Salome

1992

Oscar Wilde's Salome poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Oscar Wilde's Salome

1992

Decadence poster
5.0

Two couples betray the decadence which lurks beneath the surface of high society: Steve, wealthy but ignorant, is engaged in a kinky relationship with Helen, a posh socialite living in Belgravia; meanwhile, Steve's nouveau riche wife Sybil is having an affair with Les, a private eye hired to kill her husband.

Decadence

1994

Decadence poster
5.0

Two couples betray the decadence which lurks beneath the surface of high society: Steve, wealthy but ignorant, is engaged in a kinky relationship with Helen, a posh socialite living in Belgravia; meanwhile, Steve's nouveau riche wife Sybil is having an affair with Les, a private eye hired to kill her husband.

Decadence

1994

No artwork available
6.0

East is a 1975 verse play by Steven Berkoff, dealing with growing up and rites of passage in London's rough East End. The play was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival at the Traverse in 1975. The 25th anniversary production, produced by Steven Berkoff's East Productions and Marc Sinden and starring Tanya Franks, started at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley. The tour included the Edinburgh Festival and the Théâtre de Silvia Monfort, Paris. It opened at London's Vaudeville Theatre on 15 November 1999 where the DVD of the production was filmed in front of a live audience.

East

1999

The Secret Love Life of Ophelia poster
NR

The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is one of the most tragic in all of Shakespeare’s plays, but so much of their burgeoning love affair is unwritten. The Secret Love Life Of Ophelia seeks to fill in the gaps, revealing the growth of that young love through an exchange of letters between the two characters which are both intimate and direct, tender and passionate. With the consent of Berkoff himself and in direct response to the current closure of theatres, the play is now being adapted for a unique online premiere which will see the letters reimagined as video messages and a cast of 40 exceptional actors coming together to perform them. Together this diverse cast will reveal just how universal the experiences of the young lovers are.

The Secret Love Life of Ophelia

2020

No artwork available
NR

An adaptation of Steven Berkoff’s one-act play of the same name.

Shakespeare’s Villains

2009