Jon Finch

Acting

Jon Finch

Born 1941-03-02 · Caterham, Surrey, England

John Nicholas Finch (2 March 1941 – 28 December 2012) was an English actor, noted for his many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was Macbeth in Roman Polanski's film adaptation of Macbeth (1971). Finch was born in Caterham, Surrey. He appeared in films such as the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Frenzy (1972), portraying a man wrongly accused of murder, Death on the Nile (1978), and in one of his last roles, a small part as the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem (Heraclius, though unnamed in the film) in the Ridley Scott film Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Decades earlier, Finch was cast as Kane in Ridley Scott's Alien, but had to drop out because of his diabetes. The role was eventually played by John Hurt.

Acting credits

Kingdom of Heaven poster
7.1

After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

Kingdom of Heaven

2005

Death on the Nile poster
7.2

As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect.

Death on the Nile

1978

Frenzy poster
7.1

London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.

Frenzy

1972

The Vampire Lovers poster
6.4

In the heart of Styria the Karnstein Family, even after their mortal deaths, rise from their tombs spreading evil in the countryside in their lust for fresh blood. Baron Hartog whose family are all victims of Karnstein vampirism, opens their graves and drives a stake through their diabolical hearts. One grave he cannot locate is that of the legendary beautiful Mircalla Karnstein. Years of peace follow that grisly night until Mircalla reappears to avenge her family's decimation and satisfy her desire for blood.

The Vampire Lovers

1970

The Horror of Frankenstein poster
5.9

Brilliant but arrogant scientist Victor Frankenstein builds a man from spare body parts, only for the monster to come alive and wreak havoc.

The Horror of Frankenstein

1970

Sunday Bloody Sunday poster
6.5

Recently divorced career woman Alex Greville begins a romantic relationship with glamorous mod artist Bob Elkin, fully aware that he's also intimately involved with middle-aged doctor Daniel Hirsh. For both Alex and Daniel, the younger man represents a break with their repressive pasts, and though both know that Bob is seeing both of them, neither is willing to let go of the youth and vitality he brings to their otherwise stable lives.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

1971

Macbeth poster
7.1

Scotland, 11th century. Driven by the twisted prophecy of three witches and the ruthless ambition of his wife, warlord Macbeth, bold and brave, but also weak and hesitant, betrays his good king and his brothers in arms and sinks into the bloody mud of a path with no return, sown with crime and suspicion.

Macbeth

1971

Breaking Glass poster
6.9

Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.

Breaking Glass

1980

Unexplained Laughter poster
10.0

Lydia is unlucky in love and retreats to the Welsh countryside with her friend Betty. But the beautiful scenery holds its own humour and passion.

Unexplained Laughter

1989

No artwork available
9.0

A half-dozen random people find themselves locked overnight in a floating discotheque and at the mercy of mysterious terror.

The Voice

1989

Beautiful Lies poster
NR

August 1941: HG Wells confronts George Orwell, who has just published a scathing attack on him. As wartime London endures the Blitz, they speculate on life and death, truth and propaganda.

Beautiful Lies

1992

Game of Seduction poster
3.2

A virtuous young woman becomes the target of the schemes of an amoral womanizer who is in the habit of wooing women and killing their lovers and husbands in duels. When she finally succumbs to him, she discovers his true nature, and her newly awakened joy in passion turns to dust.

Game of Seduction

1976

Lurking Fear poster
4.9

The storm-swept and depopulated town of Leffert’s Corners has been terrorized for decades by grotesque creatures that breed in the depths beneath the local cemetery. A group of townspeople have hatched a last-ditch plan to destroy the ghoul-infested graveyard, but their mission is interrupted by the arrival of a band of violent thieves intent on retrieving money hidden in one of the graves.

Lurking Fear

1994

Much Ado About Nothing poster
6.8

Benedick and Beatrice fight their merry war of words. But when Beatrice's friend, Hero, is humiliatingly jilted by Benedick's best friend, Claudio, Benedick has to choose which side he's on. But unknown to all, Claudio's been tricked by the bastard Don John, and (unfortunately), it's up to Dogberry and Verges to solve the case.

Much Ado About Nothing

1984

Diagnosis: Murder poster
6.1

A psychiatrist plots to murder his wife so he can be with his mistress, but his wife mysteriously disappears before he can carry out his plan.

Diagnosis: Murder

1974

The Final Programme poster
5.4

Returning from Lapland, where he buried his father, a renowned scientist, Jerry Cornelius, comes back to London with the firm intention of taking revenge on his brother Frank and snatching his beloved sister Catherine from his clutches. Since the recent gigantic global conflagration, things have changed considerably. If he wanted to, Jerry could easily get hold of napalm to blow up Frank's hideout. But he prefers to join forces with the disturbing Mrs Brunner, who, with the help of three scientists – Smiles, Lucas and Powys – is trying to recover a mysterious microfilm left to Frank by his father...

The Final Programme

1973

Lady Caroline Lamb poster
5.9

Lady Caroline Lamb, dissatisfied in her marriage, has an affair with the dashing Romantic poet Lord Byron.

Lady Caroline Lamb

1972

Darklands poster
4.8

A reporter investigates ritual profanations and finds himself involved with a Druidic cult.

Darklands

1996

The Big Screen poster
NR

Two of Britain's leading film directors - John Schlesinger and Gerald Thomas - share the anxiety, hopes and risks experienced by those involved with the movie industry. The Big Screen follows the production of four British films: the eighth James Bond film Live and Let Die, The Optimists of Nine Elms, science fiction-thriller The Final Programme and The 14. Actors Peter Sellers, David Hemmings, Jon Finch, Roger Moore and Jenny Runacre are among those seen at work.

The Big Screen

1973

Gary Cooper, Who Art in Heaven poster
6.1

A woman nearing her forties, Andrea Soriana, has always pushed aside personal questions and romantic relationships in pursuit of professional success. Now a major illness forces her to reconsider her life--work, family, friendships, men-- causing a psychological and emotional crisis pushes her toward a drastic decision.

Gary Cooper, Who Art in Heaven

1980

Richard II poster
8.0

Richard II, who ascended the throne as a child, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and ineffective king - wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choise of chansellors, and detached from his country and its people. When he seizes the land of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, both the commoners and the barons decide that their king has gone too far...

Richard II

1978

Henry IV Part 1 poster
7.3

Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.

Henry IV Part 1

1979

Henry IV Part 2 poster
8.5

The death of King Henry the Fourth and the coronation of King Henry the Fifth.

Henry IV Part 2

1979

The Standard poster
4.2

During the final days of the First World War, Officer Menis does his duty in defending the battle flag of the defeated Austro-Hungarian empire, while his fellow troops, a motley gang recruited from several different countries not loyal to the royal family, simply try to survive by any means possible.

The Standard

1977