Paul Freeman (actor)

For other people with the same name, see Paul Freeman.

Paul Freeman
Freeman in 2016
Born	(1943-01-18) 18 January 1943 Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–present
Spouse(s)	Judy Matheson (m. 1967; div.) Maggie Scott
Children	1

Paul Freeman (born 18 January 1943) is an English actor who has appeared in theatre, television and film. Internationally, he is known for playing the rival archaeologist René Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), evil wine baron Gustav Riebmann on season 4 of the soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–85), and supervillain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995). His other credits include Morlang (2001), When I'm 64 (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Hard Boiled Sweets (2012). In the UK, he had a leading role in the television series Yesterday's Dreams (1987) as Martin Daniels.

Referring to Freeman's extensive theatre work, in 1995 the Los Angeles Times described him as "one of Britain's best-regarded actors, classically trained, with stints at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre".

Early life

Freeman was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, on 18 January 1943.

Career

Freeman began his career in advertising and teaching, and gained small roles in the theatre, appearing in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet. He had roles at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Freeman made his television debut in 1978 in the serial Will Shakespeare (1978). He also acted in the docudrama Death of a Princess, a film about the execution of Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud of Saudi Arabia. Freeman began his feature film career in 1980 when he appeared in The Long Good Friday and The Dogs of War. In 1981, he played Ralph Wigram in the television series Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.

In the same year, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas chose Freeman to play archaeologist René Belloq, the archrival to Indiana Jones, in the adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark, opposite Harrison Ford. The film led to Freeman becoming typecast in villainous roles, especially Nazis. He played the conniving wine baron Gustav Riebmann in the fourth season of Falcon Crest, airing in 1984–1985.

Freeman starred as Martin Daniels in the series Yesterday's Dreams in 1987.

In 1988, Freeman played Professor Moriarty in comedy film Without a Clue, which starred Michael Caine as a mini-brained Sherlock Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Watson, who is secretly the real crime-solving genius. In 1995, Freeman was cast as the villain Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.

Freeman guest-starred in television shows such as Monarch of the Glen, ER, Falcon Crest, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also played in several mini-series, including Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989), and The Final Cut (1995). In 2004, Freeman played Angus, Bobby Jones' caddie, in Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius. During 2006 and 2007, he played Laurence Scammel QC in the drama New Street Law. Also in 2007, he played Rev. Philip Shooter of Sandford in the action comedy film Hot Fuzz.

Among his television work, Freeman has appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders, titled "Down Among the Dead Men". He also appeared in Waking the Dead in the episode "Straw Dog", and played Adam Kingsley in the BBC adaptation of Minette Walters' The Dark Room. He appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot in the episode "Appointment with Death", playing Colonel Carbury.

Freeman appeared as George Aaranow in the 2008 London revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.

In 2012, Freeman played Thomas Erpingham in the BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V from The Hollow Crown series.

Personal life

Freeman is married to Maggie Scott, who was his co-star in the 1980 film The Dogs of War. They have one daughter. Freeman was previously married to actress Judy Matheson.

Freeman and Scott are both co-founders of the charity UK Friends of Healing Focus (UKHF), which works in partnership with Uganda NGO, Healing Focus Orphanage Centre. Freeman is a regular visitor to the orphanage.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Feelings	Paul Martin
1980	The Long Good Friday	Colin
	The Dogs of War	Derek Godwin
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark	René Emile Belloq	Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
1982	An Unsuitable Job for a Woman	James Calendar
	Who Dares Wins	Sir Richard
	The Sender	Dr. Joseph Denman
1983	Si elle dit oui... je ne dis pas non	Nick
1984	Flight to Berlin	Nicholas
	Sakharov	Pavel Leontiev
1986	Shanghai Surprise	Walter Faraday
1988	Prisoner of Rio	Ronald Biggs
	A World Apart	Kruger
	Without a Clue	Professor Moriarty
1990	The Last Island	Sean
	Eminent Domain	Ben
1992	Just Like a Woman	Miles Millichamp
	Aces: Iron Eagle III	Gustav Kleiss
1993	Piccolo Grande Amore	Otto Von Dix
1995	The Horseman on the Roof	Laurent de Theus
	Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie	Ivan Ooze
1996	Squillo	Marco
1997	Double Team	Alex Goldsmythe
2000	The 3 Kings	Melchior
2001	Morlang	Julius Morlang	Cairo International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2002	Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War	Jenkins
	And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen	English customer
	The elephant and the snail	Narrator	Animated short film
	Haker	President of MIT
2003	George and the Dragon	Sir Robert
2004	Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius	Angus
2005	The Feast of the Goat	Agustin
2007	Hot Fuzz	Rev. Philip Shooter
	A Girl and a Gun	Eddie	Video short
2010	Centurion	Governor Agricola
2011	Viral	Salvo	Short film
2012	Hard Boiled Sweets	Shrewd Eddie
	A Fantastic Fear of Everything	Dr. Friedkin
	After Death	The inventor
2013	Getaway	The Man
	Trimming Pablo	Pablo Picasso	Short film
	Bad Day at the Office	Narrator
2014	Promakhos	Callum
2015	A Private Man	Old man	Short film
2016	High Strung	Kramrovsky
	The Gatehouse	Evelyn Eldritch
2018	Viking Destiny	Tarburn
2022	The Man from Rome	Father Ferro
2023	Paris Christmas Waltz	Henry Fontaine
2025	Whispers of Freedom	Erich Honecker	Post-production
TBA	The Thursday Murder Club	TBA	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Champion House	Elwyn	Episode: "The Saddest Words"
1972	The Last of the Baskets	Bernard Rage	Episode: "Since Then I Have Used No Other"
1972	Jason King	Revolutionary	Episode: "Zenia"
1972	The Protectors	Mechanic	Episode: "A Kind of Wild Justice"
1973	Coronation Street	Terry Slade	Episode: "Terry Slade"
1974	Crown Court	Leonard Tyler	Episode: "Good and Faithful Friends: Pt. 1"
1976	Couples	Douglas Broom	3 episodes
1976	The XYY Man	Ray Lynch	3 episodes
1978	Scorpion Tales	Oliver Benthall	Episode: "The Great Albert"
1978	Crown Court	John Bernard	Episode: "The Song Not the Singer: Pt.1"
1978	Will Shakespeare	Dick Burbage	6 episodes
1980	Death of a Princess	Christopher Ryder	Television film
1980	Play for Today	Alexander Kutsov	Episode: "A Walk in the Forest"
1981	Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years	Ralph Wigram	3 episodes
1981	Play for Today	Doctor	Episode: "No Visible Scar"
1982	BBC2 Playhouse	Max	Episode: "The Workshop"
1982	Play for Today	Willie	Episode: "Willie's Last Stand"
1982	Crown Court	Defence Counsel	Episode: "Face Value: Pt. 1"
1982	Gavilan	Mr. Snow	Episode: "Sarah and the Buzz"
1983	Enemies of the State	Julius Tomin	Television film
1984	Cagney & Lacey	Yves Benoit	Episode: "Victimless Crime"
1984	Mitch	Harry Warren	Episode: "Postman's Knock"
1984–1985	Falcon Crest	Gustav Riebmann	19 episodes
1985	A.D.	Cornelius the Centurion	TV miniseries
1987	Yesterday's Dreams	Martin Daniels	7 episodes
1989	Twist of Fate	SS-Oberfuhrer Mittendorf	2 episodes
1989	Magic Moments	Brian Swann	Television film
1990	May Wine	Tom	Television film; AKA Les belles Américaines
1992–1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Frederick Selous	2 episodes
1992	Double Edge	Ferese	Television film
1994	Viper	Dr. Samuels	Episode: "Once a Thief"
1994	Grushko	Bosenko	2 episodes
1994	Lie Down with Lions	Dubois	Television film
1995	The Final Cut	Tom Makepeace	4 episodes
1996	Tales from the Crypt	Alistair Touchstone	Episode: "Smoke Wrings"
1996	Samson and Delilah	Manoah	Miniseries
1997	The Ruth Rendell Mysteries	Julius Sorensen	2 episodes
1998	Only Love	Dallesandro	Television film
1998–2002	ER	Dr. Charles Corday	3 episodes
1999	The Dark Room	Adam Kingsley	Television film
1999	The Devil's Arithmetic	Rabbi	Television film
2000	Rough Treatment	Mr. Masters	Television film
2000	Inspector Morse	Frank Harrison	Episode: "The Remorseful Day"
2002	Monarch of the Glen	Andrew Booth	11 episodes
2002	Fields of Gold	Sir James Ferneyhough	Television film
2004	When I'm 64	Ray	Television film
2005	Waking the Dead	Dr. Hoyle	2 episodes
2006	Midsomer Murders	Sir John Waverly	Episode: "Down Among The Dead Men"
2006–2007	New Street Law	Laurence Scammel QC	14 episodes
2006	Number 13	Mr Harrington, Cathedral Archivist	Television film; adaptation of M. R. James short story "Number 13"
2007	Diamond Geezer	Sergey	Episode: "Old Gold"
2007	The Whistleblowers	Joseph Cole	2 episodes
2007	Hotel Babylon	Sir Christopher Price	Episode #3.1
2008	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Col. Carbury	Episode: "Appointment With Death"
2009	The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler	Monsignor Godlewski	Television film
2009	Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen	Sir Arthur Newsholme	Television film
2009	Lark Rise to Candleford	Old Edmund	Episode #2.8
2010	Spooks	Levi Cohen	Episode #9.5
2012	Strike Back	Peter Evans	2 episodes
2012	Henry V	Thomas Erpingham	Television film
2013	The Bible	Samuel	2 episodes
2013	Lucan	John Pearson	Episode #1.1
2015	Da Vinci's Demons	The Architect	4 episodes
2016	Tokyo Trial	William Donald Patrick, Lord Patrick	4 episodes
2017–2020	Absentia	Warren Byrne	30 episodes
2018	A Very English Scandal	Sir Joseph Cantley	Episode #1.3
2022	The Man Who Fell to Earth	Gregory Papel	Episode: "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed"

External links

• Paul Freeman at IMDb