Career
Fox made his theatrical début in 1958, and his first film appearance was as an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962). He also had a non-speaking part as a waiter in This Sporting Life (1963). Throughout the 1960s he worked mostly on stage, including a turn as Hamlet. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he established himself with roles in major British films including Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Battle of Britain (1969) and The Go-Between (1970). In The Go-Between, he played the part of Lord Hugh Trimingham, for which he won a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. His acting ability also brought him to the attention of director Fred Zinnemann, who was looking for an actor who wasn't well-known and could be believable as the assassin in the film The Day of the Jackal. Fox won the role, beating out other contenders such as Roger Moore and Michael Caine.
From then onwards, he was much sought after, appearing in such films as A Bridge Too Far (1977) as Lieutenant General Horrocks — a role he has cited as a personal favourite — and for which he won yet another Best Supporting Actor award at the British Academy Film Awards. He also starred in Force 10 from Navarone (1978), with Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford.
He portrayed King Edward VIII in the television drama Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978). In the film Gandhi (1982), Fox portrayed Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, responsible for the Amritsar Massacre in India. He then appeared as M in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), a remake of Thunderball (1965). He also appeared in The Bounty (1984) and Wild Geese II (1985) both opposite Laurence Olivier, and in The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), and Stage Beauty (2004).
Read more about this topic: Edward Fox (actor)
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