Frank Grimes (born 1947) is an Irish stage and screen actor.
Grimes was born in Dublin. He achieved his first major success as the young Brendan Behan in the 1967 stage adaptation of Behan's autobiography, Borstal Boy, at the Abbey Theatre. When the production moved to Broadway, Grimes was nominated for a Tony Award for best actor.
In 1970 the Italian director, Franco Zeffirelli, offered Grimes the lead role of Francis of Assisi in his biopic, Brother Sun, Sister Moon. However, director and actor fell out over how the part should be played and Grimes was replaced by Graham Faulkner.
In the early 1970s, Grimes moved to London where he came to the attention of director Lindsay Anderson. Anderson offered him a part in his production of David Storey's play The Farm, the success of which established Grimes' reputation in British theatre.
Grimes' most significant movie role to date is the part of Major Fuller in Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far. However, he is probably best known, in his native Ireland at least, for his performance as Father O'Connor in RTÉ's drama series, Strumpet City. In 1981, Grimes received a Jacob's Award "for his detailed and exceptionally convincing portrayal" of the young priest.
Frank Grimes continues to work in television, films, and theatre. Recent TV appearances include the recurrent role of Barry Connor in Coronation Street. In 2013 he appeared as Mrs McCarthy's husband in the Father Brown episode "The Mayor and the Magician".
Famous quotes containing the word frank:
“Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.”
—Anonymous. Late 19th century ballad.
The quatrain refers to the famous case of Lizzie Borden, tried for the murder of her father and stepmother on Aug. 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts. Though she was found innocent, there were many who contested the verdict, occasioning a prodigious output of articles and books, including, most recently, Frank Spiering’s Lizzie (1985)