James Smillie
 |
James Smillie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 November 1944 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | - present |
| Known for | Return to Eden as Dr. Dan Marshall Prisoner as Steve. Wilson |
James Smillie, (born 28 November 1944), also credited variously as James Smillie; Jim Smillie and Jim Smilie, is a Scottish-born Australian actor. He has worked in both Britain and Australia in film, extensively on stage, on television, with voice-over and animation work.
Smillie was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Australia before returning to the United Kingdom to appear in stage roles in London's West End. On television, he's best remembered for the roles of Steve Wilson in Prisoner Cell Block H and Doctor Dan Marshall in the 1980s Australian mini-series and one full series of Return to Eden.[1]
Career[edit]
Television and film[edit]
Smillie has appeared in films and television shows as featured actor and host. His television credits include Return to Eden, Prisoner: Cell Block H, Adventure Island, Space: 1999 the episode End of Eternity, Thriller, The Gentle Touch, Skin Deep, Comedy Playhouse, The Mackinnons, Red Dwarf and Highlander: The Series.
He has also made numerous appearances in a variety of light entertainment shows, including Highway with Sir Harry Secombe, An Evening with Barry Humphries, the BBC series Battle of the Sexes, and A Tribute to Robbie Burns for Scottish television. Crackerjack, and hosted his own series I Like Music. Smillie also has a Royal Variety Performances to his credit.[citation needed] He was also the original voice of Sky, voicing programmes there for over a decade.[2]
In film, Smillie has had small roles in International Velvet and Jaguar Lives!. In 2005, he appeared in two German-made films – Dark Ride and Rich Girl, Poor Girl.
Theatre[edit]
Smilie has appeared as a leading man on stage in both the UK and Australia.
On the London stage, he played Tony in West Side Story . The following years saw him playing leading men in a string of West End productions, notably: an Italian Lothario in Brian Clemens' whodunit Lover (Ambassadors Theatre); Henry II in Thomas and The King (Her Majesty's Theatre) music written by John Williams; Dr. Thomas Barnardo in Barnardo (Royalty Theatre); Nicos in Zorba; Georges in La Cage aux Folles (London Palladium); and also as Fred Graham in 'Kiss Me Kate' (RSC Savoy), George Bernard Shaw's Candida as the Reverend James Mavor Morrell.
Other stage roles include Orin in Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra, Chance Williams in Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, Eilif in Mother Courage and Her Children, the lead in Tom Jones, Emile de Beque in South Pacific, and as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Followed by his success as Mack Sennet in the 1996 London production of Mack & Mabel, Smilie recorded the part of Fred/Petruchio again in the full live production of Kiss Me Kate for the BBC in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
1998/99 and 2000 saw Smillie touring in the UK Productions tour of 42nd Street, playing the lead role of producer Julian Marsh. In 2001, he returned to Australia to play Pastor Manders in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts for the Perth International Arts Festival. In 2003, he returned to the UK to play Charles in Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together at the Library Theatre in Manchester. This was followed in 2004 by Daddy Warbucks in a touring production of Annie with Su Pollard and Caesar in a Sadlers Wells Lost Musicals production of Harold Rome, Joshua Logan and S. N. Behrman's Fanny.
In 2005, Smillie returned to Australia for 7 years for personal reasons to care for his ageing mother and took a break from the business. On his return to the UK he settled back in Glasgow, and has since appeared stage productions at the Traverse Theatre, Oran Mor and the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Most recently he has been more involved in film; La Correspondenza, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, Tommy's Honour, director Jason Connery, Romans, directed by The Shammasian Brothers and Boyz in the Wood, director Ninian Doff.
Other[edit]
Smillie is also a regular radio and concert broadcaster for the BBC, particularly on the series Friday Night is Music Night, presenting special occasions such as Sondheim on the South Bank, An Evening with Cole Porter at the Royal Festival Hall, and as Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Barbican Centre. He is also a voice-over artist working in animation and on commercials, dubbing, audiovisuals, documentaries, and talking books.
Selected stage roles[edit]
| Year | Production | Role | Venue / Co. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Duenna | Father Augustine / Maids, nuns, monks, masqueraders, servants | Old Dolphin Theatre, Perth with Bankside Theatre Productions | |
| 1964 | Hamlet | New Fortune Theatre, Perth with Bankside Theatre Productions for Perth Festival | ||
| 1964 | Mourning Becomes Electra | Orin | Old Dolphin Theatre, Perth with GRADS Theatre Company | |
| 1968 | Razza-Ma-Tazz (and All That Jazz) | Constable Brian Buttons | Southland Auditorium, Melbourne | |
| 1971 | 1776 | South Carolina - Edward Rutledge | Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Sydney with J.C. Williamson | |
| 1972 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Chance Wayne | Playhouse, Perth with National Theatre Inc | |
| 1972–73 | West Side Story | Tony | Bristol Hippodrome & London | |
| Lover | Italian Lothario | Ambassadors Theatre | ||
| 1975 | Thomas and the King | Henry II | Her Majesty's Theatre, London | |
| Barnardo | Dr. Thomas Barnardo | Royalty Theatre | ||
| Zorba | Nicos | |||
| La Cage au Folles | Georges | London Palladium | ||
| Mother Courage and Her Children | Eilif | |||
| Tom Jones | Tom Jones | |||
| 1984 | South Pacific | Emile de Beque | His Majesty's Theatre, Perth with National Theatre Inc. | |
| 1987 | Kiss Me Kate | Fred Graham / Petruchio | The Old Vic, London & Savoy Theatre, London with Royal Shakespeare Company & BBC Concert Orchestra | |
| 1987 | Mary Stuart | Musician | Assembly Hall, Edinburgh for Edinburgh International Festival | |
| 1993 | Candida | Reverend James Mavor Morrell | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen & UK tour | |
| 1995 | Paradise Lost | Satan | St. George’s Cathedral, Perth | |
| 1996 | The Sound of Music | Captain von Trapp | His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth | |
| 1996 | Mack & Mabel | Mack Sennet | London | |
| 1996–97, 1999–2000 | 42nd Street | Julian Marsh | Theatre Royal, Bath with UK Productions | |
| 2001 | Ghosts | Pastor Manders | Hole in Wall Theatre for Perth International Arts Festival | |
| 2001 | Mack & Mabel | Mack Sennet | State Theatre at Victorian Arts Centre with The Production Company | |
| 2003 | Putting It Together | Charles | [[Manchester Central Library | |
| 2003 | Anyone Can Whistle | Schub | Bridewell Theatre, London with The Gryphon | |
| 2004 | Annie | Daddy Warbucks | UK tour | |
| Too Far Gone | Aaron | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh | ||
| 2012 | White Christmas | General Waverley | Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Scotland | |
| 2013 | Marco Pantani: The Pirate | Grandfather | Tron Theatre, Òran Mór, Glasgow with A Play A Pie and a Pint | |
| 2014 | Don Quixote | Don Quixote | Òran Mór, Glasgow with A Play A Pie and a Pint | |
| 2014 | Miracle on 34th Street | Kris Kringle | Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Scotland | |
| 2015 | Fanny | Caesar | Sadlers Wells Lost Musicals production |
Filmography[edit]
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Adventure Island | Prince Charming | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Good Morning Mr Doubleday | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1970 | Delta | Derek | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1971 | Dynasty | TV Interviewer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1966-72 | Homicide | Various roles | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1972 | Dead of Night | Keith Hopkirk | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969-73 | Division 4 | Various roles | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 1974 | Dial M for Murder | Larry Peters | TV series, 1 episode |
| Z-Cars | Roy Prentiss | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1975 | Thriller | Bob Mallory | TV series, 1 episode |
| Wodehouse Playhouse | Police Sergeant | TV series, 1 episode | |
| Space: 1999 | Baxter | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1976 | Jumbo Spencer | Mr. Spencer (credited as Jim Smillie) | TV series, 3 episodes |
| Battle of the Sexes | Various roles (credited as James Smilie) | TV series, 6 episodes | |
| 1977 | The Tomorrow People | Mike Harding | TV series, 2 episodes |
| The Mackinnons | James Grant | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| The Barry Humphries Show | TV series, 1 episode | ||
| 1978 | Life at Stake | Wayne Grant | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Prisoner (aka Prisoner: Cell Block H) | Steve Wilson | TV series, 28 episodes |
| 1980 | The Gentle Touch | Harry | TV series, 1 episode |
| The Latchkey Children | Malcolm McCrae | TV series, 3 episodes | |
| Metal Mickey | Manager | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1981 | Take a Letter, Mr. Jones | Dr. Norton (credited as James Smilie) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1983 | Return to Eden | Dr. Dan Marshall (credited as Jim Smilie) | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1984 | Skin Deep | Cliff Hudson | TV film |
| Special Squad | Donaghue | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1985 | Return to Eden | Doctor Dan Marshall (credited as James Smillie) | TV series, 22 episodes |
| 1988 | 1987 Laurence Olivier Awards | TV special | |
| 1990 | The Word | Mission | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Red Dwarf | Justice computer (voice) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 4 Play | Maggot (voice) | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1994 | Highlander | John Bower | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Red Dwarf: Smeg Ups | Justice computer (voice) | Video |
| 2002 | Always Greener | Frank | TV series, 1 episode |
| The Junction Boys | Dwayne Hess | TV film | |
| 2006 | Final Contract: Death on Delivery | TV film | |
| 2006 | Good Girl, Bad Girl | TV film | |
| 2021 | Star Wars: Battlefront Fan Cast | Saesse Tiin | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Doctor Who: The Sixth Doctor Adventures | A.M (voice) | TV series, 1 episode |
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | International Velvet | Commentator | |
| 1979 | Jaguar Lives! | Reardon | |
| 1983 | Abra Cadabra | Mr Pig (voice) | |
| 1993 | Opéra imaginaire | Narrator | Animated film (English version) |
| 2016 | The Correspondence (aka La corrispondenza) | Preside | |
| Tommy's Honour | A.K.H. Boyd | ||
| 2017 | Retaliation | Jimmy | |
| 2019 | Get Duked! | Duke #1 | |
| 2022 | Vox Machinae | Hands | Video game |
| 2023 | The Man from Oghuz | Vazir Imran | Short film |
Podcast series[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Making The Cut | Various | Podcast |
| 2021 | Lady Christina | John Flint | Podcast |
| 2021 | Missy | Alfredo | Podcast |
| 2023 | Folktown | Narrator | Podcast, 4 episodes |
References[edit]
- ^ Super Aussie Soaps, Andrew Mercado, p 243, 2004, ISBN 1-86403-191-3, accessed January 2008
- ^ Sky TV Advertisement, 1990. YouTube.
- ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/239727
- ^ https://www.diamondmanagement.co.uk/james-smillie
External links[edit]
- James Smilie at IMDb
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Australian male film actors
- Australian male musical theatre actors
- Australian male soap opera actors
- Australian male voice actors
- Male actors from Glasgow
- Scottish emigrants to Australia
- Scottish male film actors
- Scottish male musical theatre actors
- Scottish male soap opera actors
- Scottish male television actors
- Scottish male voice actors
- People educated at Mount Lawley Senior High School
- 20th-century Australian male actors
- 20th-century Scottish male actors
- 21st-century Australian male actors
- 21st-century Scottish male actors