Edward Fox (actor)

Fox was born the first of three sons on 13 April 1937 in Chelsea, London, the son of Robin Fox, a theatrical agent, and Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, an actress and writer.[1] He is the father of actors Emilia Fox and Freddie Fox, the elder brother of actor James Fox and film producer Robert Fox, and an uncle of actor Laurence Fox. His paternal great-grandfather was industrialist and inventor Samson Fox, and his paternal grandmother was Hilda Hanbury, sister of stage performer Lily Hanbury. His maternal grandfather was dramatist Frederick Lonsdale, and his maternal grandmother was the daughter of football player and stockbroker Charles Morice.[2][3] Fox was educated at Harrow School and completed his National Service in the Loyals, having failed to gain a commission in the Coldstream Guards.[4][5][6][7]

Fox made his theatrical debut 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 (1971). 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 was not well-known and could be believable as the assassin in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973). Fox won the role, beating other contenders such as Roger Moore and Michael Caine.[8]

From then on 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,[9] and for which he won the 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.

In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on Cluedo, facing off against fellow actor Joanna David.

He portrayed King Edward VIII in the television drama Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978). In the film Gandhi (1982), Fox portrayed Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, who was 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).

For his role as Viscount Trimingham in The Go-Between (1971), he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the following year's British Academy Film Awards.[10]

He won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the British Academy Film Awards a second time for his role as Lieutenant General Horrocks in A Bridge Too Far (1977).[11]

Fox was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to Drama in the 2003 New Year Honours.[12][13]

From 1958 until their 1961 divorce, Fox was married to actress Tracy Reed with whom he has a daughter, Lucy Arabella (born 1960), who became the Viscountess Gormanston upon her marriage to Nicholas Preston, Viscount Gormanston. In 1971, he began a relationship with actress Joanna David; they married in July 2004.[14][15] They have two children together, actors Emilia (born 1974) and Frederick "Freddie" (born 1989).[14]

He has two grandchildren through his daughters: Harry Grenfell from Lucy's marriage to David Grenfell, and Rose Gilley from Emilia's relationship with actor Jeremy Gilley.[16]

Fox has residences in London and Wareham, Dorset.[17][18]

Fox spoke at the conference for the Referendum Party ahead of the 1997 general election and was a friend of its leader James Goldsmith.[19][20] He has also been a patron of the UK Independence Party.[21]

In 2002, Fox joined the Countryside March to support hunting rights in the UK.[22] He supported the restoration of the Royal Hall, Harrogate, funded by his great-grandfather Samson Fox.

In 2010, Fox gave his support to a local campaign to prevent a supermarket being built close to his home in Dorset, citing the impact it would have upon small and independent businesses in the area. He chronicled the events in an article for The Daily Telegraph.[18]

Fox also endorsed the successful "Leave" vote campaign ahead of the referendum to leave the European Union.[20]

• Harry, Lord Monchensey in The Family Reunion by T S Eliot. Directed by Michael Elliott at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. 1979)[23]
• Captain in The Dance of Death by August Strindberg. Directed by Kenneth MacMillan at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1983)
• Crichton in The Admirable Crichton by J.M.Barrie at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London. (1989)

• When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics) – William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 140" ("Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press"), a compilation album that features interpretations of Shakespeare's sonnets and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians.

• Edward Fox at IMDb