Who is Anthony Calf? I don’t really know! But one of you requested a Man Candy Monday about him, and while we have pretty high standards for reader requests, sometimes I’m capricious and curious. British actor Antony Calf has been working steadily in TV, movies, and theater for decades, in a variety of supporting roles. He’s married to fellow actor Caroline Harker and perhaps they met on set since they’ve been in at least one film together. Calf even has a featured part in an untitled Charles de Gaulle movie, so those of you who requested this MCM will have more to watch soon!
Charles in Doctor Who, “The Visitation: Part One” (1982)
Digby Geste in Beau Geste (1982)
Guiness in The Monocled Mutineer (1986)
Leslie Mitchell in The Fools on the Hill (1986)
Charles Drummond in Drummonds (1985-87)
Corporal Arnold in Fortunes of War (1987)
Larry Durrell in My Family and Other Animals (1987)
Pip in Great Expectations (1989)
Tim Dexter in Tanamera – Lion of Singapore (1989-92)
Lawrence Cavendish in Poirot, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” (1990)
Fitzroy in The Madness of King George (1994)
Colonel Fitzwilliam in Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Serpuliovskoy in Anna Karenina (1997)
Geoffrey Hodson in FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
Alfred Lammle in Our Mutual Friend (1998)
Tom Faggus in Lorna Doone (2000)
Bryan Charles Waller in The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle (2005)
Emile Zola in The Impressionists (2006)
Duke of York in Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006)
Anthony Eden in Upstairs Downstairs (2010)
Aubrey Tracey in Call the Midwife, Episode #2.3 (2013)
Dr. William Murray in Dracula (2013-14)
Robert Alfred Herman in The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
Peter Barden in Home Fires (2015-16)
Colonel Godsacre in Doctor Who, “Empress of Mars” (2017)
William Wickham in Poldark (2019)
Sabinus in Domina (2021)
Earl Spencer in Sisi & I (2023)
Lord Brightlingsea in The Buccaneers (2023)
What’s your favorite of Anthony Calf’s frock flicks roles? Why did you request this MCM?
I’ll give him 100 points just for being such a sweet, charming Col Fitzwilliam. He made me think that Lizzie would have been better off with him, and she’d still have had access to Pemberley because of his friendship with Darcy. Surprisingly, I’ve seen a number of things he’s done. He just didn’t register with me outside of P&P, let alone Poirot or Doctor Who. I’m going to have to see if I can find that version of Great Expectations, because I’m pretty sure I saw it when it originally aired…
This guy looks almost COMPLETELY different in every picture. What a chameleon! I didn’t know him by name, but I have seen him in several projects listed above, including Dracula and Domina. Both of those shows were mind-boggling, and not in a good way!
About the lipstick. Blue looks more red/pink in black and white than the actual colors. It was a common color used in black and white films/television. So if the film is about the history of the BBC, I imagine it’s a scene showing him being filmed.
This! I learned this watching the ‘making of’ WandaVision!
I only know him from Pride and Prejudice and the Poirot episode. He’s got a great “look” for costume films though. Add or subtract facial hair as the period calls for and he has that “English gentleman” air down pat.
Great Expectations is on my to-watch list. I should add Our Mutual Friend to the list. Colonel Fitzwilliam was a small part in P&P, but Calf was excellent with the lines he had. “Nobody plays. Nobody sings.”
“Random Cravats” is so totally the name of my Romantic Poets/Adam Ant Poetry Slam/New Wave mash up performance troupe.