I feel like English actor Ed Stoppard has flown under my radar, but lately I’ve been noticing him in past productions. I saw he’ll act in the upcoming film Desperate Journey (“Set in a burlesque world of 1940s Paris, a man is forced to flee Vienna as Nazi hysteria takes hold,” per IMDB), so this seems like a good time to count ’em down!
As always, there are several productions for which I can’t find images of Stoppard:
- Ferrari’s Alter Ego in Ferrari (2003)
- Thomas in JD Pilot (2003)
- Richard Stengel in Mandela: The Prison Years (2013)
- Sebastianus in Empire (2005)
- Lieutenant Addis in Nanny McPhee Returns (2010)
- Ben Leeping (Older) in Any Human Heart (2010)
- Hans Albert Einstein in Genius: Einstein (2017)
- Paul Éluard in Genius: Picasso (2018)
Ambassador Ramirez in Queen of Swords (2000-01)
What looks like a potentially terrible miniseries about a woman in mid-19th century California being a Zorro-like figure.
Henryk in The Pianist (2002)
A Polish musician hides in World War II Warsaw.
Monsieur Heger in In Search of the Brontës (2003)
A docu-drama about the Brontë sisters. Stoppard plays Charlotte’s Belgian teacher, who she may have been in love with.
Captain Charlie May in Line of Fire: The Somme (2005)
Another docu-drama, this one about the pivotal War World II battle.
Thomas (older) in Joy Division (2006)
A fictional story about boy who grows in up in Cold War Germany. Not, sadly, about the New Wave band.
Josephus in Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006)
More docu-drama! This time, ancient Rome!
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Tchaikovsky (2007)
Good lord, this man is All About the Docu-Dramas! This time, Russian composer Tchaikovsky.
Stanislaw Malinowski in Marple: “At Bertram’s Hotel” (2007)
Obligatory Agatha Christie series appearance!
Bridey Flyte in Brideshead Revisited (2008)
The feature film adaptation (not the classic TV miniseries) adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel, in which two men grow close in 1920s-30s England. Bridey is Sebastian’s older brother.
Herault in Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution (2009)
Docu-drama. French Revolution.
Sir Hallam Holland in Upstairs Downstairs (2010-12)
Finally, something worth discussing! Stoppard plays the rich husband in the 1930s-set continuation of the classic TV series.
Hans Litten in The Man Who Crossed Hitler (2011)
A TV movie about the true story of the lawyer who subpoenaed Hitler in 1931 in the trial against Nazis.
Alan Turing in Codebreaker (2011)
A TV movie about Turing, who led the team of anti-German codebreakers in World war II.
Adrien in Belle du Seigneur (2012)
Set in the 1930s, an adaptation of a book about a Jewish official’s affair with a Protestant woman in Switzerland.
Brian Epstein in Cilla (2014)
A miniseries about 1960s British singer Cilla Black.
Dr. Joseph Barton in Angelica (2015)
A horror film set in the late 19th century.
Lemay in The Musketeers (2014-16)
The extra-steampunk adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s Three Musketeers stories.
Dr. Will Campbell in Home Fires (2015-16)
A TV drama about rural women during World War II.
William the Conqueror in Europe’s Last Warrior Kings (2017)
Another docu-drama! This time, Normans invade England!
Lord Daniel Hervey in The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015-17)
Set in the 1820s, this TV series “weaves together early 19th-century literature, mysticism, medicine, and politics into a police procedural that is pretty fascinating” per Trystan’s review.
Various in The Importance of Being Oscar (2019)
Per IMDB, “A star-studded account of Oscar Wilde‘s glittering and controversial career before his trial for homosexual crimes and tragic fall from grace. With scenes from his greatest work.” I’m guessing it’s another docu-drama?
King Philip in Knightfall (2017-19)
The extra-shittily costumed Knights Templar TV series.
Interviewer in Judy (2019)
A biopic about Judy Garland’s last years.
The King in The Princess (2022)
A fantasy/action film about a princess out to save her kingdom.
Glover in The Great (2020-23)
Stoppard guests as the American ambassador in this irreverent take on Catherine the Great.
John Jay in Franklin (2024)
Stoppard played the famed American statesman in this miniseries about Benjamin Franklin’s time in France.
Which is your favorite of Ed Stoppard’s many historical performances? And why has he been in so many docu-dramas?
Yes, Queen of Swords was just as bad as you might think. :)
I watched it because it had a lot of Highlander actors in it. But it was laughably bad, especially since it was supposed to take place in the late 1810s, but all that crinoline?! The only good thing was Peter Wingfield.
I don’t remember much about it (besides the fact that it sucked). :)
The Somme was WWI, not WWII.
I would have to say his best will always be Upstairs, Downstairs. I might just rewatch it soon.
Another vote for Sir Hallam.
Queen of Swords was cheesy as hell, yes. But it was beautiful cheese. It was in the era of Xena, when sword and sorcery shows on syndicated TV were huge. A golden era, to be sure. The protagonist was like a lady Zorro, if that helps.
He’s also a nepo baby-the son of playwright Tom Stoppard (nepo babies in frock flicks= post?)
Nepo babies in frock flicks is an interesting idea, except there’s SO MANY, lol!
except i personally think he’s actually a good actor but maybe im biased.
His mother Miriam Stoppard was also a well-known TV doctor and agony aunt.
OMG! Knightfall…I don’t have any words. I could tell from the first minute that it was going to be horrible, but I watched the whole thing–I can’t remember if I was waiting to see if it would improve or laughing over how every minute was just as bad as the previous one.
On to the man of the moment. Tom Stoppard is a good actor. I think one reason that he’s so often cast in FrockFlick roles is because he’s so thin–painfully so, in my opinion–that he fits well in time periods and situations of serious deprivation. Also, he can play an agonized man like nobody’s business–see Home Fires and Tchaikovsky for examples. I had forgotten that he was in the film version of Brideshead Revisited; in those pics he’s giving serious Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil vibes (from A Room with a View).
just be glad we’ve told him not to read these comments, maybe not comment on someone’s body too?
Oh, dear. Thank you for pointing that out to me. I certainly didn’t mean to cause offense. I come from an era when remarking on someone’s thinness was not considered body shaming. I will certainly be more mindful of that in the future.
I stand by my comments that he is a talented actor, especially in agonizing roles, particularly in Home Fires and Tchaikovsky.
Aside from Queen of Swords, I’m likely to look up most of these through the summer! Thank you!! Definitely The Frankenstein Chronicles!