This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Michael Bryant" actor – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2012)

Michael Bryant CBE
Born	(1928-04-05)5 April 1928 London, England
Died	25 April 2002(2002-04-25) (aged 74) London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1954–2000
Spouses	Josephine Martin ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1980)​ Judith Coke ​ (m. 1990)​ [1]
Children	4

Michael Dennis BryantCBE (5 April 1928 – 25 April 2002) was a British stage and television actor. An eight-timeOlivier Award nominee, Bryant won three. He was also a three-timeBritish Academy Television Award nominee forBest Actor.

Bryant attendedBattersea Grammar School and, after service in the Merchant Navy and the Army, attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage. He made his film debut in 1955. He had a role as Mathieu in theBBC2 serialThe Roads to Freedom, a 1970 adaptation ofJean-Paul Sartre'strilogy of the same name. His guest star appearance as Wing Commander Marsh, who feigns insanity in the 'Tweedledum' episode of the BBC drama seriesColditz (1972), is still widely remembered.

Bryant was chosen byOrson Welles to play the lead role inThe Deep, Welles's adaptation of theCharles Williams novelDead Calm. The production frequently ran out of money, and following the death of actorLaurence Harvey in 1973, Welles stopped production and announced that the movie – which had been completed except for one special effects shot of a ship exploding – would not be released. (The novel was finallyadapted to film in 1989.)

In 1969 Bryant took his love of the stage on a strange trip into the realm ofcult films, playing a clever male prostitute who outwits a delusional family of killers in the dark comedyMumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly, an adaptation of a play byMaisie Mosco. Due to poor marketing and a lack of faith in the project by the distributor, the film quickly sank into obscurity.

One of Bryant's most memorable performances was in the BBC television playThe Stone Tape (1972), in which he plays the leader of a team of scientists who investigate ghost sightings in a brooding Gothic mansion. Equally memorable is his later performance in an adaptation ofM. R. James'sThe Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974).

Bryant also had a supporting role as a psychiatrist in the black comedyThe Ruling Class, withPeter O'Toole andAlastair Sim. He also appeared inRichard Attenborough'sGandhi (1982) as a British diplomat.

Having playedVladimir Lenin in the filmNicholas and Alexandra, Bryant later reprised the role inRobert Bolt's playState of Revolution (1977), having previously co-starred in Bolt's unsuccessfulGentle Jack.State of Revolution was significant for featuring the first role that Bryant performed at theNational Theatre, where he went on to be a constant presence for a quarter of a century.^[1] Described byMichael Billington as a "rock-solid company man",^[1] he had earlier performed with theRoyal Shakespeare Company from 1964, including the premiere production ofHarold Pinter'sThe Homecoming (1965), in which he played Teddy, the returning academic.

In 1980, Bryant won the London Drama Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor, and his other theatrical performances were equally well-thought-of. He wonLaurence Olivier Awards in 1988 and 1990 and was nominated twice more.

This table contains selected known professional theatrical roles for Bryant.^[2]

• Michael Bryant atIMDb
• Michael Bryant at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1928 births
• 2002 deaths
• English male film actors
• English male stage actors
• 20th-century English male actors
• People educated at Battersea Grammar School
• Male actors from London
• Laurence Olivier Award winners
• Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from August 2016
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from August 2016
• Articles needing additional references from June 2012
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles with hCards
• Internet Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata