Oliver Charles Cotton (born 20 June 1944) is an English actor and playwright, known for his prolific work on stage, TV and film. He remains best known for his role asCesare Borgia in the BBC's 1981 drama seriesThe Borgias.^[1]

Cotton was born in London on 20 June 1944, the son of Ester and Robert Norman Cotton.^[2] He trained at theDrama Centre, London.

Cotton worked extensively at theNational Theatre Company during the period whenSir Laurence Olivier was its artistic director. Cotton played leading roles in many productions includingThe Royal Hunt of the Sun,Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,Much Ado in About Nothing,As You Like It,Peter Brook’sOedipus,In His Own Write and many others.

At theRoyal Court in London, Cotton has played leads in many productions includingThe Local Stigmatic,The Duchess of Malfi,Man is Man,The Tutor byBertholt Brecht,Lear andBingo byEdward Bond. He was a founder member ofJoint Stock appearing in the company's inaugural productionThe Speakers byHeathcote Williams.

For theRoyal Shakespeare Company he has played leading roles inGranville Barker'sThe Marrying of Ann Leete,Henry VI,Edward IV,Richard III,The Plain Dealer,Some Americans Abroad by Richard Nelson, and as the Mayor inBrand byIbsen in 2003.^[3]

In theWest End he has starred inThe Homecoming byHarold Pinter,Children of A Lesser God byMark Medoff,Benefactors byMichael Frayn,An Ideal Husband byOscar Wilde,Life x 3 byYasmina Reza (RNT transfer), "Passion Play" (by Peter Nichols). He also playedKing Lear at the Southwark Playhouse and performed as Malvolio in a (historically correct all-male) productionTwelfth Night at the reconstruction ofShakespeare's Globe. At theOld Vic, under the directorship ofKevin Spacey, he appeared as Seth Lord inThe Philadelphia Story, as Northumberland in Richard II, and as Dr Finache inA Flea in Her Ear. In 2010 he played Henry IV in Shakespeare'sHenry IV at the Globe Theatre. AtChichester he has appeared as Jim Casy inThe Grapes Of Wrath in 2009 and as Arturo Santaniello inThe Syndicate. In 2012, he played Victor Velasco in a major tour ofBarefoot in the Park. In 2013 he played Jim in Passion Play by Peter Nichols at the Duke of York's Theatre – and in 2014 starred as Billy in his own play Daytona at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

His numerous TV appearances have includedThe Borgias (Cesare Borgia),David Copperfield,The Year of The French,The Party,Room at the Bottom,Space:1999,Redemption,Poirot,The Camomile Lawn,Westbeach,Sharpe's Battle,Rhodes,All Quiet on the Preston Front,Innocents,Judge John Deed,Inspector Lynley,Waking The Dead,Murder Investigation Team,Beastly Games,Margaret,Money,Ripper Street andLovejoy.

His films includeHere We Go Round The Mulberry Bush,The Day Christ Died,Oliver Twist,Firefox,The Sicilian,Eleni,Hiding Out,Christopher Columbus,Son of the Pink Panther,The Innocent Sleep,Phoenix Blue,The Opium War,Beowulf,Baby Blue,The Dancer Upstairs,Shanghai Knights,Bone Hunter,Rain Dogs,Colour Me Kubrick,Pope Joan,The Dark Knight Rises,Gangs of Tooting Broadway,A Long Time Coming.

For the stage his writing includes:The Enoch Show (Royal Court),Scrabble (National Theatre),Wet Weather Cover (King's Head Theatre),Daytona,Dessert,Sans Souci. His TV and film scripts include:A Touch of Frost,Diamond Geezer,Trace,The Intruder,Singing for Stalin,Sofa,Wet Weather Cover: The Movie,Peeping Through andThe English Game.

• Oliver Cotton atIMDb

• 1944 births
• Alumni of the Drama Centre London
• English male film actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• Living people

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