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The Earl of Portland | |
|---|---|
| Born | Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck (1953-06-01)1 June 1953 (age 71) Barton,Tasmania, Australia |
| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | |
| Notable work | The Archers |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingWill Bentinck |
| Father | Henry Bentinck |
Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland,Count Bentinck of Waldeck Limpurg (born 1 June 1953), commonly known asTim Bentinck, is an Australian-born British actor and writer, known for hislong-running role asDavid Archer in theBBC Radio 4 series,The Archers.
As the Earl of Portland, Bentinck was a member of theHouse of Lords from 1997 to 1999.[1] He is alsoCount Bentinck in the peerage of theHoly Roman Empire.
The son of thenon-conformist intellectualHenry Bentinck, Portland was born on asheep station in Barton,Tasmania, Australia, but moved with his family toBerkhamsted in England at the age of two. He was educated at aprep school, thenHarrow School, and finally at theUniversity of East Anglia, where he spent much of his time on productions of its drama society,[2] before receiving aBA degree in the History of Art. After graduation, he trained in acting at theBristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Bentinck has been an actor since 1978 and is known for the roles ofDavid Archer in theBBC Radio 4 seriesThe Archers and Tom Lacey in theBBC TV drama seriesBy the Sword Divided (1983–85). He is also avoice-over artist, having provided the voice ofJames Bond for the video-gameThe World Is Not Enough (Nintendo 64 andPlayStation version),[3] and the voice of Roger Radcliffe in101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure. Between 1990 and 2006 he was also the voice of "Mind The Gap" on theLondon UndergroundPiccadilly line. Bentinck has a long list of theatre, television and film credits.[4] He appeared inThe Thick of It in 2005 and 2007 and starred withDavid Jason inThe Royal Bodyguard in 2012.
As himself, Bentinck has appeared onCall My Bluff, won a round ofUniversity Challenge,[5]Celebrity Mastermind,[6]Pointless Celebrities and beatenJudith Keppel on science inCelebrity Eggheads.[7]
Bentinck has revoicedGérard Depardieu in the filmNouvelle France,[8] and Chow Yun Fat inCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[9] He has provided post-production voices for many major US and UK film and television productions since helping provide the voices of both Scottish and English armies alongsideMel Gibson inBraveheart.[citation needed]
His first film role was as 'Harris',Roger Moore's lieutenant inNorth Sea Hijack; other film roles include William Goldman'sThe Year of the Comet, the western,The Pride of Wade Ellison as well as the short film,Locked Up by Bugsy Riverbank Steel – winner of Best Foreign Short Film at theLanzarote Film Festival in 2013. AlsoFast Girls,The Redistributors,Rule Number Three withNicholas Hoult,The Pirates of Penzance withKevin Kline,Trevor Nunn'sTwelfth Night,Vanity Fair, the U-boat commander inEnigma, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and many short and student films. In 2018 he starred with Jack Roth asConrad in the Netflix movie,Us And Them. He played the role ofFrederick Forsyth in the BBC television filmReg (2016).[10]
On stage, after many Londonfringe theatre appearances, Bentinck starred as the Pirate King inThe Pirates of Penzance at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1982, as Captain Brice inArcadia at theTheatre Royal, Haymarket, and as Hubert Laurie inNight Must Fall, also at the Haymarket. Bentinck toured a one-man show,Love Your Chocolates,[11] – a mixture of stories, comedy songs and multi-media, and played Frank inEducating Rita[12] at theWatermill Theatre,Newbury, Berkshire, in 2009.
Bentinck regularly writes travel articles forThe Mail on Sunday[13] and his book,Avant Garde A Clue, co-written with Albert Welling, is published on Kindle. In March 2015, his children's book,Colin The Campervan, was published by FBS Publishing.[citation needed]
Bentinck's autobiography,Being David Archer – And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living was published by Constable in 2017.
Bentinck has made many guest appearances inBig Finish audio dramas, including audio productions based onDoctor Who,[14]Torchwood,Blake's 7[15] andSpace 1999.[16] He has also narrated over sixty audiobooks.
In the2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to drama.[17]
Bentinck is also aninventor with severalpatents to his name,[18] as well as a programmer/web site designer,[19] musician[20] and writer.[21]
Bentinck's roles on television include:
Bentinck has also done voicework for numerous videogame titles:[25]
On the death ofthe 9th Duke of Portland in 1990, Bentinck's fatherHenry, his sixthcousin, succeeded to theearldom of Portland. In 1997 Tim succeeded his father. He took a seat in certain sittings of theHouse of Lords but made no speeches (nor questions) before losing the right and not standing for selective internal election, under theHouse of Lords Act 1999.
On 29 December 1732, the Hon. William Bentinck, Baron Bentinck of theDuchy of Guelders (second surviving son ofHans Willem Bentinck), was made aCount of the Holy Roman Empire asCount (Graf) Bentinck,[26] by ImperialLetters Patent ofFerdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. This title also vests in him. Under the Royal Warrant of 27 April 1932 on Foreign Titles the dispensation granted by Queen Victoria to use the title and daughters' styles socially in Great Britain was rescinded beyond any living heirs, the last of which were Bentinck's late father and aunt.
Bentinck married the millinerJudith "Judy" Ann Emerson (bornNewcastle-under-Lyme, 10 October 1952) in London on 8 September 1979. They have two sons:Will Bentinck, Viscount Woodstock (born London, 19 May 1984) and The Hon. Jasper James Mellowes Bentinck (born London, 12 June 1988). They reside in London.[citation needed]
| Peerage of England | ||
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| Preceded by | Earl of Portland 1997–present Member of theHouse of Lords (1997–1999) | Incumbent |
| German nobility of the Holy Roman Empire | ||
| Preceded by | Count Bentinck 1997–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
