Nicholas Courtney
Birthday:
16 December 1929, Cairo, Egypt
Birth Name:
William Nicholas Stone Courtney
Height:
185 cm
Nicholas Courtney was born in Egypt, the son of a British diplomat. His early years were spent in Kenya and France and he was called up for National Service at the age of 18. After 18 months of duty in the British forces, Courtney joined the Webber Douglas drama school. He spent two years there and then did repertory theatre in Northampton. His nex...
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Nicholas Courtney was born in Egypt, the son of a British diplomat. His early years were spent in Kenya and France and he was called up for National Service at the age of 18. After 18 months of duty in the British forces, Courtney joined the Webber Douglas drama school. He spent two years there and then did repertory theatre in Northampton. His next move was to London.During the 1960s, he played some roles in popular TV series. In 1965, he made an appearance on Doctor Who (1963), during the tenure of William Hartnell. The director, Douglas Camfield, remembered him and, in 1967, cast him as "Captain Knight" in "Doctor Who" episode "The Web of Fear". He took the part of "Lethbridge-Stewart", which was to become his most famous role, when the actor originally cast in the part had to drop out. At this time, Patrick Troughton was the star of the series.Shortly after this, Courtney was offered the chance to play the role regularly and accepted. This guaranteed him work until 1975, when the character was written out of the series. He became a good friend of Jon Pertwee during his time on the programme, and returned in 1983, 1988 and 1989. His other television work has included a comedy with Frankie Howerd. Courtney has maintained a close association with "Doctor Who", narrating the documentary Doctor Who: 30 Years in the Tardis (1993) and attending conventions and appearing in spin-offs. Show less «
Working with Bill Hartnell (William Hartnell) was interesting. He was towards the end of his time as the Doctor and I think he was getting a...Show more »
Working with Bill Hartnell (William Hartnell) was interesting. He was towards the end of his time as the Doctor and I think he was getting a little tetchy because he wasn't a particularly well man, but he seemed to like me. But the funny thing was, he said 'You're with the wrong agent, Nick, I'll put you with mine', and I didn't work for a year. Show less «
[on Doctor Who (2005)] The technology's wonderful - they've a damn sight bigger budget than we had. There are some good performances. Great ...Show more »
[on Doctor Who (2005)] The technology's wonderful - they've a damn sight bigger budget than we had. There are some good performances. Great ideas. But I think where it loses out is in doing a whole story in 45 minutes. It appears too rushed and has what I call the "restless camera". Show less «
When I look back on my career, I think I might have done more classical work, but I jolly well don't mind. A friend who's done a lot of that...Show more »
When I look back on my career, I think I might have done more classical work, but I jolly well don't mind. A friend who's done a lot of that said, "Yes, but look, you're rich." Which is kind of true. Show less «
[on Doctor Who (2005)] The programme's very, very different from what it used to be anyway. It's all a bit rushed sometimes. It's a heck of ...Show more »
[on Doctor Who (2005)] The programme's very, very different from what it used to be anyway. It's all a bit rushed sometimes. It's a heck of a lot to get in in three quarters of an hour, the whole story. In the old days, it used to be half an hour every Saturday for four Saturdays, or six Saturdays, so it does all seem to be a bit of a rush. In fact, it leaves me rather gasping for breath sometimes. Show less «
[in 2008] I think people's attention span is more limited than it used to be.
[in 2008] I think people's attention span is more limited than it used to be.
Nicholas Courtney's Photos
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
