Biography
Kenneth Cranham is a British actor. He was born on 12 December 1944 in Dunfermline, Scotland, and trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1966.
His screen credits include Noah Claypole in Oliver! (1968), Sergeant Block in Brideshead Revisited (1981), the title role in the television series Shine on Harvey Moon (1982–1985), Dr Philip Channard in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), James Reaper in Hot Fuzz (2007), Jimmy Price in Layer Cake (2004), King Henry in Maleficent (2014), and Gnaeus Pompey Magnus in the series Rome (2005).
On stage, Cranham originated the role of Inspector Goole in the 1992 revival of An Inspector Calls and played André in Florian Zeller's The Father. He received an Olivier Award nomination for the former and won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play for the latter in 2016. He was appointed CBE in 2023 for services to drama.
