--- name: "Michael Elphick" canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-elphick" fi1m_id: "michael-elphick" imdb_id: "nm0255573" tmdb_id: 1821 wikidata_id: "Q425656" roles: ["Actor"] born: "19 September 1946" died: "7 September 2002" reviewed_on_fi1m: 8 average_fi1m_score: 73 average_as: "actor" average_over: 7 updated: "2026-10-07T10:35:10.254823+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Michael Elphick ## Identity Michael Elphick - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-elphick - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** michael-elphick - **IMDb ID:** nm0255573 - **TMDB ID:** 1821 - **Wikidata ID:** Q425656 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elphick, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q425656, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0255573/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1821 Actor. Born 19 September 1946 in Chichester, Sussex, England, UK. Died 7 September 2002. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 19 September 1946, Chichester, Sussex, England, UK - **Died:** 7 September 2002 - **Active:** 1979–1990 - **Also known as:** Michael John Elphick, مایکل الفیک - **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 7 acting, 1 other - **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 7 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 70 (7), 1990s 74 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 68 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 4 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 6, Comedy 3, Crime 3, History 2, Mystery 2, Science Fiction 1 - **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $94m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elphick, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q425656, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0255573/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1821 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Withnail & I*](https://film.one/film/withnail-and-i.md) (88) - **MUBI:** [*The Element of Crime*](https://film.one/film/the-element-of-crime.md) (63) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Michael Elphick > Michael Elphick made a career of the men the hero has to get past: porters, thugs, poachers, policemen, with a croak in the voice and a sneer already forming. Handed a lead in *The Element of Crime*, he carried a weak film by refusing to raise his voice. Michael Elphick's face arrives before he does. A heavy man, a Sussex growl worn down to a croak, and a lip that has started to curl before the other actor has finished the line. Directors saw it at once and cast him accordingly: from 1969 he was the menace in the corner of British films and television, the policeman, the thug, the man blocking a doorway. He did it well enough that for a decade it was nearly all he was asked to do. The 1970s were the typecasting years, Cockney heavies and hard men, and then the parts got better without the man getting any prettier. He was the father in *Quadrophenia* (1979) and the bully in *Blue Remembered Hills* (1979). In *The Elephant Man* (1980) he is the Night Porter, one of the small, unlovely parts that film needs if its kindness is to mean anything, and he does not decorate it. *Gorky Park* (1983) gave him Pasha. Then Lars von Trier, making his first feature, gave him a lead. *The Element of Crime* (1984) is not a film we rate highly; the investigation struggles to make its next question interesting and the dialogue tests patience. Elphick is the reason it can be watched. As Fisher, the detective retracing a serial killer through a Europe that never stops raining, he is battered and unglamorous and never once announces how unpleasant the surroundings are. We were grateful to him, frankly, in a way we are seldom grateful to an actor: an hour into all that sepia and dripping water, his tired, unhurried bulk was the one thing on screen behaving like a person, and we held on to it. He does not make the case matter. Nobody could. He makes the man matter, which is different and, here, enough. Then *Withnail & I* (1987), and Jake the poacher, and the discovery that the sneer was funny. Bruce Robinson's film is sharply written and unexpectedly sad, and Elphick has only a handful of scenes, but the threat he brings into that cottage is the real thing, and the comedy comes from watching two soft young men fail to cope with it. It is the same instrument played droll instead of dangerous. That in the same period he became Ken Boon, and stayed him from 1986 to 1992 and again in 1995, tells you where the country wanted him. Television gave him the lead that cinema never quite trusted him with, and his film career never caught up. He said of himself, "I've always been a terrible hedonist. I get bored very easily." The performances do not show it. What they show is a man handed the same part, more or less, for three decades, who kept finding one more thing to do with a look. Go to *Withnail & I* for the pleasure and to *The Element of Crime* for the proof. ## Biography Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English actor. He trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama after being encouraged by Laurence Olivier while working as an electrician at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Elphick appeared in films including *The Elephant Man* (1980), *Quadrophenia* (1979), *Gorky Park* (1983) – for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor – *The Element of Crime* (1984) and *Withnail & I* (1987) as Jake. On television he played the title role in the ITV series *Boon* and Harry Slater in BBC's *EastEnders*. He was known for his gruff Sussex accent and often portrayed menacing or working-class characters. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (8) ### Performed in (7) — the average rests on these - *The Krays* (1990), Fi1m 74, as George - Prisoner — [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md) - *Withnail & I* (1987), Fi1m 88, as Jake — [page](https://film.one/film/withnail-and-i.md) - *The Element of Crime* (1984), Fi1m 63, as Fisher — [page](https://film.one/film/the-element-of-crime.md) - *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983), Fi1m 84, as Magowan — [page](https://film.one/tv/auf-wiedersehen-pet.md) - *Curse of the Pink Panther* (1983), Fi1m 34, as Valencia Police Chief — [page](https://film.one/film/curse-of-the-pink-panther.md) - *Smiley's People* (1982), Fi1m 82, as Detective Chief Inspector — [page](https://film.one/tv/smileys-people.md) - *The Elephant Man* (1980), Fi1m 84, as Night Porter — [page](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Krull* (1983), Fi1m 54, as Rhun (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/krull.md) ## Complete filmography (121) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Out of Bounds* (2003), as Lionel Stubbs - *Metropolis* (2000), series, as Andrew Kaplan - *David Copperfield* (1999), series, as Barkis - *The Fix* (1997), as Peter Campling - *Streetwise* (1996), as Narrator - *Richard III* (1995), as 2nd Murderer - *Treasure Island* (1995), as Billy Bones - *Modern Times* (1995), series, Actor - *Dangerfield* (1995), series, as Brian Taylor - *Pirates* (1994), series, as Chief Inspector Hornbeam - *Harry* (1993), series, as Harry Salter - *The Ballad of Kid Divine: The Cockney Cowboy* (1992), as Dr. Nathaniel Bonner - *Stanley and the Women* (1991), series, as Bert Hutchinson - *Murder Most Horrid* (1991), series, as Bill Todd - *Let Him Have It* (1991), as Prison Officer Jack - *Buddy's Song* (1991), as Des - *I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle* (1990), as Inspector Cleaver - *The Krays* (1990), as George - Prisoner — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md) - *Asterix and the Big Fight* (1989), as Crysus (voice- English version) - *Little Dorrit* (1987), as Mr. Merdle - *Withnail & I* (1987), as Jake — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/withnail-and-i.md) - *Valhalla* (1986), as Udgaardsloki (voice) - *Pirates* (1986), as Sentry - *Boon* (1986), series, as Ken Boon - *The Supergrass* (1985), as Constable Collins - *Jenny's War* (1985), series, as Schumann - *Three Up, Two Down* (1985), series, as Sam Tyler - *Which Side Are You On?* (1985), as Narrator (voice) - *Late Starter* (1985), series, as Jack Owen - *EastEnders* (1985), series, as Harry Slater — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/eastenders.md) - *Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil* (1985), as Ernst Röhm - *Super Gran* (1985), series, as Roly Roofless - *Bird Fancier* (1985), as Joe Desmond - *Much Ado About Nothing* (1984), as Dogberry - *Oxbridge Blues* (1984), series, as Curly Bonaventura - *Arthur's Hallowed Ground* (1984), as Len - *The Bill* (1984), series, as George Stubbs - *Ordeal by Innocence* (1984), as Inspector Huish - *Pull The Other One* (1984), series, as Sidney Mundy - *The Element of Crime* (1984), as Fisher — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/the-element-of-crime.md) - *Memed My Hawk* (1984), as Jabbar - *C.Q.* (1984), as Norman - *Gorky Park* (1983), as Pasha - *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983), series, as Magowan — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/auf-wiedersehen-pet.md) - *Curse of the Pink Panther* (1983), as Valencia Police Chief — Fi1m 34, [page](https://film.one/film/curse-of-the-pink-panther.md) - *Krull* (1983), as Rhun (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/krull.md) - *Privates on Parade* (1983), as Sergeant Major Reg Drummond - *Bloomfield* (1983), series, as Billy Gibbs - *Smiley's People* (1982), series, as Detective Chief Inspector — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/smileys-people.md) - *Chains* (1982), as Eddie - *Andy Robson* (1982), series, as Jack Carnaby - *Pocketful of Dreams* (1982), as Charlie - *The Kenny Everett Television Show* (1982), series, as Various - *Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1981), series, as Stanley - *Private Schulz* (1981), series, as Gerhard Schulz - *Masada* (1981), series, as Vettius - *The Elephant Man* (1980), as Night Porter — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man.md) - *Cribb* (1980), series, as Sol Herriott - *Shoestring* (1979), series, as Pete Johnson - *Quadrophenia* (1979), as Father - *Blue Remembered Hills* (1979), as Peter - *The Knowledge* (1979), as Gordon Weller - *Black Island* (1979), as Jack Daker - *The First Great Train Robbery* (1978), as Burgess - *The One and Only Phyllis Dixey* (1978), as Wallace Parnell - *Hanging Around* (1978), as Hank - *The Odd Job* (1978), as Raymonde - *Cold Harbour* (1978), as Barrister at Party - *Send in the Girls* (1978), series, as Jimmy - *Red Shift* (1978), as Thomas Venables - *Hazell* (1978), series, as Griffiths - *Saturday, Sunday, Monday* (1978), as Michel - *The Professionals* (1977), series, as Sergeant Garbett - *Premiere* (1977), series, as Hank - *The Sound of Laughter* (1977), series, as Ernie Randle - *Last Summer* (1977), as Oscar - *A Good Human Story* (1977), Actor - *The Sunday Drama* (1977), series, as Ralph Winters - *This Year Next Year* (1977), series, as Jack Shaw - *Holding On* (1977), series, as Charlie Wheelwright - *Laurence Olivier Presents* (1976), series, as Michel - *Play Things* (1976), as Frank - *The Ghosts of Motley Hall* (1976), series, as Captain Narcissus Bullock - *Three Men in a Boat* (1975), as 2nd Porter - *The Sweeney* (1975), series, as Jimmy Fleet — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Pig Bin* (1974), as Policeman - *Norma* (1974), as Norma's Friend - *The Nearly Man* (1974), as Ron Hibbert - *The Nearly Man* (1974), series, as Ron Hibbert - *Playhouse* (1974), series, as Frank, Charlie, Eddie - *That Sinking Feeling* (1973), as Chopper - *Second City Firsts* (1973), series, as Policeman - *Orson Welles' Great Mysteries* (1973), series, as Gorenflot - *And Now the Screaming Starts!* (1973), as Drunk - *O Lucky Man!* (1973), as Man at Stag Party - *The Little Farm* (1973), as Jack - *Adult Fun* (1972), as Garage Manager - *Crown Court* (1972), series, as Simon Chase, Frank Hollins, Neville Griffiths QC - *Country Matters* (1972), series, as Jack - *New Scotland Yard* (1972), series, as Al Farmer, Joss Adrian - *The Brothers* (1972), series, as 2nd Patrolman - *Adam Smith* (1972), series, as Ben Davies - *Man Charged* (1971), as Robert Delmonds - *Justice* (1971), series, as Peter Rodwell - *See No Evil* (1971), as Gypsy Tom - *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Peter - *The Roads to Freedom* (1970), series, as Lieutenant of Chasseurs - *The Buttercup Chain* (1970), as The Driver - *Cry of the Banshee* (1970), as Burke - *Albert and Victoria* (1970), series, as Nigel Godfrey - *The Misfit* (1970), series, as Mike Halloran - *Hamlet* (1969), as Captain - *Parkin's Patch* (1969), series, as Thomas - *Hadleigh* (1969), series, as Brian Ainsworth - *Department S* (1969), series, as Police Motorcyclist (uncredited) - *The Best Things In Life* (1969), series, as Jed Lucas - *Where's Jack?* (1969), as Hogarth - *The Betrayal* (1969), as Tom - *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, as Norma's friend, Oscar - *Coronation Street* (1960), series, as Douglas Wormold — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/coronation-street.md) - *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Robert Delmonds, Chopper - Best Man ## Gallery - ![Michael Elphick](https://film.one/media/person/59700/gallery-0b4d4d75a023.jpg) Michael Elphick — Image via TMDB - ![Michael Elphick](https://film.one/media/person/59700/gallery-c30434aa34fd.jpg) Michael Elphick — Image via TMDB - ![Michael Elphick](https://film.one/media/person/59700/gallery-b979845f9753.jpg) Michael Elphick — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-elphick