--- name: "P. H. Moriarty" canonical: "https://film.one/person/p-h-moriarty" fi1m_id: "p-h-moriarty" imdb_id: "nm0605365" tmdb_id: 989 wikidata_id: "Q3359473" roles: ["Actor"] born: "27 January 1939" died: "3 February 2025" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 66 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-07T11:16:53.865822+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." --- # P. H. Moriarty ## Identity P. H. Moriarty - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/p-h-moriarty - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** p-h-moriarty - **IMDb ID:** nm0605365 - **TMDB ID:** 989 - **Wikidata ID:** Q3359473 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._H._Moriarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3359473, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605365/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/989 Actor. Born 27 January 1939 in Deptford, London, UK. Died 3 February 2025. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 27 January 1939, Deptford, London, UK - **Died:** 3 February 2025 - **Active:** 1980–1998 - **Also known as:** P.H. Moriarty - **Average Fi1m score:** 66, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 62 (2), 1990s 70 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 69 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Crime 3, Thriller 3, Drama 2, Action 1, Comedy 1, Horror 1 - **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $295m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._H._Moriarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3359473, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605365/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/989 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md) (88) - **Netflix:** [*Jaws 3-D*](https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d.md) (36) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on P. H. Moriarty > P.H. Moriarty made screen hardmen convincing without much fuss. We value the restraint and physical authority he brought to British crime films, though the repeated casting as gangsters and henchmen often left little else for him to do. The moustache is distinctive, but it is the stare that makes P.H. Moriarty worth watching. As Razors, the loyal enforcer to Bob Hoskins's gangster in *The Long Good Friday* (1980), he makes intimidation look like ordinary work. We found him unsettling because that understated manner makes a readiness for violence seem so unremarkable. John Mackenzie puts his steadiness to good use beside Hoskins, whose performance is both funny and frightening. Moriarty helps make the danger credible without competing for the centre of the film. The early parts point towards the work that followed. In *Scum* (1979), he plays Mr Hunt, a brutal borstal officer; Razors then established the gangster persona that brought him repeated hardman and henchman roles. There is a limitation here, and it belongs partly to the casting: once an actor can make a threat convincing, scripts can stop asking him for much else. We value how precisely he does the job, while wishing more of the parts had asked for something different. Guy Ritchie makes that familiarity useful in *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* (1998). Moriarty's 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale, a ruthless porn king and debt collector, gives the tangled crime comedy a convincing source of fear. The sharp casting and cleverly competing plans earn their laughs, even when the camera tricks become tiresome. The characters are thinly written, and Harry benefits from Moriarty's ability to make an intimidating figure credible with little elaboration. There is not much else to discover about him, but the caper needs that threat to work. The two directors need slightly different things from him. Mackenzie's thriller concerns itself with ambition and money, and Moriarty gives its criminal business a plausible enforcer. Ritchie's comedy needs someone sufficiently intimidating to make all that plotting matter, even when its people scarcely warrant the trouble. We prefer Moriarty in the more substantial company of Hoskins, though there is pleasure in seeing his particular skill put to comic use. Start with *The Long Good Friday*; keep *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* for an evening when following the plans is entertainment enough. ## Biography P. H. Moriarty was a British character actor known for roles as hard men and gangsters. Born Paul Hugh Moriarty in Deptford, London, he worked as a boxer and docker before entering acting in his late thirties after being discovered by a film crew on the Surrey Commercial Docks. He made his screen debut in 1978 and gained prominence as Razors in *The Long Good Friday* (1980). Other notable film roles include Hatchet Harry in *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* (1998), a hitman in *Outland* (1981), Jack Tate in *Jaws 3-D* (1983), and appearances in *Quadrophenia* (1979), *Scum* (1979), *Patriot Games* (1992) and *Chaplin* (1992). He also portrayed Gurney Halleck in the miniseries *Frank Herbert's Dune* (2000) and its 2003 sequel. Moriarty died in London on 2 February 2025, aged 86. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, thetimes.com, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* (1998), Fi1m 78, as 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale — [page](https://film.one/film/lock-stock-and-two-smoking-barrels.md) - *Patriot Games* (1992), Fi1m 61, as Court Guard — [page](https://film.one/film/patriot-games.md) - *Jaws 3-D* (1983), Fi1m 36, as Jack Tate — [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d.md) - *The Long Good Friday* (1980), Fi1m 88, as Razors — [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md) ## Complete filmography (37) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins* (2021), as Ian Jarvis - *Evil Never Dies* (2014), Actor - *The Riddle* (2007), as D.I. Willis / Constable Frederick (as P H Moriarty) - *Manilla Envelopes* (2006), as James Thoms - *Submerged* (2005), as Chief - *Frank Herbert's Children of Dune* (2003), series, as Gurney Halleck - *Judge John Deed* (2001), series, Actor - *Frank Herbert's Dune* (2000), series, as Gurney Halleck - *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels* (1998), as 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/lock-stock-and-two-smoking-barrels.md) - *Chaplin* (1992), as Workhouse Official - *Patriot Games* (1992), as Court Guard — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/patriot-games.md) - *For the Greater Good* (1991), series, as DAC Spittal - *Palmer* (1991), as Clayton - *Dear Sarah* (1990), as Warder Deans - *The Accountant* (1989), as Anthony James May - *The Paradise Club* (1989), series, as Evil Jim Dalton - *Screen One* (1989), series, as Anthony James May - *A Sense of Freedom* (1985), as Prison Warder - *Number One* (1985), as Mike the Throat - *The Bill* (1984), series, Actor - *Slayground* (1984), as Seeley - *The Nation's Health* (1983), series, as Chris Hogan - *Jaws 3-D* (1983), as Jack Tate — Fi1m 36, [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d.md) - *The Making of Jaws 3-D: Sharks Don't Die* (1983), Actor - *Jake's End* (1982), as Taylor - *Bird of Prey* (1982), series, as Security Guard - *Outland* (1981), as Hitman #1 - *The Chinese Detective* (1981), series, Actor - *The Long Good Friday* (1980), as Razors — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md) - *Bloody Kids* (1980), as Police 1 - *Fox* (1980), as Wesley - *Quadrophenia* (1979), as Barman at Villain's Pub - *Scum* (1979), as Mr. Hunt - *Strangers* (1978), series, as Jimmy McNemany - *The Professionals* (1977), series, as Harris - *Playhouse* (1974), series, as Taylor - *The Chelsea Cowboy*, as Justice Mars-Jones --- © 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/p-h-moriarty