Biography
Vernon Dobtcheff is a French-British character actor born on 14 August 1934 in Nîmes, France. He was raised in Sussex, England, and attended Ascham St Vincent's School in Eastbourne, where he won the Acting Cup. He made his professional stage debut in 1960 with the Colchester Repertory Company and joined the Old Vic company later that year.
Dobtcheff has appeared in over 300 film, television and stage productions. His film credits include roles in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Before Sunset (2004), in which he played the Bookstore Manager. On television he appeared as the Old Nazi in Father Ted (1998).
In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Rupert Everett described Dobtcheff as the "patron saint of the acting profession" for his habit of attending first nights across the country.
