Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith 20 August 1943 Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland |
| Thrift | Actor, pheesical comedian |
| Years active | 1965–nou |
| Televeesion | Doctor Who (1987–1989, 1996) |
| Wabsteid | |
| www | |
Sylvester McCoy (born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith; 20 August 1943) is a Scots actor an pheesical comedian.[1] He is maist weel kent fur playin the Sevent incarnation o the Doctor in the lang-winnin science fiction television series Doctor Who frae 1987 tae 1989—the last Doctor frae the oreeginal run—an makkin a wee comeback in a television fillum in 1996. He is kent fur his wark as Radagast in The Hobbit fillum series (2012—2014) an aw.
Early life
[eedit | eedit soorce]McCoy wis born as Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in Dunoon,[2] on the Cowal peninsula, tae an Irish mither an an Inglis faither thit wis killt in action in Warld War II a coople o month afore his son wis born. His maternal grandmother wis frae Portadown, Northern Ireland. He wis broucht up religious, but is nou an atheist.[3]
He wis maistlins broucht up in Dunoon,[4] whaur he went tae St. Mun's Schuil. Efter, he studied fur the priesthood at Blairs College, a seminary in Aiberdeen frae age 12 til 16, but he gied this up an kept gaun tae Dunoon Grammar School.
Efter he left schuil he muived tae Lunnon whaur he wirkit in the insurance industry fur five year. He wirked in The Roundhouse box office fur a time, whaur he wis diskivert bi Ken Campbell.[5]
Career
[eedit | eedit soorce]Early wark
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McCoy became kenspeckle as a memmer o the experimental theatre troupe "The Ken Campbell Roadshow". His best kent act wis a stuntman chairacter cried "Sylveste McCoy" in a play cried An Evening with Sylveste McCoy (Scots: An evenin wi Sylveste McCoy), the name wis came up wi bi actor Brian Murphy, pairt o the Roadshow at the time, whaur his stunts includit pittin a fork an nails up his nose an stuffin ferrets doun his breeks, an setting his heid on fire. As a joke, the programme notes haed Sylveste McCoy as played bi "Sylveste McCoy" an, efter a reviewer missed the joke an thocht thit Sylveste McCoy wis a real body, Kent-Smith adoptit this as his stage name. Some years efter, McCoy pit in "r" tae the end o "Sylveste", pairtly acause o the actors' superstition thit a stage name wi thirteen letters wisnae lucky.
Weel kent television appearances afore he gat the role o the Doctor includit roles in Vision On (whaur he played Pepe/Epep, a chairacter thit bade in the mirror), an O-Man in Jigsaw an Tiswas. Ivery episode frae the innovative ATV schuils maths programme Leapfrog featurt Sylveste (sic) as "Bert" in wirdless sequences filmed oot o doors, as he tried tae pit thegither ordinar geometric patterns frae sindry amoonts o logs or carpet squares. He wis in Eureka an aw, aften sufferin frae the inventions o Wilf Lunn an as Wart, assistant tae StarStrider in the CITV series wi the same name. McCoy portrayed twa famous film comedians an aw: Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton, in ane-man shaws on the stage. He wis Henry "Birdie" Bowers in the 1985 television serial aboot Scott's last Antarctic expedition, The Last Place on Earth an aw.
McCoy haed a smaw role in the 1979 film Dracula an aw, opposite Laurence Olivier an Donald Pleasence, an haes sang wi the Welsh National Opera.
Doctor Who
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McCoy wis the Sevent Doctor efter taen ower the lead role in Doctor Who in 1987 frae Colin Baker. He wis on the series until it endit in 1989, endin wi Survival. As Baker didnae want tae film the regeneration scene, McCoy wore a wig fur a wee bit an appeared, face-doun until the last maument afore the regeneration stairtit, as the saxt Doctor. He played the Doctor in the 1993 chairity special Dimensions in Time, an again in 1996, at the stairt o the Doctor Who television film starrin Paul McGann as the Eicht Doctor.
In his first series, McCoy, a comedy actor, played the chiaracter wi a bit o clown-like humour, but script editor Andrew Cartmel suin efter chynged that whan fans argied thit the chairacter (an plots) wis gittin mair lichtweicht. The Sevent Doctor turnt intae a faur daurker feegur nor ony o his earlier incarnations, manipulatin fowk like chess pieces an aye seemin tae be playin a deeper gemm. A featur frae McCoy's performances thit stuid oot wis his wey o tawkin. He uised his naitural slicht Scots tuin an rowed his rs. At the stairt o his tenure he uised proverbs an sayings chynged tae his ain ends (e.g. "Thare's mony a slap twixt cup an lap" – Delta and the Bannermen), awtho this chairacteristic was duin awa wi slaw-like durin the later, daurker series o his tenure. In 1990, readers o Doctor Who Magazine votit McCoy's Doctor "Best Doctor", ower lang rinnin favourite Tom Baker. Frae 1999 he haes kept on actin in the role o the Sevent Doctor in a series o audio plays fur Big Finish Productions.
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In November 2013 McCoy wis in the ane-aff 50t anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.
In Januar 2021, Sylvester McCoy went back tae his role as 'The Doctor' alang wi Bonnie Langford, in 'A Business Proposal for Mel!' This short, actin like an annooncement trailer ftr 'The Collection: Season 24' Blu-Ray set, thit wis due tae be oot later that year.
Later wark
[eedit | eedit soorce]McCoy's roles on the television efter Doctor Who includit Michael Sams in the 1997 drama Beyond Fear (Scots: Ayont Fear), thit wis pit on the first nicht broadcastin o Channel 5. He came back tae play the Sevent Doctor in a series o audio plays bi Big Finish Productions an aw. In 1988, while he wis still in Doctor Who, McCoy presentit a BBC children's programme cried What's Your Story? (Scots: Whit's yer story?), whaur viewers haed an inveet tae phone in suggestions fur the continuin o an ongaun drama.
He haes acted aw ower theatre in productions sic as pantomimes an Molières. He played as Grandpa Jock in John McGrath's A Satire of the Four Estaites (1996) at the Edinburgh Festival. He haed the role fur Snuff in the macabre BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Cabaret of Dr Caligari.
McCoy missed oot on a role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl[6] an wis the seicont chyce tae play the role o Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[5] In 1991, he presentit the Doctor Who video documentary ootpit The Hartnell Years shawin aff chysen episodes o missin stories frae the First Doctor's era.
McCoy wis as the lawyer Dowling in the BBC's Henry Fielding's novel, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling. In 2001 he wis Paul Sellar's asylum comedy "The Dead Move Fast" (Scots: The Deic Muive Fest) at the Gilded Balloon as pairt o the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, playin the role o Doctor Mallinson. In 2012 he haed the part o the suicidal Mr. Peters in JC Marshall's play, Plume, at the Tron Theatre in Glesga.[7]
McCoy haes appeared wi the Royal Shakespeare Company in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Scots: The Lion, the Witch an the Press) an in King Lear in 2007, playin the Fool tae Ian McKellen's Lear,[8] a performance thit made uise o McCoy's spuin-playin. The RSC production wi McKellen an McCoy was pit on in Melbourne, in late Julie/early August 2007 an Wellington an Auckland, New Zealand, in mid tae late August 2007. Thare wis a rin o shaws at the New Lunnon Theatre in late 2007, endin in Januar 2008. He went back tae the role fur the 2008 television film.[9]
In Mey 2008 he wirkit wi the Carl Rosa Opera Company in a production o Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, playin the title role. He anely performt wi the company fur a wee bit, fur the week o the shaw's rin performin at the Sheffield Lyceum. In spite o bein set in Japan, he coud shaw aff his spuin-playin abeelity bi uisin his fan. In 2009 McCoy wis Mcor. Mushnik in the Chocolate Factory's production o Little Shop of Horrors.[10]
He haes haed guest appearances in ither television series an aw, sic as The Bill, the Rab C. Nesbitt episode "Father" as Rab's mentally ill brother Gash Sr.[11] an the Still Game episode "Oot", whaur he played a hermit-teep o chairacter chyngin tae life in modren Glesga, hivin stayed in his hoose for ower 30 year. In October 2008, he haed a wee guest role as an injurt ventriloquist on Casualty. In the same month, McCoy guest starred in an episode o the BBC soap Doctors, as an actor thit played the time-travelling hero ane time in a bairns' television series cried "The Amazing Lollipop Man". The role wis wrocht in homage tae McCoy.[12][13]
In Januar an Februar 2016, McCoy wis in a three-pairt BBC series cried The Real Marigold Hotel, thit follaed a group o famous auld fowk includin Miriam Margolyes an Wayne Sleep on a vaiage tae India.
In 2017 he went back tae the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe, in the production A Joke alangside Star Trek:Voyager actor Robert Picardo.
Video gemms
[eedit | eedit soorce]McCoy returnt tae the role o the Sevent Doctor in 1997, recordin new soond clips fur the video gemm Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors.
The Hobbit trilogy
[eedit | eedit soorce]McCoy stairtit filmin fur The Hobbit, A three-pairt adaptin o the beuk, in 2011. He plays the wizard Radagast,[14] alang wi fellae King Lear actor Ian McKellen thit went back tae his role as Gandalf.
Awtho the chairacter o Radagast is anely alludit tae in The Hobbit, an juist a minor character in The Lord of the Rings, the pairt was expandit fur the films.
Personal life
[eedit | eedit soorce]McCoy an his wife, Agnes, hiv a dauchter an twa sons, ane o thaim is Sam Kent-Smith, a 3D airtist thit wirkit on the Doctor Who video gemm Return to Earth.[15]
Filmographie
[eedit | eedit soorce]Film
[eedit | eedit soorce]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Dracula | Walter | As Sylveste McCoy |
| All the Fun of the Fair | Scotch Jack | ||
| 1987 | Three Kinds of Heat | Harry Pimm | |
| 1995 | Leapin' Leprechauns! | Flynn | |
| 1996 | Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns | Flynn | |
| 2000 | The Mumbo Jumbo | Mr. Tallman | |
| 2002 | The Shieling of the One Night | Fergus | |
| 2004 | Griffin | Grim | |
| 2006 | The Battersea Ripper | Duncan | |
| 2008 | Pass Them On | The Administrator | |
| 2009 | The Academy | Felix | |
| The Academy Part 2: First Impressions | Felix | ||
| 2010 | Punk Strut: The Movie | DJ | |
| 2012 | Eldorado | General Zwick | |
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Radagast | ||
| 2013 | The Christmas Candle | Edward Haddington | |
| The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Radagast | ||
| Quest: A Tall Tale | Ardan | ||
| 2014 | The Seventeenth Kind | Rusty | |
| The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Radagast | ||
| 2015 | The Last Conjuror | Arthur Roberts | |
| 2017 | Slumber | Amado | |
| 2020 | The Owners | Dr. Richard Huggins | |
| Lost at Christmas | Ernie |
Television
[eedit | eedit soorce]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Vision On | Various | |
| 1973 | Roberts Robots | Robot Entertainer | Episode: "Dial C for Chaos" |
| 1975 | Lucky Feller | Sylveste | Pilot episode |
| 1977 | For the Love of Albert | Cast Memmer | No kent episodes |
| 1978 | Leapfrog | Bert | Aw 28 episode |
| 1979 | Jigsaw | O-Man | |
| Turning Year Tales | Turps | Episode: "Big Jim and the Figaro Club" | |
| Jackanory | Reader | Episode: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" | |
| The Secret Policeman's Ball | Sylveste McCoy | ||
| 1980 | BBC2 Playhouse | Kerwin | Episode: "Electric in the City" |
| 1981 | Big Jim and the Figaro Club | Turps | 5 episode |
| Tiny Revolutions | Cabaret comedian | TV film | |
| Tiswas | Various | ||
| 1982-1986 | Eureka | Various | All 32 episode |
| 1984 | Starstrider | Wart | |
| 1985 | The Last Place on Earth | Lt. 'Birdie' Bowers | 6 episode |
| No 73 | Muivin man | Episode: "Moving Space" | |
| Dramarama | Donald | Episode: "Frog" | |
| 1987–1989 | Doctor Who | Sevent Doctor | 42 episode |
| 1988 | What's Your Story? | Narrator / Presenter | |
| 1989 | The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow | Sevent Doctor | |
| 1990 | Search Out Science | Sevent Doctor | Episode "Search Out Space" |
| 1991 | Thrill Kill Video Club | Spoons | Video |
| 1993 | Jackanory | Storyteller | 2 episode |
| Dimensions in Time | Sevent Doctor | TV short | |
| The Airzone Solution | Anthony Stanwick | Video | |
| 1994 | Frank Stubbs | Angus | Episode: "Mr. Chairman" |
| The Zero Imperative | Dr. Colin Dove | Video | |
| 1996 | Rab C. Nesbitt | Gash Senior | Episode: "Father" |
| Doctor Who | Sevent Doctor | TV film | |
| 1997 | The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling | Mr. Dowling | 4 episode |
| Beyond Fear | Michael Sams | TV movie | |
| 1999 | See It Saw It | Jester | 1 episode |
| 2001 | See It Saw It | The Lord High Chamberlain / Aunt Grizelda |
Episode: "Courage and Adventure" |
| Do You Have a License to Save This Planet | The Foot Doctor | Video short | |
| Casualty | Kev the Rev | Episode: "Life and Soul" | |
| 2001–2002 | Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time | The Sevent Doctor | 5 episode |
| 2002 | Hollyoaks | Leonard Cave | 1 episode |
| The Bill | Ian Drew | Episode: "010" | |
| 2004 | Still Game | Archie | Episode: "Oot" |
| 2006 | The Bill | Morris Shaw | Episode: "457" |
| Mayo | Reverend Beaver | Episode: "Late of This Parish" | |
| 2008 | Great Performances | The Fool | Episode: "King Lear" |
| King Lear | The Fool | TV movie | |
| Casualty | Ashley Millington | Episode: "The Evil That Men Do" | |
| Doctors | Graham Capelli | Episode: "The Lollipop Man" | |
| 2009 | Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder | Nazi Doctor | 1 episode |
| 2013 | The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | Sylvester McCoy | |
| 2015 | Crims | Mr. Dunlop | Episode: "Day Thirty-Six" |
| 2017-2018 | Sense8 | The Old Man of Hoy | 4 episode |
| 2017-2018 | Zapped | Lord Protector | 3 episode |
| 2017 | Sarah & Duck | Comet | Episode: "Comet's Coming" |
| 2018 | Holby City | Clive Brooker | Episode: "All Lies Lead to the Truth" |
| 2019 | Thunderbirds Are Go | Aezethril the Wizard | Episode: "Endgame" |
Audio drama
[eedit | eedit soorce]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–2000 | The Time Travellers | The Professor | BBV Productions |
| 1999–present | Doctor Who: The Monthly Range | Sevent Doctor |
77 releases |
| 2001 | Doctor Who: Last of the Titans | ||
| Doctor Who: Death Comes To Time | 5 pairt wabcast on BBCi | ||
| 2002 | Doctor Who: Excelis | Story: Excelis Decays | |
| 2006 | Doctor Who: Return of the Daleks | ||
| 2007 | Bernice Summerfield | Story: "The Final Amendment" | |
| 2010 | Doctor Who: The Four Doctors | ||
| 2011 | Doctor Who: The Lost Stories | 4 story | |
| 2012–2016 | Doctor Who: Novel Adaptations | 8 story | |
| 2012 | Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles | Story: "Project: Nirvana" | |
| UNIT: Dominion | |||
| Bernice Summerfield | Story: "Many Happy Returns" | ||
| 2013 | Doctor Who: <i id="mwA20">The Light at the End</i> | ||
| 2014–2015 | The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield | 7 story | |
| 2015 | The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty: The Dragon And The Raven | Cedric the Shipwright | |
| The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure | Sevent Doctor | Story: "The Brink of Death" | |
| Doctor Who: Doom Coalition | Story: "The Eleven" | ||
| 2016 | Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters | Story: "Harvest of the Sycorax" | |
| The Diary of River Song | 2 story | ||
| 2018 | The Sevent Doctor: The New Adventures | 4 story | |
| 2019 | The Eighth of March | Story: "The Big Blue Book" | |
| Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time | 2 story |
Direck tae video
[eedit | eedit soorce]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Hartnell Years | Presenter | |
| 1996 | Bidding Adieu | Hissel | Documentary |
Video games
[eedit | eedit soorce]| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Destiny of the Doctors | Sevent Doctor | |
| 2015 | Lego Dimensions | Archive vyce |
References
[eedit | eedit soorce]- ↑ Muir, John Kenneth (2008). A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television [A Critical History o Doctor Who on the Telly] (in Inglis). McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0786437160. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ↑ MARK FISHER (1 Mairch 2012). "Interview: Sylvester McCoy, actor – Performing Arts" [Interview: Sylvester McCoy, actor – Performin Airts] (in Inglis). Scotsman.com. Archived frae the original on 27 Apryle 2012. Retrieved 16 Mairch 2012.
- ↑ So you believed in God back then? "I did, yeah" And do you now? "No, I think it's awful", Doctor Who Magazine, 19 August 2010.
- ↑ "Sylvester McCoy Says ..." The Sci-Fi Sea Cruise website (in Inglis). Retrieved 3 Februar 2007.
- ↑ a b "People buy Doctor Who drinks" [Fowk buy Doctor Who drinks]. icBerkshire (in Inglis). Trinity Mirror. 3 Apryle 2003. Archived frae the original on 15 Januar 2007. Retrieved 30 Mey 2011.
- ↑ Courtney, Kevin (15 September 2012). "Then & now Sylvester Mccoy, actor". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ↑ Fisher, Mark (5 Mairch 2012). "Plume – review". The Guardian (in Inglis). Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 17 Apryle 2017.
- ↑ "King Lear – cast list". RSC web site (in Inglis). Archived frae the original on 9 Mairch 2007. Retrieved 16 Mairch 2007.
- ↑ Higgins, Charlotte (26 November 2008). "Ian McKellen's King Lear to ring in the Christmas cheer for Channel 4" [Ian McKellen's Keeng Lear tae ring in the Christmas cheer fur Channel 4]. The Guardian (in Inglis). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ↑ "Little Shop of Horrors (Mon 4 – Sat 9 May 2009)" (in Inglis). Liverpool Empire. Retrieved 30 Apryle 2014.
- ↑ "Father, Series 5, Rab C Nesbitt – BBC Two". BBC (in Inglis). Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ↑ "BBC One Programmes – Doctors, Series 10, "The Lollipop Man"" (in Inglis). BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
- ↑ David, Semple. "How I brought back Sylvester McCoy as Doctor Who" [Hou a broucht back Sylvester McCoy as Doctor Who]. Den of Geek (in Inglis). Retrieved 28 October 2008.
- ↑ "Sylvester McCoy Is Radagast the Brown". Filmonic (in Inglis). Archived frae the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
- ↑ KnowledgeBase. "Doctor Who: Return to Earth" (in Inglis). VGFacts. Archived frae the original on 15 Juin 2021. Retrieved 20 Januar 2017.
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