Joss Ackland

British actor. (1928-)

Biography

Born in London, trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Met and married actress Rosemary Kirkcaldy, in 1951.

Career

The couple moved to Kenya in 1954 to try their luck managing a tea plantation in Nyasaland, before moving to Cape Town after six months. They both obtained steady acting jobs in South Africa, initially in Cape Town, then Johannesburg, but returned to England in 1957.

He soon became a regular stage performer in England (i.a. for the Old Vic), for example creating the original “Juan Peron” in the Lloyd-Webber Evita. He also made numerous movies and by the 1990’s had become a well known face in many Hollywood and British films. Played a South African villain in Lethal Weapon 2.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

While in South Africa Ackland starred in a few local productions of plays, notably for Leonard Schach's Cockpit Players, (e.g. The Diary of Anne Frank , 1957), and Johannesburg Reps (e.g. Terence Rattigan's The Sleeping Prince, 1956).

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