Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving. He is also known for his tour-de-force with Anthony Quinn, Zorba the Greek, as well as his roles in King of Hearts, Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, and The Fixer, which gave him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1969, he starred in the Ken Russell film Women in Love with Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson. Bates went on to star in The Go-Between, An Unmarried Woman, Nijinsky, and The Rose with Bette Midler, as well as playing varied roles in television drama, including The Mayor of Casterbridge, Harold Pinter's The Collection, A Voyage Round My Father, An Englishman Abroad (as Guy Burgess), and Pack of Lies. He also continued to appear on the stage, notably in the plays of Simon Gray, such as Butley and Otherwise Engaged.
Filmography (102 titles)
10.0MovieLove Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders
Archive · 2025
5.8MovieShuttlecock: Sins of a Father
Major James Prentis (archival footage) · 2020
6.8MovieNothing Like a Dame
Self (archive footage) (uncredited) · 2018
7.5MovieDiscovering Hamlet
Claudius (archive footage) · 2011
7.2ShowThe Graham Norton Show
Self · 2007
7.0ShowSpartacus
Antonius Agrippa · 2004
6.7MovieSpartacus
Antonius Agrippa · 2004
5.1MovieHollywood North
Michael Baytes · 2004
5.7MovieThe Statement
Armand Bertier · 2003
7.0MovieMeanwhile
Father Peter · 2003
8.0MovieCelebrity Naked Ambition
Self (archive footage) · 2003
5.0ShowSalem Witch Trials
Sir William Phips · 2003
6.4MovieEvelyn
Thomas Connolly · 2002
5.3MovieThe Making of Gosford Park
Self · 2002
6.4MovieBertie and Elizabeth
King George V · 2002
6.4MovieThe Sum of All Fears
Dressler · 2002
6.2MovieThe Mothman Prophecies
Alexander Leek · 2002
6.8MovieGosford Park
Jennings · 2001
7.9ShowLove in a Cold Climate
Uncle Matthew · 2001
7.0MovieAnthony Quinn: The Final Words
Self · 2001
6.4MovieThe Prince and the Pauper
Re Enrico VIII · 2000
6.4ShowIn the Beginning
Jethro · 2000
6.8ShowArabian Nights
Storyteller · 2000
5.8MovieSt. Patrick: The Irish Legend
Calpornius · 2000
5.0MovieThe Cherry Orchard
Gayev · 1999
5.0MovieNicholas’ Gift
Reg Green · 1998
5.4MovieThe Grotesque
Sir Hugo Coal · 1995
6.0ShowOliver's Travels
Oliver · 1995
7.7MovieHard Times
Josiah Bounderby · 1994
ShowHard Times
Josiah Bounderby · 1994