William Squire
Known for

Acting

Credits

44

Gender

Man

Birthday

29 Apr 1916

Day of death

3 May 1989 (73)

Place of birth

Neath - Glamorgan - Wales - UK

Also known as
William Arthur Squire

William Squire

Biography

William Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television. Squire was born in Neath, South Wales, the son of William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman). As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. One of his first film appearances was in the 1956 film Alexander the Great, which starred Burton in the title role. His varied screen roles included Thomas More in the 1969 film version of Maxwell Anderson's play Anne of the Thousand Days, Sir Daniel Brackley in the 1972 television adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow, the voice of Gandalf in the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings and the Shadow in the 1979 Doctor Whoserial The Armageddon Factor. Perhaps his best-known role was as Hunter, the superior of secret agent David Callan in the spy series Callan in the early 1970s; Squire took over the role from Derek Bond. In a set of Encyclopædia Britannica-produced educational films about William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Squire played the role of Macbeth. This was in keeping with his long career as a Shakespearean actor, which included roles in the classic 1960s TV series, An Age of Kings.

Known for
Acting roles
YearMovie / TV show / OtherRole
2016Callan: This Man AloneHimself (archive)
1988TestimonyKhatchaturyan
1988In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard BurtonSelf
1984PucciniGiacchi, the Doctor
1982Marco PoloLocandiere
1982The Hound of the BaskervillesFrankland
1982The Ghost DownstairsNarrator
1981The Life and Times of David Lloyd GeorgeDr Clifford
1979Doctor Who: The Armageddon FactorThe Shadow
1978The Lord of the RingsGandalf (voice)
1978Blake's 7Kommissar
1978All Creatures Great and SmallRoderick Perowne
1978The Thirty Nine StepsHarkness
1978Les MisérablesMagistrate
1977The Portable PhonographThe Actor
1976The XYY Man
1976BuffetArnold
1975Rumpole of the Bailey
1975SnookerHumphrey
1975The Venturers
1975Prometheus: The Life of Balzac
1975The VenturersSir George Fielding
1972The Black ArrowSir Daniel Brackley
1972The Black ArrowThe Stranger
1971Jason King
1969Anne of the Thousand DaysThomas More
1968Where Eagles DareThomas
1968The ChampionsDuncan
1968The Jazz Age
1967A Challenge for Robin HoodSir John
1967Callan
1967CallanHunter
1965The Wars of the RosesDuke of Suffolk
1963Doctor WhoThe Shadow
1960An Age of Kings
1958DunkirkCaptain (uncredited)
1958Innocent SinnersFather Lambert
1958Pride and PrejudiceMr. Bingley
1957The Film That Never Was
1956Alexander the GreatAeschenes
1956The Man Who Never WasLt. Jewell
1956The Battle of the River PlateRay Martin
1955The Adventures of Robin HoodVef
1951The Long Dark HallSergeant Cochcran