Kenneth Colley

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

112

Gender

Male

Birthday

1937-12-07

Day of death

2025-06-30 (87 years old)

Place of Birth

Manchester, England, UK

Kenneth Colley

Biography

Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing". According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Peaky Blinders

    Peaky Blinders

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot

    Agatha Christie's Poirot

  • Vera

    Vera

  • Foyle's War

    Foyle's War

  • Minder

    Minder

  • Heartbeat

    Heartbeat

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Casualty

    Casualty

  • Inspector Morse

    Inspector Morse

  • The Avengers

    The Avengers

  • Peak Practice

    Peak Practice

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • Relic Hunter

    Relic Hunter

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • New Tricks

    New Tricks

  • Misfits

    Misfits

  • The Sweeney

    The Sweeney

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Crown Court

    Crown Court

  • The Institute

    The Institute

  • Juggernaut

    Juggernaut

  • Lisztomania

    Lisztomania

  • Return of the Jedi

    Return of the Jedi

  • The Empire Strikes Back

    The Empire Strikes Back

  • Wycliffe

    Wycliffe

  • No Hiding Place

    No Hiding Place

  • The Wednesday Play

    The Wednesday Play

  • The Wednesday Play

    The Wednesday Play

  • Jabberwocky

    Jabberwocky

  • Seventy Deadly Pills

    Seventy Deadly Pills

  • Thirty-Minute Theatre

    Thirty-Minute Theatre

  • Life of Brian

    Life of Brian

  • Mahler

    Mahler

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • The Expert

    The Expert

  • Between the Lines

    Between the Lines

  • The Protectors

    The Protectors

  • The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

    The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

  • The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

    The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

  • Casanova

    Casanova

  • Solomon & Sheba

    Solomon & Sheba

  • The Boy Friend

    The Boy Friend

  • Fall of Eagles

    Fall of Eagles

  • Target

    Target

  • Giro City

    Giro City

  • Firefox

    Firefox

  • The Last Island

    The Last Island

  • Brassed Off

    Brassed Off

  • The Informer

    The Informer

  • The Kenny Everett Television Show

    The Kenny Everett Television Show

  • Churchill's People

    Churchill's People

  • Mussolini: The Untold Story

    Mussolini: The Untold Story

  • The Music Lovers

    The Music Lovers

  • The Devils

    The Devils

  • The Queen

    The Queen

  • Dickens of London

    Dickens of London

  • John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

    John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

  • Peter and Paul

    Peter and Paul

  • Black and Blue

    Black and Blue

  • Ripping Yarns

    Ripping Yarns

  • The Love School

    The Love School

  • Pennies from Heaven

    Pennies from Heaven

  • The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

    The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

  • Always and Everyone

    Always and Everyone

  • Les Misérables

    Les Misérables

  • I Hired a Contract Killer

    I Hired a Contract Killer

  • Judge Dee

    Judge Dee

  • The Scarlet and the Black

    The Scarlet and the Black

  • The Rainbow

    The Rainbow

  • Performance

    Performance

  • Greetings

    Greetings

  • How I Won the War

    How I Won the War

  • LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

    LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

  • La Vie de Bohème

    La Vie de Bohème

  • It's Dark Outside

    It's Dark Outside

  • The Last Train

    The Last Train

  • The Whistle Blower

    The Whistle Blower

  • Hitler: The Last Ten Days

    Hitler: The Last Ten Days

  • Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

    Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

  • Flame

    Flame

  • The Plot to Kill Hitler

    The Plot to Kill Hitler

  • The Royal

    The Royal

  • A Summer Story

    A Summer Story

  • The Blood Beast Terror

    The Blood Beast Terror

  • Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

    Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

  • Prisoner of Honor

    Prisoner of Honor

  • Return to Waterloo

    Return to Waterloo

  • Kremlin Farewell

    Kremlin Farewell

  • Shadow Run

    Shadow Run

  • The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

    The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

  • The Jokers

    The Jokers

  • The Triple Echo

    The Triple Echo

  • Unnatural Causes

    Unnatural Causes

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

    The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

  • A Master of the Marionettes

    A Master of the Marionettes

  • Like Father Like Son

    Like Father Like Son

  • The Danedyke Mystery

    The Danedyke Mystery

  • Three Clear Sundays

    Three Clear Sundays

  • Hold Back the Night

    Hold Back the Night

  • I Remember Nelson

    I Remember Nelson

  • Scar Tissue

    Scar Tissue

  • Robert Rylands' Last Journey

    Robert Rylands' Last Journey

  • Measure for Measure

    Measure for Measure

  • Come the Revolution

    Come the Revolution

  • Who Pays?

    Who Pays?

  • Dance of the Seven Veils

    Dance of the Seven Veils

  • One Bummer News Day

    One Bummer News Day

  • Three Days in Szczecin

    Three Days in Szczecin