John Shrapnel

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

122

Gender

Male

Birthday

1942-04-27

Day of death

2020-02-14 (77 years old)

Place of Birth

Birmingham, England, UK

John Shrapnel

Biography

Shrapnel was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Mary Lillian Myfanwy (née Edwards) and journalist/author Norman Shrapnel.[1] As a stage actor, he was a member of Laurence Olivier's Royal National Theatre company and the Royal Shakespeare Company and most recently appeared as Sir Oliver Surface in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre in 2011. He has also appeared extensively in film and on television in roles in Elizabeth R, Z-Cars, Edward and Mrs. Simpson, 101 Dalmatians, Space: 1999, Inspector Morse, Coogan's Run, Notting Hill and Foyle's War. He presented an episode of the 1983 BBC television travel series Great Little Railways. He gave performances in three entries in the BBC Television Shakespeare plays and as Creon in the BBC's 1984 productions of the Three Theban plays of Sophocles. In America, he has starred in supporting roles as Senator Gaius in Gladiator, Nestor in Troy and Pompey in the second episode of Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. He also played the Jail Warden in the 10th Kingdom, an epic fantasy miniseries. He has the rare achievement of appearing in two episodes of Midsomer Murders as two different characters, in Death in Chorus and Written in Blood. Shrapnel appeared in an episode of Jonathan Creek as Professor Lance Graumann in the episode The Omega Man. He appears in Chemical Wedding alongside Simon Callow, telling the tale of the resurrection of occultist Aleister Crowley. Shrapnel also has experience in the field of BBC radio drama through such characters as Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and William Gibson's Neuromancer. He is the son-in-law of Deborah Kerr through his 1975 marriage to her younger daughter Francesca Ann Bartley. They have three sons, the actors Lex Shrapnel (b.1979), Tom Shrapnel (b.1981) and the writer Joe Shrapnel (b.1976). They live in Highbury, north London.

Known For

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

  • Merlin

    Merlin

  • Gladiator

    Gladiator

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Waking the Dead

    Waking the Dead

  • Foyle's War

    Foyle's War

  • Natural World

    Natural World

  • New Tricks

    New Tricks

  • Troy

    Troy

  • The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

    The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

  • Space: 1999

    Space: 1999

  • Wycliffe

    Wycliffe

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Notting Hill

    Notting Hill

  • Jonathan Creek

    Jonathan Creek

  • 101 Dalmatians

    101 Dalmatians

  • BBC2 Play of the Week

    BBC2 Play of the Week

  • BBC2 Play of the Week

    BBC2 Play of the Week

  • Mirrors

    Mirrors

  • Justice

    Justice

  • Between the Lines

    Between the Lines

  • Between the Lines

    Between the Lines

  • The Chief

    The Chief

  • Kavanagh Q.C.

    Kavanagh Q.C.

  • The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

    The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age

    Elizabeth: The Golden Age

  • National Theatre Live: Phèdre

    National Theatre Live: Phèdre

  • Hamlet Within

    Hamlet Within

  • I Am Not an Animal

    I Am Not an Animal

  • The Duchess

    The Duchess

  • Animals of the Ocean Desert

    Animals of the Ocean Desert

  • How to Get Ahead in Advertising

    How to Get Ahead in Advertising

  • National Theatre Live: Macbeth

    National Theatre Live: Macbeth

  • Testimony

    Testimony

  • Theban Plays: Antigone

    Theban Plays: Antigone

  • The Race for Everest

    The Race for Everest

  • Chemical Wedding

    Chemical Wedding

  • SS-3: The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

    SS-3: The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

  • The 10th Kingdom

    The 10th Kingdom

  • Fatherland

    Fatherland

  • Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

    Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

  • Mary, Mother of Jesus

    Mary, Mother of Jesus

  • Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt

    Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt

  • OXI, an Act of Resistance

    OXI, an Act of Resistance

  • Hamlet

    Hamlet

  • Elizabeth R

    Elizabeth R

  • King Lear

    King Lear

  • The Three Hostages

    The Three Hostages

  • The Gentleman Thief

    The Gentleman Thief

  • Alien Autopsy

    Alien Autopsy

  • Once Upon a Time on the Westway

    Once Upon a Time on the Westway

  • Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

    Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

  • King Lear

    King Lear

  • Claim

    Claim

  • Armchair Thriller

    Armchair Thriller

  • Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

    Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

  • The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka

    The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka

  • Nicholas and Alexandra

    Nicholas and Alexandra

  • The Body

    The Body

  • The Awakening

    The Awakening

  • Poppyland

    Poppyland

  • G.B.H.

    G.B.H.

  • Mr. Palfrey of Westminster

    Mr. Palfrey of Westminster

  • Edward and Mrs Simpson

    Edward and Mrs Simpson

  • It's Called the Sugar Plum

    It's Called the Sugar Plum

  • K-19: The Widowmaker

    K-19: The Widowmaker

  • Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece

    Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece

  • Hamlet

    Hamlet

  • Apparitions

    Apparitions

  • Invasion: Earth

    Invasion: Earth

  • Hamlet

    Hamlet

  • Shadow of the Sword

    Shadow of the Sword

  • Edward & Mrs. Simpson

    Edward & Mrs. Simpson

  • Hitting Town

    Hitting Town

  • An Organization of Dreams

    An Organization of Dreams

  • Professional Foul

    Professional Foul

  • Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies

    Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies

  • Wachau - Valley of Golden Magic

    Wachau - Valley of Golden Magic

  • Troilus & Cressida

    Troilus & Cressida

  • Alone

    Alone

  • Vanity Fair

    Vanity Fair

  • The Burston Rebellion

    The Burston Rebellion

  • Partition

    Partition

  • Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters

    Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters

  • Whistle

    Whistle

  • Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome

    Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome

  • The Ha-Ha

    The Ha-Ha

  • Lion Queen

    Lion Queen

  • Supermassive Black Holes

    Supermassive Black Holes

  • Building Burma's Death Railway: Moving Half the Mountain

    Building Burma's Death Railway: Moving Half the Mountain

  • Bodyguards

    Bodyguards

  • The Woman in White

    The Woman in White

  • St. Stephen's: The Living Cathedral

    St. Stephen's: The Living Cathedral

  • Schönbrunn - Well of Beauty

    Schönbrunn - Well of Beauty

  • Hennessy

    Hennessy

  • Personal Services

    Personal Services

  • About Face

    About Face

  • King Arthur: His Life and Legends

    King Arthur: His Life and Legends

  • Wild Women of Viramba

    Wild Women of Viramba

  • Centrepoint

    Centrepoint

  • Timon of Athens

    Timon of Athens

  • Two Deaths

    Two Deaths

  • Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus

    Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus

  • Mountain Men: The Ghosts of K2

    Mountain Men: The Ghosts of K2

  • Run.

    Run.

  • Flayed

    Flayed

  • The Tom Machine

    The Tom Machine

  • Predators Killing for a Living

    Predators Killing for a Living

  • True Tilda

    True Tilda

  • Theban Plays: Oedipus the King

    Theban Plays: Oedipus the King

  • Britain's Nuclear Bomb - The Inside Story

    Britain's Nuclear Bomb - The Inside Story

  • Gossip from the Forest

    Gossip from the Forest

  • The Lions Rule

    The Lions Rule

  • The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story

    The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story

  • The Return of the Flying Scotsman

    The Return of the Flying Scotsman

  • King Charles III

    King Charles III

  • Selling Hitler

    Selling Hitler

  • Pope Joan

    Pope Joan

  • England, My England

    England, My England

  • The Victim

    The Victim