Who is Donald Sumpter? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In February

Age: 81 Years, 81 Year Old Males

Born Country: England

Actors British Men

Height: 5'9" (175 cm), 5'9" Males

City: Northamptonshire, England

More Facts

awards: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

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Career

Like many other English actors, Donald Sumpter began his career on stage. He first captured the audience’s attention in a Nottingham Playhouse production of ‘Julius Caesar’ (1966). In 1967, he made his TV debut in an episode of ‘Softly Softly’. In 1968, after acting in an episode of ‘Sanctuary’, Sumpter made his first movie appearance in the adventure movie ‘The Lost Continent’ and followed it with the short film ‘The Window Cleaner’. In the next few years, he struggled to land substantial roles in movies.

In the ensuing years, he became a regular face on TV. This can be attributed to his praiseworthy performances in TV series like ‘Special Project Air’ and ‘The First Churchills’ in 1969 and ‘The Wednesday Play’ (1966-70). Donald Sumpter’s first major break on TV came in ‘Doctor Who’. He portrayed the characters of Enrico Casali and Commander Ridgeway from 1968 to 1972 in several episodes of the British sci-fi series. He also had small roles in movies like ‘Night After Night After Night’ (1969) and ‘Bleak Moments’ (1971), and a recurring role in the series ‘Hadleigh’ (1973).

Donald Sumpter continued to appear on several critically acclaimed TV shows like ‘The Fight Against Slavery’ (1975) and ‘The Children of the New Forest’ (1977). In 1977, he was cast in the lead role of serial killer Dennis Nielsen in the movie ‘The Black Panther’. The movie generated positive response from the critics and established him as a leading star. The film ‘Meetings with Remarkable Men’ (1979) also earned him praise for his performance. He then went on to have recurring roles in top-rated TV shows like ‘The Rose Medallion’ (1981), ‘The Brack Report’ (1982), and ‘No Excuses’ (1983). He also co-starred in the movie ‘Curse of the Pink Panther’ (1983); the movie was one of the year’s biggest critical and commercial failures!

In 1984, he returned to the stage with a role in the play ‘An Honorable Trade’. Then in 1985, Donald Sumpter was seen in the BBC series ‘Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House’. He followed that up with equally noteworthy performances in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s productions of ‘Twelfth Night’ in 1987 and 1988. His best performances during the period were in the movie ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’ (1990) and the series ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ (1992).

His string of successes continued with the TV series ‘The Queen’s Nose’ (1995-2000) and ‘Bombay Blue’ (1997), and the TV movie ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ (2001). Donald Sumpter was then cast as Tim Donohue in ‘The Constant Gardener’ (2005). It was a commercial success, grossing more than US $82 million at the box office. It was also nominated for four ‘Academy Awards’ and ten ‘BAFTA Awards.’

In the 2000s, he gave captivating performances in shows like ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ (2008), ‘Being Human’ (2009-10), and ‘Black Mirror’ (2011). In 2011, he co-starred in the crime-thriller ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. The blockbuster movie made more than US $232.6 million at the box office. The same year, he also landed his most famous role to date. He was cast as Maester Luwin in the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-12). In 2015, he was seen in the film ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ and the TV series ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. His more recent notable roles have been in the projects ‘Peaky Blinders’ (2017), ‘Les Misérables’ (2018), and ‘Chernobyl’ (2019).

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Family & Personal Life

Donald Sumpter was born on February 13, 1943, in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, the United Kingdom. Not much is known about his parents or siblings (if any) as he has not revealed such details to the media. He is an extremely private person and no verified information about his marital status is available.

Donald Sumpter Biography