CINEFILER

Kenneth Colley

Born
December 7, 1937
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Kenneth Colley (born 7 December 1937) is 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 The Life of Brian, having also appeared in the earlier Monty 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 in 1979. Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood movie Firefox, where he played a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley went on to play 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 1978 BBC television drama, Pennies from Heaven. He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. He currently lives at Hythe in Kent. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Return of the Jedi
(1983)
Admiral Piett
The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Admiral Piett
Life of Brian
(1979)
Jesus
Firefox
(1982)
Colonel Kontarsky
Performance
(1970)
Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
The Devils
(1971)
Legrand
Juggernaut
(1974)
Detective Brown
Brassed Off
(1996)
Greasley
Lisztomania
(1975)
Frederic Chopin
Jabberwocky
(1977)
1st Fanatic
Solomon & Sheba
(1995)
Nathan
Les Misérables
(1978)
Police Prefect
The Scarlet and the Black
(1983)
Capt. Hirsch
The Rainbow
(1989)
Mr. Brunt
I Hired a Contract Killer
(1990)
The Killer
Mahler
(1974)
Krenek
Full Filmography
Acting
Seventy Deadly Pills
(1963)
Covent Garden porter
Three Clear Sundays
(1965)
Nick
How I Won the War
(1967)
2nd Replacement
The Jokers
(1967)
De Winter
The Blood Beast Terror
(1968)
James
Dance of the Seven Veils
(1970)
Performance
(1970)
Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
The Music Lovers
(1971)
Modeste Tchaikovsky
The Devils
(1971)
Legrand
The Boy Friend
(1971)
King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)
The Triple Echo
(1972)
Provo Corporal
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
(1973)
Boldt
Juggernaut
(1974)
Detective Brown
Mahler
(1974)
Krenek
Lisztomania
(1975)
Frederic Chopin
Flame
(1975)
Tony Devlin
Jabberwocky
(1977)
1st Fanatic
Come the Revolution
(1977)
Bruce Tetley
One Bummer News Day
(1978)
Frank Benyon
Les Misérables
(1978)
Police Prefect
Life of Brian
(1979)
Jesus
Measure for Measure
(1979)
Duke Vincentio
The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Admiral Piett
Firefox
(1982)
Colonel Kontarsky
Giro City
(1982)
Martin
I Remember Nelson
(1982)
Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
The Scarlet and the Black
(1983)
Capt. Hirsch
Return of the Jedi
(1983)
Admiral Piett
Return to Waterloo
(1984)
The Traveller
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
(1985)
Adolph Eichmann
The Whistle Blower
(1986)
Bill Pickett
Casanova
(1987)
Le Duc
A Summer Story
(1988)
Jim
The Rainbow
(1989)
Mr. Brunt
A Master of the Marionettes
(1989)
Inspector Tennyson
I Hired a Contract Killer
(1990)
The Killer
The Plot to Kill Hitler
(1990)
Wilhelm Keitel
The Last Island
(1990)
Nick
Kremlin Farewell
(1990)
Sergej
Prisoner of Honor
(1991)
Capt. Dreyfus
La Vie de Bohème
(1992)
Street Sweeper
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
(1992)
John Ireland
Unnatural Causes
(1993)
Inspector Gerry Reckless
Solomon & Sheba
(1995)
Nathan
Brassed Off
(1996)
Greasley
Robert Rylands' Last Journey
(1996)
Archdale
Shadow Run
(1998)
Larcombe
Hold Back the Night
(1999)
Uncle Bob
Like Father Like Son
(2005)
Rawsthorne
Greetings
(2007)
Ken
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
(2012)
Admiral Piett (voice)
Scar Tissue
(2013)
Weaver
Directing
Writing
Production
Data provided by TMDB