Graham Crowden

While best known for portraying quirky and memorable characters for BBC series, Scottish character actor Graham Crowden began his professional acting career in the theater. One of his most notable achievements was joining the National Theater, an acting company founded by screen and stage icon Laurence Olivier, and playing the role of The Player King in the classic comedy "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." Crowden earned dozens of odd and colorful supporting roles in British television throughout the 1950s and 1960s until British New Wave film director Lindsay Anderson discovered his talent and cast Crowden as the History Master in his 1968 film, "If...." He went on to star in two more of Anderson's films: "O Lucky Man!," in which he played three separate roles, and the 1982 black comedy "Brittania Hospital," where he portrayed the maniacal surgeon Professor Millar. Part of Crowden's acting charm came with his ability to balance his career playing well-spoken, subdued gentlemen and psychotic, cringe-inducing miscreants. He found an opportunity to become a household name in 1974, when he was offered the role of the Fourth Doctor in the mega-hit BBC science fiction series "Doctor Who," but ultimately turned down the part by stating that he did not want to play a single character for three years. Not until 1990--and in his late 60's--did Crowden become a well-known face with his portrayal of mischievous retirement home resident Tom Ballard in the successful dramatic sitcom "Waiting for God."