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Paul Copley

Paul Copley

Birthday: 1944-11-25 | Place of Birth: Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Paul is a long established and much respected British actor and voiceover artist. Born in Denby Dale, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 25th November 1944 he grew up beside a dairy farm. His father, Harold, was involved with local amateur dramatic productions, as were the rest of his family. He went to Penistone Grammar School, then the Northern Counties College of Education in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he received an Associate of the Drama Board (ADB) in Drama. He taught English and Drama in Walthamstow, before he joined the Leeds Playhouse Theatre-in-education Company in 1971. In 1976, Paul won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for his role in John Wilson's For King and Country. With many and varied roles to follow, Paul soon established himself as one of the UK's leading stage, film, television and radio actors. In 2011-2015 Paul gained worldwide recognition appearing in 16 episodes of the hugely popular television series Downton Abbey playing the popular role of farmer Mr Mason. Paul is married to the actress Natasha Pyne. They married in 1972, after both performing in a Leeds Playhouse production of Frank Wedekind's Lulu, adapted by Peter Barnes, directed by Bill Hays in 1971.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2015
Code of a Killer

as    Sidney Jeffreys

2006
Johnny and the Bomb

as    Sgt. Bourke

2003
Hornblower: Duty

as    Matthews

2003
Hornblower: Loyalty

as    Matthews

2003
How Clean Is Your House?

as    Self - Narrator (voice)

2001
Hornblower: Mutiny

as    Mathews

1999
1998
Hornblower: The Even Chance

as    Matthews

1998
Hornblower

as    Matthews

1997
The Lakes

as    Peter Quinlan

1996
Jude

as    Mr. Willis

1994
Roughnecks

as    Ian

1980
Death of a Princess

as    Steve Jackson

1977
A Christmas Carol

as    Fred (Scrooge's Nephew)