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Kenneth Colley

Kenneth Colley

Acting December 7, 1937 (87 years old) June 30, 2025 Manchester, England, UK

Biography

Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was 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 Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier 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 (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed 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 BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies 58

The Empire Strikes Back 8.4

The Empire Strikes Back

as Admiral Piett

1980
Return of the Jedi 7.9

Return of the Jedi

as Admiral Piett

1983
The Devils 7.5

The Devils

as Legrand

1971
Life of Brian 7.8

Life of Brian

as Jesus

1979
Firefox 6.1

Firefox

as Colonel Kontarsky

1982
Brassed Off 7.0

Brassed Off

as Greasley

1996
Juggernaut 6.3

Juggernaut

as Detective Brown

1974
The Scarlet and the Black 7.1

The Scarlet and the Black

as Capt. Hirsch

1983
Performance. 6.8

Performance.

as Tony Farrell

1970
Jabberwocky 6.0

Jabberwocky

as 1st Fanatic

1977
Hitler: The Last Ten Days 6.2

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

as Boldt

1973
La Vie de Bohème 7.5

La Vie de Bohème

as Street Sweeper

1992
How I Won the War 5.7

How I Won the War

as 2nd Replacement

1967
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out 6.5

LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

as Admiral Piett (voice)

2012
I Hired a Contract Killer 6.9

I Hired a Contract Killer

as The Killer

1990
Les Misérables 7.1

Les Misérables

as Police Prefect

1978
Casanova 4.1

Casanova

as Le Duc

1987
The Blood Beast Terror 5.5

The Blood Beast Terror

as James

1968
The Rainbow 5.7

The Rainbow

as Mr. Brunt

1989
Like Father Like Son 6.3

Like Father Like Son

as Rawsthorne

2005
Lisztomania 6.0

Lisztomania

as Frederic Chopin

1975
The Plot to Kill Hitler 6.2

The Plot to Kill Hitler

as Wilhelm Keitel

1990
The Music Lovers 6.5

The Music Lovers

as Modeste Tchaikovsky

1971
The Boy Friend 6.4

The Boy Friend

as King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)

1971
The Whistle Blower 5.8

The Whistle Blower

as Bill Pickett

1986
A Summer Story 6.1

A Summer Story

as Jim

1988
Prisoner of Honor 6.1

Prisoner of Honor

as Capt. Dreyfus

1991
Solomon & Sheba 7.0

Solomon & Sheba

as Nathan

1995
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite 8.5

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

as Robber

1977
The Jokers 6.2

The Jokers

as De Winter

1967
A Master of the Marionettes

A Master of the Marionettes

as Inspector Tennyson

1989
The Last Island 6.0

The Last Island

as Nick

1990
Mahler 6.8

Mahler

as Krenek

1974
The Chester Mystery Plays

The Chester Mystery Plays

1976
Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

Dan Hawk Psychic Detective

as Thaddeus Moncrief

2025
The Triple Echo 5.8

The Triple Echo

as Provo Corporal

1972
Unnatural Causes 6.8

Unnatural Causes

as Inspector Gerry Reckless

1993
Flame 7.3

Flame

as Tony Devlin

1975
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax 6.3

The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

as John Ireland

1992
Three Days in Szczecin

Three Days in Szczecin

as Edmund Bałuka

1976
Return to Waterloo 6.8

Return to Waterloo

as The Traveller

1984
Hold Back the Night 5.0

Hold Back the Night

as Uncle Bob

1999
Robert Rylands' Last Journey 6.3

Robert Rylands' Last Journey

as Archdale

1996
Scar Tissue 5.2

Scar Tissue

as Weaver

2013
Macbeth

Macbeth

as Macbeth's servant

1966
Dance of the Seven Veils 8.3

Dance of the Seven Veils

1970
Cause of Death

Cause of Death

as Dr. Emil Justin

1968
The Danedyke Mystery

The Danedyke Mystery

as The Major

1979
Seventy Deadly Pills 7.5

Seventy Deadly Pills

as Covent Garden porter

1963
One Bummer News Day

One Bummer News Day

as Frank Benyon

1978
Shadow Run 4.2

Shadow Run

as Larcombe

1998
Kremlin Farewell 8.0

Kremlin Farewell

as Sergej

1990
Who Pays?

Who Pays?

as Corbett

1968
Greetings 1.0

Greetings

as Ken

2007
Measure for Measure 5.9

Measure for Measure

as Duke Vincentio

1979
Giro City 5.6

Giro City

as Martin

1982
Three Clear Sundays 6.0

Three Clear Sundays

as Nick

1965
Come the Revolution 10.0

Come the Revolution

as Bruce Tetley

1977

TV Shows 70

Midsomer Murders 7.5

Midsomer Murders

as Lloyd Kirby

1997
Peaky Blinders 8.5

Peaky Blinders

as Vicente Changretta

2013
Agatha Christie's Poirot 8.2

Agatha Christie's Poirot

as Mathew Davenheim

1989
Casualty 6.2

Casualty

as Paddy

1986
Casualty 6.2

Casualty

as Clifford Watkins

1986
Casualty 6.2

Casualty

as Arthur Cobb

1986
Heartbeat 7.1

Heartbeat

as Clive Harris

1992
The Avengers 7.8

The Avengers

1961
Vera 7.4

Vera

as Ronald Devreux

2011
Crown Court 5.7

Crown Court

as Stanley Meredith

1972
Play for Today 6.6

Play for Today

as Bruce Tetley

1970
Play for Today 6.6

Play for Today

as Frank Benyon

1970
The Institute 7.5

The Institute

as Gate Guard #5

2025
Minder 7.2

Minder

as Ron

1979
Omnibus 7.2

Omnibus

as Hitler

1967
BBC Play of the Month 5.2

BBC Play of the Month

as Yolinichev

1965
Peak Practice 6.5

Peak Practice

as Stan Jordan

1993
The Wednesday Play 5.2

The Wednesday Play

as Bethold Florenberg

1964
New Tricks 7.3

New Tricks

2004
Relic Hunter 6.8

Relic Hunter

as Professor Lamenza

1999
Screen Two 7.1

Screen Two

as Sergej

1985
No Hiding Place 4.8

No Hiding Place

1959
Foyle's War 7.9

Foyle's War

as Brian Jones

2002
Thirty-Minute Theatre 4.2

Thirty-Minute Theatre

as Paddy

1965
Thirty-Minute Theatre 4.2

Thirty-Minute Theatre

as Dr. Emil Justin

1965
Thirty-Minute Theatre 4.2

Thirty-Minute Theatre

as Adolf Hitler

1965
Thirty-Minute Theatre 4.2

Thirty-Minute Theatre

as Charles I

1965
Inspector Morse 7.9

Inspector Morse

as DCI Patrick Dawson

1987
Misfits 7.6

Misfits

as Old Rudy

2009
The Sweeney 8.1

The Sweeney

as Noah Riley

1975
Churchill's People 5.0

Churchill's People

as Ancient Beau

1974
The Protectors 6.1

The Protectors

as Devlin

1972
Wycliffe 6.8

Wycliffe

as Sam Peploe

1994
The BBC Television Shakespeare 6.0

The BBC Television Shakespeare

as Duke Vincentio

1978
The Expert 9.0

The Expert

as Foreman

1968
The Expert 9.0

The Expert

as Munt

1968
Between the Lines 5.5

Between the Lines

as Chief Supt. Tattersall

1992
New Scotland Yard 6.3

New Scotland Yard

as Peter Elliot

1972
War and Remembrance 7.8

War and Remembrance

as Paul Blobel

1988
The Play on One 6.0

The Play on One

as DI Tennyson

1988
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes 7.5

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

as Farrish

1971
Fall of Eagles 7.0

Fall of Eagles

as Father Gapon

1974
The Kenny Everett Television Show 7.3

The Kenny Everett Television Show

as Self

1982
Target 7.0

Target

as Jessal

1977
Redcap 8.0

Redcap

as Private Bolt

1964
Always and Everyone 9.5

Always and Everyone

as Joseph

1999
Dickens of London 7.3

Dickens of London

as Robert Seymour

1976
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers 8.0

The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

as Chief Inspector Heat

1988
The Informer

The Informer

as Slater

1966
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island 8.8

John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

as Ben Gunn

1986
Ripping Yarns 7.7

Ripping Yarns

as Robber

1976
The Queen 7.0

The Queen

2009
It's Dark Outside

It's Dark Outside

as Hammond

1964
Armchair Theatre 6.0

Armchair Theatre

as Jimmy

1956
Pennies from Heaven 7.6

Pennies from Heaven

as The Accordion Man

1978
Black and Blue 6.5

Black and Blue

as Schultz

1973
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries 7.3

The Mrs Bradley Mysteries

as Archie Burlington

1998
Mussolini: The Untold Story 5.3

Mussolini: The Untold Story

as King Vittorio Emmanuele

1985
Peter and Paul 7.2

Peter and Paul

as Theodotus

1981
The Last Train 7.3

The Last Train

1999
Dear Mother... ...Love Albert 5.5

Dear Mother... ...Love Albert

1969
City '68

City '68

as Corbett

1967
The Love School

The Love School

as Edward Burne-Jones

1975
Judge Dee 5.0

Judge Dee

1969
Moving Story 9.0

Moving Story

as Ken Uttley

1994
I Remember Nelson 4.6

I Remember Nelson

as ice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson

1982
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story 6.4

Wallenberg: A Hero's Story

as Adolf Eichmann

1985
Function Room

Function Room

1985
The Royal 7.8

The Royal

as Bernard Hussey

2003
When Reason Sleeps

When Reason Sleeps

as James Bentik

1987

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