Ian McNeice is an English actor. He rose to prominence in the 1985 television series Edge of Darkness, playing government agent Harcourt. He then appeared in films such as The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and Frank Herbert's Dune.
Ian McNeice was born on October 2, 1950, in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Ian was interested in theatrics and acting from a very early age. He was sent to Taunton School in Somerset to learn the art of acting. Later, he went to Salisbury Playhouse to be an Acting Assistant Stage Manager, where he spent two years before moving to the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.
Owing to the fine development of his craft, he spent the next few years doing theaters. He eventually went on to become a part of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. His last Broadway was the much-acclaimed Nicholas Nickleby.
Ian McNeice moved to the small screen where his breakthrough role was of Agent Harcourt in the BBC's cult classic miniseries Edge of Darkness (1985). He went on to appear in a lot of miniseries and movies in the next few years. Notable work was portraying the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune (2000), followed by its sequel Children of Dune (2003). He was pretty successful in dabbling from comedy to antagonist characters.
He had roles in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain (1995). He played Fulton in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and played the role of Mayhew in A Life Less Ordinary (2007). He achieved popularity in the TV circuit with his role as Bert Large in the seven series of Doc Martin.
He has also appeared in the joint production of HBO and BBC titled Rome as the Newsreader. He also successfully played the role of a Nazi called Gerhard Klopfer in Conspiracy, produced by the same joint production. His recent performance was that of playing Winston Churchill in the popular series of Doctor Who. Ian also played the role of Churchill in the play Never So Good & in the award-winning play, The King's Speech.
Ian has appeared in several movies, including Top Secret!, 84 Charing Cross Road, Personal Services, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, A Perfect Spy, Whoops Apocalypse, Valmont, The Ragged Rawney, The Russia House, Year Of the Comet, Funny Bones, Pie In The Sky & Secret Friends.
His notable appearances include Prince of Wales in 1871, Horace Gilbert in B &B & as a King in No Escape. He further starred in Around The World in 80 Days, the thriller White Noise & Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and did a cameo in Valkyrie as a German General. As a voice actor, he gave voice to Kwaltz in The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy.
Ian is married to Katie Nicholls. They ended up with three children named Maisie McNeice, Angus McNeice, and Travers McNeice.
While playing the role of Bert Large, a chubby character in Doc Martin, Ian gained a considerable amount of weight. He was alarmed when he realized that his career and personal life were at stake due to his increasing weight. Ian then took it seriously to lose weight. However, he candidly admitted that his weight loss wasn't particularly effective during the shoot. Ian has also made a documentary on his Weight Loss.
| Birth Date: | 2 Oct, 1950 |
| Age: | 69 yrs |
| Occupations: | Stage actor Film actor Actor Television actor |
| Citizenship: | United Kingdom |
| Birth Place: | Basingstoke |
| Education: | Taunton School |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | British actor |
| Twitter Id: | Ianmcneice1950 |
| Net Worth 2021: | 11 million |
