Ian Bannen

Bannen was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, the son of lawyer John James Bannen (died 1958), of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, and Agnes Clare, née Galloway. After attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire, Bannen served in Egypt as a corporal in the British Army. His first acting role came in a 1947 Dublin stage production of Armlet of Jade. He became a successful figure on the London stage, making a name for himself in the plays of both Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill. He was an original member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on Broadway. Bannen's film debut was in the early 1950s with a small role in Pool of London (1951), and he quickly rose to prominence, primarily in a wide range of supporting roles. He had a very significant role as Stoker Samuel Bannister in Yangtse Incident. During the early stages of his career he worked with the Boulting Brothers on Private's Progress and Carlton-Browne of the F.O.. His performance as Crow in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Scottish actor to receive this honour; he also received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year – Actor. That same year, he starred alongside Sean Connery in the WWII prison drama The Hill. Director John Schlesinger cast him as a replacement for Alan Bates in the part of well-off homosexual doctor Daniel Hirsh in his controversial film Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), after Bates was deemed unavailable to shoot. According to screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt, Bannen never felt comfortable with the part. The anxiety adversely affected his performance during the early filming. Schlesinger replaced Bannen with Peter Finch, who received an Oscar nomination for the role. Bannen later regretted this, saying not taking the role had set back his career. In 1979 he played Jim Prideaux in the BBC adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.