- Born
- Birth nameStuart Conan Wilson
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Stuart Wilson was born in Guildford, Surrey in England, on December 25th, 1946. He went to thirteen different schools, as his father served in the Royal Air Force and travelled around the world. After the RAF, his father worked as an engineer in the copper mines in Rhodesia. Stuart moved to London in the mid-sixties and trained at RADA. After RADA, he began working in repertory in Liverpool and at the RSC. His career took off when he played "Johann Strauss, Jr." in the The Strauss Family (1972), in which his character aged from 14 to 74. He continued to have a successful television career, playing various roles, including "Vronsky" in Anna Karenina (1977) and "Major Jimmy Clarke" in The Jewel in the Crown (1984). In the late 1980s, Stuart moved to Hollywood, where he landed roles in The Age of Innocence (1993) with Martin Scorsese, Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and Roman Polanski's Death and the Maiden (1994). Stuart Wilson occasionally returns to the London stage and, in 2002, played "Antony" in "Antony and Cleopatra" at the RSC.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Dianne Martin
- After leaving the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the winter of 1969, Stuart Wilson worked extensively in British theatre during the 1970s and '80s, performing major roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, London's Royal Court Theatre, London's West End, regional, touring and many fringe productions, most particularly at London's Bush Theatre.
During this same period, he also appeared in numerous episodic TV productions, TV movies and TV mini-series, including leading and starring roles in classic series, such as The Strauss Family (1972), The Song of Songs (1973), Anna Karenina (1977), The Pallisers (1974), I, Claudius (1976), The Old Men at the Zoo (1983), The Jewel in the Crown (1984), "Prime Suspect", amongst many others.
In 1990, he landed the role of villain "Jack Travis" in Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), which marked a major shift away from TV roles and into features. Leading parts followed during the '90s, in such high-profile movies as Death and the Maiden (1994), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Age of Innocence (1993), No Escape (1994), Enemy of the State (1998) and The Rock (1996), working for such major directors as Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, Martin Campbell, Tony Scott and Michael Bay.
In 2000, Stuart relocated back to the UK and further films followed, including Vertical Limit (2000), The Luzhin Defence (2000) and Hot Fuzz (2007), once again working for major directors, such as Martin Campbell, Marleen Gorris and Edgar Wright.
British and American TV also followed, including a recurring lead role in the highly successful BBC show, MI-5 (2002), and further major theatre work, including "Antony & Cleopatra", for the Royal Shakespeare Company in both Stratford and at London's Haymarket Theatre, in which he played "Antony".- IMDb Mini Biography By: Cicatrixgraphix
- SpouseCourtney Pledger(1990 - present) (separated, 3 children)
- ChildrenIndia WilsonLiam WilsonMiranda Wilson
- Grew up in Africa in the 60's in what was then the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Lived in the small copper-mining town of Luanshya in Northern Rhodesia but attended Peterhouse, the prestigious public school in Southern Rhodesia.
- Known to be a friendly and colorful person off screen, unlike some of the characters he's played.
- Before becoming an actor he worked as a stage hand at London's Prince of Wales Theatre during the West End run of a variety show entitled 'Way Out In Piccadilly' starring Frankie Howerd and Cilla Black.
- Worked for director Martin Campbell on three separate occasions - "Walter Merek" in No Escape (1994), "Royce Garrett" in Vertical Limit (2000) and "Don Raphael Montero" in The Mask of Zorro (1998) - and, in all three movies, his character was killed off by falling from a great height.
- First-ever stage appearance was in 1964 at a boarding school in Africa, in an outdoor production of "A Man For All Seasons", by Robert Bolt, in which he played the part of "The Common Man".
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