Julian Glover Biography
Julian Wyatt Glover CBE is a highly accomplished English classical actor who has played numerous stage, television, and film roles since the 1950s.
He was born on March 27, 1935, in Hampstead, London, but attended Bristol Grammar School after his parents divorced and later Alleyn’s School in Dulwich, London, where he was in the same class as future actors Timothy West and David Prowse.
He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1954 and went on to serve in the British Army. Julian Glover began his acting career in the early 1950s, performing in several shows at Unity Theatre in London.
Julian Glover later played Tolen in Ann Jellicoe’s The Knack at the Royal Court Theatre in 1962 and became a regular actor in 1960s and 1970s British television series, becoming a well-known face on British television, with numerous guest appearances in cult series such as The Avengers, The Saint alongside Roger Moore, Thriller, Doctor Who, and Blake’s 7 to name a few He played the recurring supporting role of Grand Maester Pycelle in HBO’s Game of Thrones (2011–2016) and in the BBC drama Spies of Warsaw (2013).
In film, Julian Glover has a reputation for playing high-profile villains in some of the biggest motion picture franchises, including General Maximilian Veers in the sequel to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He was cast as Bond villain Aristotle ‘Aris’ Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only (1981), Brian Harcourt-Smith in The Fourth Protocol (1987), and in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) playing the role of Walter Donovan.
Glover also voiced the giant Acromantula spider Aragog in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and portrayed conductor Andris Davis in the psychological drama Tár (2022).
In addition to his film and television work, Julian Glover has worked with the epic poem Beowulf since the eighties and has delivered staged interpretations. He also adapted his interpretation in novel form as Beowulf: An Adaptation.
Glover’s stage work includes a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1992 production of Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama. Julian Glover is also an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Julian lover has been married twice, to actresses Eileen Atkins and Isla Blair, the two have a son, actor Jamie Glover.
