Paul Copley
Paul is a long established and much respected British actor and voiceover artist.
Born in Denby Dale, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 25th November 1944 he grew up beside a dairy farm. His father, Harold, was involved with local amateur dramatic productions, as were the rest of his family. He went to Penistone Grammar School, then the Northern Counties College of Education in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he received an Associate of the Drama Board (ADB) in Drama. He taught English and Drama in Walthamstow, before he joined the Leeds Playhouse Theatre-in-education Company in 1971.
In 1976, Paul won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for his role in John Wilson's For King and Country.
With many and varied roles to follow, Paul soon established himself as one of the UK's leading stage, film, television and radio actors.
In 2011-2015 Paul gained worldwide recognition appearing in 16 episodes of the hugely popular television series Downton Abbey playing the popular role of farmer Mr Mason.
Paul is married to the actress Natasha Pyne. They married in 1972, after both performing in a Leeds Playhouse production of Frank Wedekind's Lulu, adapted by Peter Barnes, directed by Bill Hays in 1971.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 1.4842 |
| Birthday | 1944-11-25 |
| Place of Birth | Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Also Known As |
2021
The Infectious Imagination of Henry Bramble
0/0
Henry is forced to stay with his passionless great-uncle and slips into a fantastical world where he meets Raygo, an elf-like hunter who reveals that...
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The Infectious Imagination of Henry Bramble
1978
Mucking Out
0/0
'I'm an expert on pigs now. How many people can claim they've castrated 1.000 baby pigs? Not many.' Brian is enthusiastic about his new job, but Thoma...
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Mucking Out
2023
Ticker
0/0
Howard drives his partner Joseph from their farm to hospital to undergo high risk surgery. The unexpected discovery of an old mix tape in the glove co...
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Ticker
1998
Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant
7.5/52
Acting Lieutenant Hornblower attempts to study for his promotion examination, but becomes distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew...
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Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant
1999
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
7.2/47
Acting Lieutenant Hornblower and his crew are captured by the enemy while escorting a Duchess who has secrets of her own.
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Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil
1999
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters
7.2/52
Lieutenant Hornblower and his shipmates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.
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Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters
2001
Hornblower: Mutiny
7.372/47
Hornblower and his comrades come under the command of a revered but mentally unstable captain and are forced to mutiny in order to save their ship, th...
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Hornblower: Mutiny
2005
Marian, Again
4.571/7
School teacher Chris Bevan is a dutiful husband to his dull wife, Josie, and ingrate daughters. His best friend knows Chris' heart always belonged to...
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Marian, Again
1985
Bird Fancier
0/0
There's big money in pigeon racing if you've got a fast flyer, and Joe Desmond's blue-pied hen is a natural winner. But Joe's lucky streak with the bi...
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Bird Fancier
1977
A Christmas Carol
6.652/23
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his yout...
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A Christmas Carol
2003
Hornblower: Loyalty
7.25/42
Hornblower must deliver a French nobleman to a secret rendezvous near Brest, all while coping with enemy agents in his own ranks.
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Hornblower: Loyalty
1982
Ghost in the Water
6.667/3
Judith Allchurch and Ian Stevens star in this drama based on the story by Edward Chitham. When young historians Teresa (Allchurch) and David (Stevens)...
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Ghost in the Water
1979
Black Jack
7/22
When honest young Tolly is forced on the run with ‘Black Jack’, a villainous ruffian, adventure and mishap are never far away. As the two enter a worl...
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Black Jack
1998
Hornblower: The Even Chance
7.547/64
Portsmouth, 1794. Under thundery skies and in lashing rain, 17-year-old midshipman Horatio Hornblower takes the first tentative steps of his naval car...
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Hornblower: The Even Chance
1973
Father Dear Father
5.3/9
After divorcing his wife, Patrick Glover decides it is time to remarry, and chooses his literary agent, only to then mistakenly propose to the cleanin...
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Father Dear Father
2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
7.211/627
The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a...
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Downton Abbey: A New Era
1993
The Remains of the Day
7.366/1534
A rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a housekeeper who falls in love with...
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The Remains of the Day
1980
Death of a Princess
7.8/5
A journalist investigates a newspaper story of the execution of an Arab princess.
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Death of a Princess
1983
Ends and Means
0/0
Documentary drama.
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Ends and Means
1978
Destiny
8/1
A small town shopkeeper is conned into standing for an extreme right-wing party at a by-election, and later discovers that it's financed by the corpor...
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Destiny
2012
First Encounter: King Lear
0/0
In the summer of 2012, a company of nine actors and director Tim Crouch came together to create a production of King Lear specifically for young audie...
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First Encounter: King Lear
1996
Jude
6.315/149
In late 19th-century England, Jude aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is t...
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Jude
Dangerous Journey
9/1
A VICTORIOUS JOURNEY OF FAITH AND PILGRIMAGE. Written while in prison by John Bunyan in 1676, The Pilgrim's Progress has for centuries captured the h...
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Dangerous Journey
1979
Zulu Dawn
6.127/118
In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.
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Zulu Dawn
1978
Some Enchanted Evening
0/0
Comedy in which a young Geordie, Peter, is put under pressure by his fiancee who wants him to name the wedding day. Enough pressure to make him consid...
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Some Enchanted Evening
1989
Testimony of a Child
9/1
Being accused of child abuse is a nightmare every family dreads. The Taylors are an ordinary happy family, but Paul and Jill are worried about their 1...
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Testimony of a Child
1998
Written in Blood
9.333/3
A century ago, a series of horrific murders rocked the city. Now, as the end of the millennium approaches, a copycat killer stalks seven victims, pray...
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Written in Blood
1978
On a Paving Stone Mounted
9/1
An impressionistic look at Irish emigrants in London, representing the emigrant's journey, a confusion of anticipation, memories and experience.
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On a Paving Stone Mounted
1975
Diane
7/2
Teenager Diane Weaver lives in a small council flat with her brooding father, the groundskeeper of a local church. What no one realises, is how close...
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Diane
2003
The Key
8/1
The story of three generations told against the backdrop of the 20th century. The drama focuses on the life of Mary Corrigan, from her days as a rebel...
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The Key
2003
Hornblower: Duty
7.3/38
Admiral Pellew interrupts Hornblower's wedding reception and tasks him to locate a British ship which has disappeared off the French coast, where Napo...
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Hornblower: Duty
2016
Reg
5/10
In June 2003, Reg Keys and his wife Sally return to their home in the Welsh countryside. As they switch on the TV to hear six military policemen have...
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Reg
2001
Blow Dry
5.935/154
The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop and Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lov...
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Blow Dry
2025
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
7.044/284
When Mary finds herself at the center of a public scandal and the family faces financial strife, the entire household grapples with the threat of soci...
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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
2015
The Sound of Music Live!
7.733/15
The popular musical is brought to life on soundstages at London's Three Mills Studio, in a live TV dramatisation of the timeless story of Maria and th...
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The Sound of Music Live!
2007
The Shadow in the North
6.6/22
Sally Lockhart crosses paths with the nefarious industrialist Axel Bellman, the richest and most powerful man in Europe. She's determined to prove him...
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The Shadow in the North
1985
Silas Marner
5.857/14
Adaption of George Eliot's novel. When a respectable weaver is wrongfully accused of theft, he becomes a virtual hermit until his own fortune is stole...
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Silas Marner
2001
Hornblower: Retribution
7.3/43
Hornblower and the other officers of the Renown must return to Jamaica to face a court-martial and possible execution for their actions in relieving t...
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Hornblower: Retribution
1973
Speech Day
9/1
Speech Day is a bit of a laugh if you are not one of nature's prize-winners. But now that they've finished with school and school with them, what come...
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Speech Day
1975
Alfie Darling
4.538/13
Alfie meets his romantic match when the modern-day Casanova falls in love with a career woman. Alfie soon realises that Abby, a magazine editor, is ju...
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Alfie Darling
1977
A Bridge Too Far
7.201/956
The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in H...
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A Bridge Too Far
2002
The Many Lives of Albert Walker
10/1
After killing his English partner, a Canadian businessman assumes his identity. Things begin to fall apart for him when the murdered man's body is fou...
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The Many Lives of Albert Walker
1991
How's Business
9/1
During World War II a young city boy is evacuated to the country.
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How's Business
1994
A Pinch of Snuff
0/0
Receiving a tip from his dentist Jack Shorter, policeman Peter Pascoe takes a closer look at the Calliope Kinema Club, a film club notorious for showi...
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A Pinch of Snuff
1986
Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus
8/1
Oedipus's wanderings come to an end when he finds his final resting place, as foretold by the gods. But his brother-in-law and his son each try to tak...
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Theban Plays: Oedipus at Colonus
1985
Which Side Are You On?
6.6/5
The documentary features the British miners and their family experiences told through songs, poems, pictures and words.
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Which Side Are You On?
1976
Arnhem: The Story of an Escape
6.5/2
Graeme Warrack was Divisional Chief Doctor of the 1st Airborne Division at the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. With other doctors, medical personn...
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Arnhem: The Story of an Escape
1979
Cries from a Watchtower
0/0
A watchmaker finds his livelihood is threatened by cheaply imported digital watches.
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Cries from a Watchtower
1983
Doll’s Eye
3.25/4
Examines contradictory male attitudes towards women in 1980's Britain
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Doll’s Eye
2020
Enola Holmes
7.222/6740
While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.
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Enola Holmes
1981
A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado
8/1
A black comedy about excessive consumption. A young couple are determined to make a break with a predictable future as servants of a large corporation...
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A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado
1981
A Room for the Winter
3.333/3
James van Santen, a white South African writer facing imminent arrest for acts of sabotage, has escaped to England. He leaves behind him not only a vi...
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A Room for the Winter
1981
P.Q. 17
0/0
"That order to scatter was as good as a death sentence to those merchant ships. And there isn't one officer or rating who doesn't agree with me." A Br...
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P.Q. 17
2020
Ropeless
6/2
A veteran washerman hangs thousands of wet clothes under the scorching sun: one oddity, he doesn't want them dry.
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Ropeless
2016
The Nest Egg
7/1
The Nest Egg: the story of a chicken suit, benevolence and eggs.
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The Nest Egg
1978
Travellers
0/0
As Old William stands in an autumnal Yorkshire graveyard at his wife's funeral, a young man's face strikes an uncanny chord and brings back memories o...
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Travellers
1980
Happy
0/0
They train people to look after lads like Gary at the centre. So why does Vernon persist in keeping his brother at home?
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Happy
1978
The Turkey Who Lives on the Hill
0/0
Married life starts out full of bright hopes for Alex and Lynda - but soon they are trapped in a nightmare with their friend Bill.
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The Turkey Who Lives on the Hill
2006
When Kim & Aggie Went To Hospital
0/0
Kim and Aggie travel to Ealing, West London, to look at the standards of cleanliness and issues of hygiene facing Britain's hospitals. Ealing Hospital...
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When Kim & Aggie Went To Hospital
2025
Big Winners
0/0
A story about Edith and Arthur Thistle – for fifty-three years, they have managed to get by—never rich, never extravagant, but always together. That a...
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Big Winners
1976
The Chester Mystery Plays
0/0
Medieval Mystery Cycle first performed in Chester in the 14th century.
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The Chester Mystery Plays
2015
The 12 Days of Christine
0/0
Christine Clarke brings a new man back to her flat from a New Year's Eve party, and immediately her life starts to unravel. Who is the terrifying stra...
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