Oliver Reed

Known for ActingBorn 1938-02-13Died 1999-05-02Wimbledon, London, England, UK

Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his notable films include The Trap (1966), playing Bill Sikes in the 1968 Best Picture Oscar winner Oliver! (a film directed by his uncle Carol Reed), Women in Love (1969), Hannibal Brooks (1969), The Devils (1971), portraying Athos in The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974); the lover and stepfather in Tommy (1975), Funny Bones (1995) and Gladiator (2000). For playing Antonius Proximo, the old, gruff gladiator trainer in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, in what was his final film, Reed was posthumously nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2000. At the peak of his career, in 1971, British exhibitors voted Reed fifth most popular star at the box office. The British Film Institute (BFI) stated that "partnerships with Michael Winner and Ken Russell in the mid-60s saw Reed become an emblematic Brit-flick icon", but from the mid-1970s his alcoholism began affecting his career, with the BFI adding "Reed had assumed Robert Newton's mantle as Britain's thirstiest thespian".Read more

Movies & web series

Living Famously

Orpheus & Eurydice

Luise knackt den Jackpot

Russian Roulette - Moscow 95

The World of Hammer: Trials of War

That's Action

Gladiator

One Russian Summer

R3

Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator'

The Rebel

The Max Headroom Show

Clash of Loyalties

Masquerade

The Debussy Film

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

The Devils

The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Lion of the Desert

The Saint

Superbrain

The World of Hammer: Wicked Women

The World of Hammer: Chiller

Jeremiah

Return to Lonesome Dove

Monitor

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Trap

The Angry Silence

The Third Man

Black Arrow

Oliver!

The World of Hammer

The League of Gentlemen

Hello London

Dante's Inferno

Treasure Island

Funny Bones

Mahler

Revolver

The Brood

Value for Money

The Three Musketeers

The Assassination Bureau

Blind Justice

The Bruce

The Party's Over