Paul Copley
Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voice-over artist.
Early life
Copley was born in Denby Dale, West Riding of Yorkshire, and grew up beside a dairy farm there. 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.
Career
In 1976, Copley won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for his role in John Wilson's For King and Country.
After appearing as Private Wicks in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, he played a small but noticeable role in Zulu Dawn in 1979 as Cpl Storey in the British Army. In 1980 he appeared in the controversial ATV drama Death of a Princess, playing a British witness to the killing of an Arabian princess and her lover. He has played Matthews in Hornblower, Ian in Roughnecks and Jerry in This Life and Peter Quinlan in The Lakes. In the critically acclaimed Queer as Folk he played Nathan Maloney's father, Big Finish's July 2002 Doctor Who story Spare Parts and in Shameless as a water sports enthusiast. In 1980 he appeared in the highly successful comedy drama series Minder playing George Palmer in episode The Old School Tie. He narrates the Channel 4 programme, How Clean is Your House?. He featured in the ITV children's hit show "Best Friends" 5 episodes in 2005–06, playing the grandfather.
