John Wood (English Actor) - Biography

Biography

Wood was born in Derbyshire and studied law at Jesus College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Changing to drama, Wood became known as a stage actor, appearing in numerous West End productions as well as on Broadway. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1970s and played many roles in Shakespeare's plays. He also appeared in many of Tom Stoppard's plays. Wood starred in the première of Stoppard's Travesties in 1974, and he later took the role to Broadway, winning a Tony Award for his performance.

Wood's wide-ranging cinema career included significant roles in WarGames (1983), Ladyhawke (1985), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), and Ian McKellen's Richard III (1995), Sabrina (1995), and The Revengers' Comedies (1997), among others.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007.

Wood died in his sleep on 6 August 2011.

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