Major Film and Theatre Roles
He began to win increasingly prominent film roles throughout the course of the 1950s, appearing in the Ealing comedy The Maggie (1954) and the Titanic film A Night to Remember (1958), in which he portrayed 2nd Engineer James Hesketh. He played Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in the 1963 Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor vehicle Cleopatra.
Keir also continued to act on the stage. He played Robert Burns in the pageant I, Robert Burns in 1959 celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the poet. In 1960 Keir initiated the role of Thomas Cromwell in the original theatrical production of Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons. Keir's performance in this part was praised by The Times's theatre critic as being "an arresting figure." In 1964 he was a member of the original West End cast of Lionel Bart's musical Maggie May, playing the trade union leader.
He had first appeared on television on the BBC in the early 1950s, and through that decade and into the 1960s continued to make guest appearances in a range of programmes, including Danger Man, Dr Finlay's Casebook, The Avengers and Z Cars. However, it was in films where he became most prominent during the 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in Hammer's famous range of "Hammer Horror" productions. He appeared in Pirates of Blood River (1962), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971). By far his most prominent role for Hammer came in 1967's Quatermass and the Pit; this remained one of Keir's personal favourite roles of his career, and his obituary in The Independent claimed that "Keir's mixture of gruff determination, intelligence and quirkiness made him the definitive professor."
Read more about this topic: Andrew Keir
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