Alan Williams

Alan Williams (born 1954 ) is a British actor and playwright, who has performed in film, television and theatre in both the United Kingdom and Canada.

Life and career Originally from Manchester He performed his Cockroach trilogy of one-man plays (The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati, The Return of the Cockroach and The Cockroach Has Landed) at the influential London fringe venue The Bush Theatre and subsequently at the International Theatre Festival in Toronto, Ontario in 1981, and then decided to remain in the city, becoming playwright in residence at the Tarragon Theatre.

He later moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, becoming a theatre professor at the University of Winnipeg. King of America, Dixieland's Night of Shame, Welcome to the NHL He also took some acting roles in other playwrights' work, most notably appearing opposite Linda Griffiths in her two-person play The Darling Family and its 1994 film adaptation by Alan Zweig.

In 1996, his Cockroach trilogy was adapted into the film The Cockroach that Ate Cincinnati by filmmaker Michael McNamara. The film garnered Williams a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor at the 18th Genie Awards. Soon after completing the film of The Cockroach that Ate Cincinnati, Williams moved back to England, where he has had roles in films such as The Scold's Bridle, Touching Evil, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Vera Drake, and television series including Always and Everyone, Coronation Street, Wire in the Blood, Life Begins, The Virgin Queen, Rome, Luther, Father Brown, Doc Martin and Starlings. He returned to Canada in 2015 to tour his new theatre trilogy The Girl with Two Voices.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1986 Mistress Madeleine Kirk 1994 The Darling Family He 1996 The Cockroach that Ate Cincinnati Captain 1998 Among Giants Frank 1999 Elephant Juice Geezer-Man on Tube 2002 All or Nothing Drunk Heartlands Deno 2003 Bright Young Things Bookie 2004 The Life and Death of Peter Sellers Casino Royale director Vera Drake Sick Husband 2007 Grow Your Own Kenny 2010 London Boulevard Joe 2012 Run for Your Wife 2017 Trespass Against Us Noah 2018 Peterloo Magistrate Marriott Sometimes Always Never Desk Officer 2019 I Was at Home, But Herr Meisner 2024 Till the Stars Come Down Tony

Television