John Warnaby

John Warnaby (6 November 1960 – 13 April 2024) was a British actor on stage, television and in films. In later life he became a Catholic priest.

Education and early career John Michael Warnaby was born on 6 November 1960. He attended St Teresa's Primary School in the Birmingham suburb of Handsworth Wood, before going to St Philip's Grammar School in Edgbaston from 1972 to 1979.

In 1996 Warnaby appeared at the National Theatre, playing Napoleon Bonaparte and Boris Dubretskoy in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace, directed by Nancy Meckler.

In 2001 Warnaby played Freddie in Laurence Boswell's revival of Peter Nichols's play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at the Comedy Theatre in a cast which included Eddie Izzard, Victoria Hamilton and Prunella Scales.

In 2006 he appeared in the television adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's novel The Line of Beauty.

In Nicholas de Jongh's 2009 stage hit in London Plague Over England, Warnaby played both 1950s Home Secretary David Maxwell Fyfe and an acerbic theatre critic.

Later life and death In later life, Warnaby retired from acting and trained as a Catholic priest. In 2013 he was sent to the Pontifical Beda College in Rome. On his ordination in 2017, his first appointment was as Assistant Priest at St Monica's, Palmers Green. In 2019 he moved to St George's, Sudbury as Assistant Priest. The following year he moved to St Joseph's, Carpenders Park, initially as Assistant Priest and, from 2022, as Parish Priest.

Warnaby died after a short illness on 13 April 2024, at the age of 63. His funeral took place in his own parish of St Joseph's. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, presided over the Requiem Mass.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1982 Privileged Treasurer 1990 Paper Mask Dr. Hammond 1998 The Commissioner Hugo 1999 Topsy-Turvy Mr. Sanders 2001 Dark Blue World RAF Instructor 2002 Ali G Indahouse David Griffiths 2003 Midsomer Murders Keith Scholey (Season 6, Ep. 1) 2004 Wimbledon Reporter #2 2005 Separate Lies Simon 2010 The King's Speech Steward 2012 The Raven Griswold 2012 The Sweeney Mr. Bledisloe 2012 Capital Stanley Greenball 2012 Les Misérables Majordomo