Michael Jayston

Michael A. James (29 October 1935 – 5 February 2024), known professionally as Michael Jayston, was an English actor and voiceover artist. He was best known for his numerous television appearances, which included portraying Peter Guillam in the miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, playing the Valeyard in all 14 episodes of the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord (1986). He was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in 1971.

Jayston also portrayed Nicholas II of Russia in the epic historical film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). On stage, he was known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and starring roles in West End productions like Noël Coward's Private Lives and Easy Virtue, The Homecoming, Equus, The Sound of Music, Woman in Mind, and Dancing at Lughnasa. He was also a prolific reader of audiobooks, most notably of John le Carré's novels and as James Bond in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of You Only Live Twice.

Early life and education Jayston was born on 29 October 1935 in West Bridgford, Nottingham as Michael A. James, His father died of pneumonia when Michael was one, and his mother died when he was a young teenager. Jayston was then raised by his grandmother and an uncle. Formerly an accountant, he trained in acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career

Stage Jayston began his stage career in 1962, performed at the Bristol Old Vic, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1965. He appeared as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Jonathan Mansel in the 1978 BBC adaptation of She Fell Among Thieves. In 1979, he played Peter Guillam opposite Alec Guinness in the series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. providing a link with his role as Peter Guillam in the 1979 TV series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He was also the storyteller in the BBC radio readings of the novels Rogue Male and Rogue Justice, both written by Geoffrey Household.

In 1990, he played the role of Ian Fleming's James Bond in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of You Only Live Twice.

As an official United Kingdom Record Store Day 2017 release, a collaborative double vinyl album between the underground artist Ruben Vine and Jayston, including a 28-page comic, was released. Jayston featured as the narrator on the story-based album entitled The Life & Times of an Imaginary Rock Star.

A prolific reader for audiobooks, Jayston also recorded audio versions of many of the novels of Alexander Kent - the Richard Bolitho adventures set during the age of sail before and throughout the Napoleonic Wars, Winston Churchill's history of the Second World War, and many others. In the 1970s and 1980s he also provided voiceovers for many TV adverts in the UK.

Personal life Jayston was married three times: to Lynn Farleigh in 1965 and, after his first divorce, to Heather Sneddon in 1970. He remarried in 1979 to Ann Smithson. He had three children with Sneddon and two children with Smithson.

Television