Nicholas Clay

Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay (18 September 1946 – 25 May 2000) was an English actor.

Early life Clay was born in Streatham, London on 18 September 1946, the son of a professional soldier in the British Army's Royal Engineers. The family settled in Kent, where Clay became interested in acting, performing at the Medway Little Theatre Club.

Career He had roles on TV in episodes of Ask Mr. Pastry (1961), ITV Television Playhouse, The Pocket Lancer (1961), and Tales of Mystery. He made his film debut with These Are the Damned (1962) and could be seen in Dixon of Dock Green, William, Sergeant Cork, and Drama 61-67. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

Clay appeared in several West End theatre productions.

He returned to films with The Night Digger (1971), a horror film with Patricia Neal and was in episodes of Take Three Girls, Armchair Theatre, and Love Story.

Clay had the starring role of Charles Darwin in The Darwin Adventure (1972) and was in William: The Life, Works and Times of William Shakespeare (1972). He was cast in several of Laurence Olivier's Old Vic productions and during the 1970s came to be regarded as one of British theatre's most promising actors. Clay was in Terror of Frankenstein (1977) then did Saturday Sunday Monday (1978) with Laurence Olivier.

In 1978 he played Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton in the drama series Will Shakespeare, about the life of Shakespeare. He followed it playing the title role in The Search for Alexander the Great (1981). He appeared in Just Jaeckin's film version of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981), playing Mellors, and in Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun (1982), the latter reuniting him with Diana Rigg, his co-star in The Misanthrope.

For TV Clay was in The Agatha Christie Hour (1982), in an adaptation of "In a Glass Darkly" then Russian Night... 1941 (1983), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) and The Last Days of Pompeii (1984).

Clay continued working regularly on stage and appeared in a number of made-for-television films and miniseries. In 1984 he played Mike Preston in the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense episode "Child's Play". He did Das Martyrium des heiligen Sebastian (1984) in Germany and The Corsican Brothers (1985) for TV. Clay was Doctor Percy Trevelyan in an episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes entitled "The Resident Patient".

Clay had support parts in Sleeping Beauty (1987), Lionheart (1987) and Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987). He also appeared in the UK ITV series Gentlemen and Players in 1988-89.

In 1992 he appeared with Kim Thomson in the BBC TV series Virtual Murder.

Later appearances included The New Adventures of Robin Hood, Zorro, Kavanagh QC, Shine on Harvey Moon, The Odyssey, Shanghai 1937, Bugs, Highlander, Psychos and playing Lord Leo in the 1998 TV miniseries Merlin starring Sam Neill. His final screen appearance was in Roger Ashton-Griffiths' short film And Beyond. Later theatre work included Design for Living (1995).

In the latter years Clay taught drama at The Actors' Centre and the Academy of Live and Performing Arts, and also worked in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, generally in the role of promoting the organisation, or providing advice to acting students.

Death Clay died in London on 25 May 2000, at age 53 from liver cancer.

Personal life In 1980, Clay married actress Lorna Heilbron; they had two daughters.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes References 1963 The Damned Richard 1971 The Night Digger aka The Road Builder Billy Jarvis 1972 The Darwin Adventure Charles Darwin 1977 Terror of Frankenstein Henry Clerval 1979 Zulu Dawn Lt. Raw 1981 Excalibur Lancelot 1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover Oliver Mellors 1981 Lovespell Tristan 1982 Evil Under the Sun Patrick Redfern 1987 Sleeping Beauty The Prince 1987 Lionheart Charles De Montfort

Television

Year Title Role Notes References 1975 In This House of Brede David TV movie 1978 Will Shakespeare Earl of Southampton Television miniseries 1981 The Search for Alexander the Great Alexander the Great TV miniseries 1983 The Hound of the Baskervilles Jack Stapleton TV movie 1984 The Last Days of Pompeii Glaucus TV miniseries 1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Percy Trevelyan Episode: "The Resident Patient" 1987 Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Prince Alexis Mdivani TV movie 1988 Gentlemen and Players Mike Savage 1991 Zorro Viscount Armand de Jussac 2 episodes 1992 Virtual Murder Dr. John Cornelius 1995 Shine on Harvey Moon Squadron Leader Cunningham 4 episodes 1995 Kavanagh QC Mr Justice Fulbright Episode "Blood Money"1997 The Odyssey Menelaus TV miniseries The New Adventures of Robin Hood Sheriff of Nottingham 2 episodes Highlander Loxley Episode: "Unusual Suspects" 1998 Merlin Lord Leo TV miniseries 1999 Psychos Dr. Angus Harvey 6 episodes