12/07/1937
Manchester, England, UK:
Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing". According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Scar Tissue (2013) as Weaver |
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LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out (2012) as Admiral Piett (voice) |
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Greetings (2007) as Ken |
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Like Father Like Son (2005) as Rawsthorne |
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Hold Back the Night (1999) as Uncle Bob |
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Shadow Run (1998) as Larcombe |
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Brassed Off (1996) as Greasley |
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El último viaje de Robert Rylands (1996) as Archdale |
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Solomon & Sheba (1995) as Nathan |
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Unnatural Causes (1993) as Inspector Gerry Reckless |
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The Secret Life of Arnold Bax (1992) as John Ireland |
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La Vie de Bohème (1992) as Street Sweeper |
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Prisoner of Honor (1991) as Capt. Dreyfus |
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The Last Island (1990) as Nick |
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I Hired a Contract Killer (1990) as The Killer |
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Kremlin Farewell (1990) as Sergej |
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The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990) as Wilhelm Keitel |
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The Rainbow (1989) as Mr. Brunt |
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A Master of the Marionettes (1989) as Inspector Tennyson |
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A Summer Story (1988) as Jim |
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Casanova (1987) as Le Duc |
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The Whistle Blower (1986) as Bill Pickett |
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Return to Waterloo (1984) as The Traveller |
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Return of the Jedi (1983) as Admiral Piett |
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The Scarlet and the Black (1983) as Capt. Hirsch |
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Giro City (1982) as Martin |
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Firefox (1982) as Colonel Kontarsky |
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I Remember Nelson (1982) as Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson |
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The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as Admiral Piett |
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Life of Brian (1979) as Jesus |
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The Danedyke Mystery (1979) as The Major |
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Measure for Measure (1979) as Duke Vincentio |
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Les Misérables (1978) as Police Prefect |
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One Bummer News Day (1978) as Frank Benyon |
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Come the Revolution (1977) as Bruce Tetley |
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The Testing of Eric Olthwaite (1977) as Robber |
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Jabberwocky (1977) as 1st Fanatic |
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Three Days in Szczecin (1976) as Edmund Bałuka |
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The Chester Mystery Plays (1976) as |
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Lisztomania (1975) as Frederic Chopin |
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Flame (1975) as Tony Devlin |
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Juggernaut (1974) as Detective Brown |
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Mahler (1974) as Krenek |
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Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) as Boldt |
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The Triple Echo (1972) as Provo Corporal |
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The Boy Friend (1971) as King in fantasy sequence (uncredited) |
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The Devils (1971) as Legrand |
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The Music Lovers (1971) as Modeste Tchaikovsky |
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Performance (1970) as Tony Farrell |
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Dance of the Seven Veils (1970) as |
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Cause of Death (1968) as Dr. Emil Justin |
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The Blood Beast Terror (1968) as James |
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Who Pays? (1968) as Corbett |
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How I Won the War (1967) as 2nd Replacement |
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The Jokers (1967) as De Winter |
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Three Clear Sundays (1965) as Nick |
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Seventy Deadly Pills (1963) as Covent Garden porter |