David McCallum

In The Great Escape (1963), David McCallum’s Ashley-Pitt has to work out how to dispose of the soil from an escape tunnel. It is a fitting task for an actor whose soft voice and reserve make practical knowledge interesting. We took real pleasure in the preparations, because John Sturges makes the business of escape absorbing. McCallum fits an ensemble that gives that work its due, even if the film softens the hardships of captivity. His naval officer, nicknamed ‘Dispersal’, is a useful starting point for a career spent making supporting characters count.

Television gave that quietness more room. After British supporting parts and the move into Hollywood films in the early 1960s, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68) made him a star as Illya Kuryakin. The initially minor agent became a co-lead, a progression that makes sense for a performer so good at suggesting that someone knows more than they say. Sapphire & Steel (1979–82), with McCallum as Steel opposite Joanna Lumley, offered another leading television role, this time in science fiction.

By Hear My Song (1991), in which he plays Jim Abbott, television had become the mainstay of his career. Adrian Dunbar supplies the nerve and Ned Beatty the steadiness in a comedy whose search for a singer gives its charm something to do. Peter Chelsom pushes the sentiment too hard, but the generosity is welcome. We recommend it as a funny ensemble film, rather than as the first stop for anyone curious about McCallum.

The later return to prominence came with NCIS (2003–23), as the eccentric medical examiner Dr Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard. McCallum studied pathology for the part, a concrete example of the preparation behind his knowledgeable characters. That care helps explain why his authority feels so natural: he gives us reason to believe that this person understands the work. Start with The Great Escape; accept its softened view of captivity, and there is considerable pleasure in watching capable people get organised.