James Faulkner

The deep voice is the first thing to register: Faulkner sounds well suited to giving orders. Period drama and fantasy have repeatedly used that authority, often casting him as someone strict or villainous. We value the intelligence he brings to such parts, but would like more opportunities to see him without the familiar severity. The casting has become rather easy to predict.

I, Claudius (1976), in which he plays Herod Agrippa, remains our first recommendation from his work. Derek Jacobi leads the cast, and the family drama's wit makes its cruelty more disturbing. Working within that ensemble gives a useful early reference point for a career largely spent in supporting parts. The sets have aged and some performances lean towards the stage; neither is a reason to pass it over.

His Uncle Geoffrey in Sharon Maguire's Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) supplies a comic supporting role in a career often associated with severity. The part continued across the Bridget Jones films through 2016, a reminder that his supporting work has not all been stern fathers and villains. We were unexpectedly touched by Bridget Jones's Diary, because Renée Zellweger makes its heroine worth caring about even when the screenplay insists on making her foolish. Our affection for the film rests chiefly with her and Hugh Grant's mischief; Uncle Geoffrey belongs to that company rather than being its principal attraction.

The later television parts make the casting pattern plainer: Pope Sixtus IV in Da Vinci's Demons (2013–2015), then Randyll Tarly in Game of Thrones (2016–2017). Tarly, a stern father, makes particularly direct use of Faulkner's ability to convey command. The title role in Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018) offered a departure from type and room for the more nuanced leading performance the supporting roles seldom require of him. We would welcome more parts that give him that room; he has done enough to establish that he can be forbidding.