Alan Bates
Acting
101
Acting Credits
Biography
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving. He is also known for his tour-de-force with Anthony Quinn, Zorba the Greek, as well as his roles in King of Hearts, Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, and The Fixer, whic...
Known For
Filmography
Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders
2025
as Archive
Shuttlecock: Sins of a Father
2020
as Major James Prentis (archival footage)
Nothing Like a Dame
2018
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Discovering Hamlet
2011
as Claudius (archive footage)
Spartacus
2004
as Antonius Agrippa
Hollywood North
2004
as Michael Baytes
Spartacus
2004
as Antonius Agrippa
The Statement
2003
as Armand Bertier
Meanwhile
2003
as Father Peter
Celebrity Naked Ambition
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Salem Witch Trials
2003
as Sir William Phips
The Mothman Prophecies
2002
as Alexander Leek
Bertie and Elizabeth
2002
as King George V
Evelyn
2002
as Thomas Connolly
The Sum of All Fears
2002
as Dressler
The Making of Gosford Park
2002
as Self
Gosford Park
2001
as Jennings
Anthony Quinn: The Final Words
2001
as Self
Love in a Cold Climate
2001
as Uncle Matthew
The Prince and the Pauper
2000
as Re Enrico VIII
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
2000
as Calpornius
Arabian Nights
2000
as Storyteller
In the Beginning
2000
as Jethro
The Cherry Orchard
1999
as Gayev
Nicholas’ Gift
1998
as Reg Green
The Grotesque
1995
as Sir Hugo Coal
Oliver's Travels
1995
as Oliver
Silent Tongue
1994
as Eamon McCree
Hard Times
1994
as Josiah Bounderby
Shuttlecock
1993
as Major James Prentis VC
Losing Track
1992
as Henry Sitchell
Unnatural Pursuits
1992
as Hamish Partt
Unnatural Pursuits
1992
as Hamish Partt
Secret Friends
1991
as John
Pebble Mill
1991
as Self
Hamlet
1990
as Claudius
Mr. Frost
1990
as Felix Detweiler
Dr. M
1990
as Dr, Marsfeldt / Guru
102 Boulevard Haussmann
1990
as Marcel Proust
Uncontrollable Circumstances
1989
as Malcolm Forrest
The Dog It Was That Died
1989
as Blair
Screen One
1989
as Henry Sitchell
We Think the World of You
1988
as Frank Meadows
The Ray Bradbury Theater: And So Died Riabouchinska
1988
as John Fabian
A Prayer for the Dying
1987
as Jack Meehan
Pack of Lies
1987
as Stewart
Duet for One
1986
as David Cornwallis
One for the Road
1985
as Nicholas
Hands Up!
1985
as Self (1981 footage)
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985
as John Fabian
Screen Two
1985
as Marcel Proust
A Voyage Round My Father
1984
as John Mortimer
Dr. Fischer of Geneva
1984
as Dr. Alfred Jones
An Englishman Abroad
1983
as Guy Burgess
The Wicked Lady
1983
as Captain Jerry Jackson
Separate Tables
1983
as John Malcolm / Maj. Pollock
The Return of the Soldier
1983
as Captain Chris Baldry
Britannia Hospital
1982
as Macready
Quartet
1981
as H.J. Heidler
Very Like a Whale
1981
as Sir Jock Mellor
The Trespasser
1981
as Siegmund
Nijinsky
1980
as Sergei Diaghilev
The Rose
1979
as Rudge Campbell
An Unmarried Woman
1978
as Saul Kaplan
The Shout
1978
as Charles Crossley
The Mayor of Casterbridge
1978
as Michael Henchard
The Collection
1976
as James
Laurence Olivier Presents
1976
Royal Flash
1975
as Rudi Von Sternberg
In Celebration
1975
as Andrew Shaw
Two Sundays
1975
as Charles
Plaintiffs and Defendants
1975
as Peter
Butley
1974
as Ben Butley
The Story of Jacob and Joseph
1974
as Narrator (voice)
Impossible Object
1973
as Harry
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
1972
as Bri
Second Best
1972
as Tom
The Go-Between
1971
as Ted Burgess
Great Performances
1971
as James
Three Sisters
1970
as Col. Vershinin
Women in Love
1969
as Rupert Birkin
Look at Life: All in a Day's Work
1969
as Self
The Fixer
1968
as Yakov Bok
Far from the Madding Crowd
1967
as Gabriel Oak
Location: Far from the Madding Crowd
1967
as Himself
Lionpower from MGM
1967
as Self - Gabriel Oak (archive footage) (uncredited)
Georgy Girl
1966
as Jos Jones
King of Hearts
1966
as Charles Plumpick
Once Upon a Tractor
1965
as Joe Turrel
Zorba the Greek
1964
as Basil
The Caretaker
1964
as Mick
Nothing But the Best
1964
as Jimmy Brewster
The Wednesday Play
1964
as Grigor Pecharin
The Running Man
1963
as Stephen
A Kind of Loving
1962
as Victor 'Vic' Brown
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
Whistle Down the Wind
1961
as The Man, Arthur Alan Blakey
The Entertainer
1960
as Frank Rice
Armchair Theatre
1956
as Lewis Black
Armchair Theatre
1956
as Mario
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Stewart