John Nolan, a veteran British stage and screen actor and the paternal uncle of filmmakers Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan who appeared in their work — including a pair of Batman movies and on the CBS drama Person Of Interest — has died. He was 87.
The actor died Saturday, according to the Stratford-Upon-Avon Herald, a British weekly.
Nolan had a career that spanned decades and included turns in his nephews’ projects. He portrayed Wayne Enterprises board member Douglas Fredericks in 2005’s Batman Begins and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, both co-written and directed by Christopher; he also appeared in 1998’s Following and 2017’s Dunkirk, both also written and directed by Christopher.
He joined Person Of Interest, created by Jonathan, during its second season in 2013 as John Greer, a mysterious and calculating former MI6 agent who became head of Decima Technologies, a shadowy private intelligence firm, and the villainous Samaritan A.I. (Jonathan also co-wrote The Dark Knight Rises.)
Born May 22, 1938, in London, Nolan got his start on the stage, training at the Drama Centre London. He toured with a traveling Irish theater company and starred as Romeo opposite Francesca Annis at Richmond Theatre.
He joined the Royal Court Company and spent two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he performed in productions of Julius Caesar, The Merry Wives Of Windsor and The Relapse.
He departed RSC to star in the title role of the 1970 BBC miniseries Daniel Deronda, based on the 1876 George Eliot novel, as a young man with mysterious origins — a role that helped establish him as a screen actor.
After Daniel Deronda, Nolan starred in the BBC drama Doomwatch, where he portrayed scientist George Harcastle, and as Nick Faunt in ITV’s romantic Depression-era miniseries Shabby Tiger.
He also explored his creativity behind the camera. He co-wrote and played the title role in a Dostoyevsky trilogy for the Bristol New Vic company in 1980-81.
In addition to his nephews, Nolan is survived by his wife, actor Kim Hartman; and their children Miranda and Tom; as well as his grandchildren Dylan and Kara. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
