That dude played Blackadder's dad, the King.
Knew I'd heard that voice before.
I first saw (and heard) him on SPACE: 1999. He played Dr. Cabot Rowland in 'Death's Other Dominion'(Series 1) and 'The Metamorph' (Series 2) as Mentor (Maya's father). His wife Hildegard Neil (they've been married since 1978) appeared in another episode of this series. He also appeared on DR WHO during the end of Colin Baker's run, playing King Yrcanos in "The Trial of a Time Lord." And he is a lifelong friend of Patrick Stewart, having met him when they were starting out at the Old Vic. (Actually, I've learnt that they knew each other even earlier; Stewart lived one village over from Blessed-- Mirfield in Yorkshire--whereas Blessed was born in Goldthorpe in Yorkshire. Stewart is about 2 years younger than Blessed, and apparently, every time they meet, Stewart worries aloud that Blessed will die on Everest. IMO, I don't think BB would mind dying on Everest, as long as a) he'd reached the summit and b) Hildegard was with him (in some form or other))
Other fun facts: According to Wikipedia, he is an avid mountain climber and adventurer:
"He climbed Mont Blanc at the age of seventeen, and he has remained an active mountaineer throughout his life. Though he has never reached the summit, he has tried to climb Mount Everest on three separate occasions. During his attempt in 1993, the then 56-year-old climbed higher than any other man of his age; the height record was later broken by Sir Ranulph Fiennes in 2009. He has successfully climbed Aconcagua in Argentina as well as Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He also holds the record for being the oldest man to trek on foot to the magnetic North Pole, and has undertaken an expedition deep into the jungles of Venezuela."
If he ever runs dry on acting roles, he'd be a smash as a comic actor. Paul Merton was practically in stitches for half the show.
