Age: 89
male
Brian Blessed OBE (born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in Z-Cars; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of I, Claudius; King Richard IV in the first series of Blackadder; Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon; Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in the 1981 original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre; Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, in Henry V; Boss Nass in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; and the voice of Clayton and the Tarzan yell in Disney's Tarzan. In 2016, Blessed was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts and charity. Blessed was born on 9 October 1936 at Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of William Blessed, a socialist coal miner at Hickleton Main Colliery (and himself the son of a coal miner) and cricketer for the Yorkshire second team, and Hilda (née Wall). He had a brother Alan, seven years younger, and the pair "went everywhere together" when they were growing up. Alan Blessed died from leukaemia aged 52; their mother died aged 87, and their father died aged 99. Blessed's great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed, was the father of 13 children and worked as a china and glass dealer in Brigg, Lincolnshire; many of Blessed's relatives hail from Brigg. Blessed went to Bolton on Dearne Secondary Modern School, and completed his national service in the RAF, in Bicester, before enrolling at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1956.
Brian Blessed
Porter Engle
for Porter Engle in Star Wars: Dark Horizons
Suggested by simonlynfl
After the disastrous mission to Peridea, the remaining Jedi struggle to escape the Far Galaxy while being hunted by powerful Dathomirian witches, who bring unrelenting darkness to the planet. Their ultimate goal is not only freedom but to serve their enigmatic master, Abeloth, now inhabiting Darth Talon’s body. Abeloth seeks the Skywalker descendants—Kira, Jaina, and Ben—believing they alone can end the Jedi Order. Amid the chaos, many Jedi fall, and Luke Skywalker discovers the Dathomirian witches’ true power surpasses all he previously encountered. The Jedi uncover ancient temples revealing forgotten knowledge of the Force, Sith, and Jedi, reshaping their understanding forever. Meanwhile, the galaxy plunges into panic as Coruscant reels without Jedi guidance. Syndicates unite under Rotta, heir to his father’s empire, expanding the Hutt Clan into a Galactic Criminal Empire. With the New Republic struggling to respond, the remaining Jedi face a critical choice: intervene to stop the spreading chaos or preserve their freedom while the galaxy risks collapse.
