Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox,OBE (born 13 April 1937) is an English stage, film and television actor.
He played the assassin in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973). He also portrayed King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978).
Early life and education
Fox was born in Chelsea, London, the son of Robin Fox, a theatrical agent, and Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, an actress and writer. He is the elder brother of actor James Fox and film producer Robert Fox, and an uncle of actor Laurence Fox. His paternal great-grandfather was industrialist and inventor Samson Fox, and his paternal grandmother was Hilda Hanbury, sister of stage performer Lily Hanbury. His maternal grandfather was dramatist Frederick Lonsdale, and his maternal grandmother was the daughter of football player and stockbroker Charles Morice. Fox was educated at Harrow School in northwest London and served as a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards, a regiment of the British Army.
Career
Fox made his theatrical début in 1958, and his first film appearance was as an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962). He also had a non-speaking part as a waiter in This Sporting Life (1963). Throughout the 1960s he worked mostly on stage, including a turn as Hamlet. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he established himself with roles in major British films including Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Battle of Britain (1969) and The Go-Between (1971). In The Go-Between, he played the part of Lord Hugh Trimingham, for which he won a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. His acting ability also brought him to the attention of director Fred Zinnemann, who was looking for an actor who wasn't well-known and could be believable as the assassin in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973). Fox won the role, beating out other contenders such as Roger Moore and Michael Caine.