Biography
Vernon Alexandre Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a French-British character actor, who has appeared in over 300 film, television, and stage productions in a career spanning six decades. Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a British mother (Vernon) and a father of Bulgarian descent (Dobtcheff). He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup. One of his many television roles was as the Chief Scientist in the Doctor Who story The War Games in 1969. In his 2006 memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, British actor Rupert Everett describes an encounter with Dobtcheff on the boat train to Paris, and reveals his extraordinary reputation as the "patron saint" of the acting profession, stating that Dobtcheff "was legendary not so much for his acting as for his magical ability to catch every first night in the country". Widely travelled and prone to pop up in the most unlikely of locales, if unable to attend an opening night, Dobtcheff will still endeavour to send the cast a card wishing the production good luck. Description above from the Wikipedia article Vernon Dobtcheff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acted in 240
2020s
- 2024
Doctor Who: The War Games in Colour
The Scientist (archive footage)
- 2023
- 2021
Burning Casablanca
Corny
- 2020
2010s
- 2019
- 2018
L'hypothèse de la reine rouge
Sherlock Holmes
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
Killing Jesus
Isaiah
- 2014
Horsehead
George
Seven Lucky Gods
Lawrence
- 2013
- 2012
Another Woman's Life
Dimitri Speranski
- 2011
- 2010
Godforsaken
The Surgeon
2000s
- 2009
Changing Climates, Changing Times
Lucas
- 2008
The Joy of Singing
Le lecteur du bar
Apparitions
TV
Accordez-moi
Joseph Von Stieglitz
- 2007
La Légende des 3 clefs
The anthropologist Gilles Clément · 3 episodes
- 2006
Courts mais Gay : Tome 12
Anthony
Surviving Disaster
TV
- 2005
- 2004
Pontormo - Un amore eretico
Riccio
- 2003
Thank You, Doctor Rey
François
- 2002
The Red Siren
Vitali
The Falklands Play
Nicanor Costa Méndez (Argentine Minister of External Relations)
- 2001
David Copperfield
Quinion
Festival in Cannes
Millie's Escort
Revelation
Curé at Rennes-le-Chateau
- 2000
David Copperfield
Quinion · 2 episodes
Le Prof
Patte Folle
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
Cleisthenes
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
Cleisthenes · 3 episodes
Falling Through
Father
1990s
- 1999
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
Art Gallery Lecturer
- 1998
Hilary and Jackie
Professor Bentley
Jinnah
Lord Willingdon
30 Years to Life
Sandler
Vigo
Papa Lozinska
Spanish Fly
Carl's Friend
Déjà Vu
Konstantine
The Wonderland Experience
Vincent
St. Ives
Bonnefoy
- 1997
- 1996
The Ice Princess
Chancellor
The Ogre
Lawyer
Surviving Picasso
Diaghilev
Catherine the Great
Naryshkin
- 1995
Le fils de Paul
Duval
Sharpe's Sword
Don Felipe
Jefferson in Paris
King's Translator
The House that Mary Bought
Movie
- 1994
Mademoiselle O
Rouka
- 1993
Frankenstein
Chancellor
M. Butterfly
Agent Etancelin
The Hour of the Pig
Apothecary
- 1992
Obiettivo indiscreto
Primo editore
Venice/Venice
Alexander
Sweetheart
Thurson
The First Circle
Riyumin
- 1991
The Strauss Dynasty
Hirsch · 1 episode
- 1990
Vincent and Me
Dr Winkler
The Garden
Old Man at Sauna
The Krays
Teacher
The Plot to Kill Hitler
Fellgiebel
Flight from Paradise
Merrill
1980s
- 1989
Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again
Felix Penroux · 2 episodes
The Hostage of Europe
Hudson Lowe
Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story
Jules Glaenzer · 6 episodes
Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story
Doctor Webber
Splendor
Movie
- 1988
Testimony
Gargolovsky
Catacombs
Brother Timothy
Le due croci
Bischof de Jong
Maigret
Gannett
- 1987
- 1986
Caravaggio
Art Lover
If Tomorrow Comes
Boris Melnikov · 1 episode
- 1985
Mussolini: The Untold Story
Sebastiani · 4 episodes
Tender Is the Night
Luis Campion · 1 episode
A.D.
Flavius Sabinus · 5 episodes
Morenga
Lohmann · 3 episodes
- 1984
Much Ado About Nothing
Don John
L'Homme de Suez
Konya, Turkish Colonel, spy in the service of the English · 1 episode
Night Patrol
James
Mon Ami Washington
Movie
- 1983
An Englishman Abroad
Guildenstern
- 1982
Nutcracker
Markovitch
That Night of Varennes
Judge at the confiscation
- 1981
Troilus & Cressida
Agamemnon
L'Amour nu
John, le patron de Claire
Sredni Vashtar
Dr. Russell
Le Beau Monde
Pablo
San-Antonio ne pense qu'à ça
Un tueur russe
Peter and Paul
High Priest of Herod · 2 episodes
- 1980
Nijinsky
Sergei Grigoriev
1970s
- 1979
A Question Of Faith
Mikhail Mikhailovich
Ike
Gen. Charles DeGaulle
Ike
Gen. Charles DeGaulle · 2 episodes
- 1978
Mazarin
Pimentel · 2 episodes
Romeo and Juliet
Apothecary
Question of Love
Peter
Last In, First Out
Le réceptionniste
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
Lamberti
The Roads of Exile
Le peintre Ramsay
- 1977
1990
TV
Joseph Andrews
Fop Two
The Achurch Letters
Eugene
- 1976
French Without Tears
Monsieur Maingot
- 1975
Michael Strogoff
Blount · 4 episodes
Rumpole of the Bailey
Magnus Piecan
Lovers Like Us
Coleman
Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus
Dr. Canard · 1 episode
Operation: Daybreak
Pyotr
The Messiah
Samuel
Cat and Mouse
Germain's accomplice
Van der Valk and the Scapegoat
Reinders
India Song
Georges Crawn
Playing with Fire
A messenger
- 1974
À vous de jouer Milord
N° 2 · 6 episodes
The Marseille Contract
Lazar
Cartesius
Astronomo Ciprus · 2 episodes
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
Padre
- 1973
Impossible Object
Private Investigator
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Henry · 1 episode
An Echo of Theresa
Bannerheim
- 1972
Up the Front
Muller
Far from Dallas
Movie
- 1971
Mary, Queen of Scots
Duc De Guise
The Horsemen
Zam Hajji
The Beast in the Cellar
Newsmith
The Married Couple of the Year Two
le pasteur
- 1970
Them
Brisbane
Ace of Wands
Sandor Zandar · 4 episodes
Darling Lili
Otto Kraus
1960s
- 1969
Doctor Who: The War Games
Chief Scientist
Baby Love
Man in Cinema
Beach Head
N.G. Waldron
- 1968
A Dandy in Aspic
Movie
- 1967
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
Msgr. de Gondy · 6 episodes
- 1966
- 1965
The World of George Orwell: 1984
Goldstein
The Debussy Film
The Actor
- 1964
The Count of Monte Cristo
Prison Inspector · 1 episode
The Protectors
Cherni · 1 episode
Martin Chuzzlewit
TV
- 1963
- 1962
- 1961
No release date
Parlez-nous de l'Amour
Movie
Appearances3
2020s
- 2024
Alec Guinness: A Class Act
self
- 2022
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self
2000s
- 2008
Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1
Self