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Heathcote Williams is a Actor and Scriptwriter British born on 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Heathcote Williams (born 15 November 1941) is an English poet, actor and dramatist. He has written a number of best-selling book-length polemical poems including Autogeddon, Falling for a Dolphin and Whale Nation, which in 1988 became, according to Philip Hoare "the most powerful argument for the newly instigated worldwide ban on whaling.". Williams invented his idiosyncratic 'documentary/investigative poetry' style which he continues to put to good purpose bringing a diverse range of environmental and political matters to public attention. In June 2015, he published a book-length investigative poem about the 'Muslim Gandhi', Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 'Badshah Khan'
As well as being a prolific playwright and screen writer, Williams has appeared in a number of well-known Independent and Hollywood films and was among the celebrity guests in the final 'Friends' episode, 'The One Where Ross Gets Married'. He played Prospero in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest and has appeared in several ‘arthouse’ films, including Orlando, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Basic Instinct 2.Al Pacino played the part of a Williams fan in a spoof arts documentary, Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get Into Trouble.
Williams also writes lyrics, collaborating with Marianne Faithfull among others.
Williams is a keen naturalist and discovered a new species of honey-producing wasp in the Amazon jungle, an event he recorded in a book of poems called 'Forbidden Fruit'
Williams is a member of the Magic Circle and a skilful magician. He wrote a TV play called What the Dickens! about Charles Dickens’s penchant for performing magic shows. Bob Hoskins taught him fire eating. When he went to demonstrate his new found talent to then girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, he accidentally set himself alight on her door step.
Williams was a leading activist in the London squatting scene in the 1970s and ran a squatters 'estate agency' called the 'Rough Tough Cream Puff'. In 1977 he and a couple of hundred fellow squatters established the ‘state’ of Frestonia in Notting Hill and declared independence from Britain. Then Shadow Chancellor, Geoffrey Howe, wrote to express his support and Williams was appointed UK Ambassador. Frestonia lasted almost a decade and had its own institutions and postage stamps.
Williams spray-painted graffiti on the walls of Buckingham Palace as a protest against the Queen signing Michael X's death warrant while there was no capital punishment in the UK. In the early 1970s, his agitational graffiti were a feature on the walls of the then low-rent end of London's Notting Hill district.
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Heathcote Williams
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Birth name John Henley Heathcote-Williams
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Death 1 july 2017 (at 75 years)
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Death 1 july 2017 (at 75 years)
Heathcote Williams (born 15 November 1941) is an English poet, actor and dramatist. He has written a number of best-selling book-length polemical poems including Autogeddon, Falling for a Dolphin and Whale Nation, which in 1988 became, according to Philip Hoare "the most powerful argument for the newly instigated worldwide ban on whaling.". Williams invented his idiosyncratic 'documentary/investigative poetry' style which he continues to put to good purpose bringing a diverse range of environmental and political matters to public attention. In June 2015, he published a book-length investigative poem about the 'Muslim Gandhi', Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 'Badshah Khan'
As well as being a prolific playwright and screen writer, Williams has appeared in a number of well-known Independent and Hollywood films and was among the celebrity guests in the final 'Friends' episode, 'The One Where Ross Gets Married'. He played Prospero in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest and has appeared in several ‘arthouse’ films, including Orlando, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Basic Instinct 2.Al Pacino played the part of a Williams fan in a spoof arts documentary, Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get Into Trouble.
Williams also writes lyrics, collaborating with Marianne Faithfull among others.
Williams is a keen naturalist and discovered a new species of honey-producing wasp in the Amazon jungle, an event he recorded in a book of poems called 'Forbidden Fruit'
Williams is a member of the Magic Circle and a skilful magician. He wrote a TV play called What the Dickens! about Charles Dickens’s penchant for performing magic shows. Bob Hoskins taught him fire eating. When he went to demonstrate his new found talent to then girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, he accidentally set himself alight on her door step.
Williams was a leading activist in the London squatting scene in the 1970s and ran a squatters 'estate agency' called the 'Rough Tough Cream Puff'. In 1977 he and a couple of hundred fellow squatters established the ‘state’ of Frestonia in Notting Hill and declared independence from Britain. Then Shadow Chancellor, Geoffrey Howe, wrote to express his support and Williams was appointed UK Ambassador. Frestonia lasted almost a decade and had its own institutions and postage stamps.
Williams spray-painted graffiti on the walls of Buckingham Palace as a protest against the Queen signing Michael X's death warrant while there was no capital punishment in the UK. In the early 1970s, his agitational graffiti were a feature on the walls of the then low-rent end of London's Notting Hill district.
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Filmography of Heathcote Williams (26 films)
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The Odyssey (TV miniseries) (1997)
, 2h56Directed by Andreï Kontchalovski
Origin USA
Genres Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Films based on mythology, Transport films, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology
Actors Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Rossellini, Vanessa Williams, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts
Roles Laocoön
Rating69%
Odysseus (Armand Assante), the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Ithaca, is called to service in the Trojan War after the birth of his son Telemachus, much to the dismay of his wife Queen Penelope (Greta Scacchi). Odysseus is worried that he may not return, and tells Penelope that she should remarry by the time Telemachus is a man if he does not return. The war lasts ten years, during which Greece's best soldier, Achilles (Richard Trewett), is killed and the Greeks avenge him by using a giant horse to sneak inside and destroy the city of Troy. Laocoön (Heathcote Williams) tries to warn the Trojans of a vision of this, but is suddenly devoured by a sea monster. On the way back, Odysseus' ego gets the best of him and he tells the gods that he did it himself, which angers Poseidon (voiced by Miles Anderson) so much that he promises to make Odysseus' journey home to Penelope nearly impossible, mentioning that it was he who sent the sea monster to devour Laocoön.
Blue Juice (1995)
, 1h30Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Romance
Themes Sports films, Surfing films
Actors Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ewan McGregor, Steven Mackintosh, Peter Gunn, Heathcote Williams
Roles Shaper
Rating50%
JC seems to have it all figured out. By day he runs a surf school, at night he lies down next to his beautiful girlfriend Chloe, his lifelong dream is to travel the world surfing. However, when old mates arrive from London unannounced it releases tensions which have long been simmering under the surface of JC and Chloe's seemingly perfect relationship. Chloe decides to buy the local surfer cafe and settle down, His friends, especially drug-dealer Dean are intent on causing mischief and sucking JC back into surfing a dangerous reef, which he had attempted before, seriously injuring his back.
The Steal (1995)
Genres Thriller, Comedy
Actors Alfred Molina, Helen Slater, Peter Bowles, Dinsdale Landen, Heathcote Williams, Stephen Fry
Roles Jeremiah
Rating48%
Dans ce thriller comique, un avocat et une pirate informatique cherchent à se venger d'un promoteur qui a dépouillé les habitants d'une île de leurs terres.
The Browning Version (1994)
, 1h37Directed by Mike Figgis
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Films about education, Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Albert Finney, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Modine, Julian Sands, Michael Gambon, Ben Silverstone
Roles Dr. Lake
Rating71%
Andrew Crocker-Harris (Albert Finney) is a veteran teacher of Greek and Latin at a British Public school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire on the pretext of his health, and perhaps may not even be given a pension. He is disliked or ignored by the other teachers and while his pupils fear his relentlessly strict discipline, they are bored by his dictatorial but dreary and un-inspiring teaching methods. His younger wife Laura (Greta Scacchi), whom he has sexually and emotionally neglected, is unfaithful, and now lives to wound him any way she can. She is having an affair with Frank (Matthew Modine), an eager, young American science teacher who is highly popular with his pupils, much more lenient with class-room rules yet is able connect with the students. In his final class, Andrew, whilst reading from a Greek play, finally shows some genuine passion about the subject, giving a glimpse at the teacher he could have been. Andrew's nervous new replacement Tom (Julian Sands) expresses his awe at the ironclad control that the former exerts over his classes, but Andrew advises his young colleague not to follow his example.
Orlando (1992)
, 1h33Directed by Sally Potter
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Themes Feminist films, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Transgender in film, Political films, LGBT-related films, Films about royalty, LGBT-related film
Actors Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey
Roles Nick Greene / Publisher
Rating70%
The film begins in the Elizabethan era shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth I. On her deathbed, Elizabeth promises an androgynous young nobleman named Orlando a large tract of land and a castle built on it along with a generous monetary gift which she will only bequeath to him if he consents to her command, "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." Both he and his heirs will keep the land and inheritance forever. Orlando acquiesces and resides in splendid isolation in the castle for a couple of centuries, during which time he dabbles in poetry and art. His attempts to befriend a celebrated poet, however, backfire when the poet ridicules his verse. Orlando then travels to Constantinople as British ambassador to the Turks, but he is almost killed in a diplomatic fracas there. Waking up the next morning, he learns something even more startling: he has physically transformed into a woman overnight.
Stormy Monday (1988)
, 1h33Directed by Mike Figgis
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime, Romance
Actors Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting, Sean Bean, James Cosmo, Prunella Gee
Roles Peter Reed
Rating61%
A young man, Brendan (Sean Bean), seeks work in a jazz club ('The Key Club') owned by Finney (Sting). There is some suggestion that Finney has past connections with organised crime but is attempting to leave these behind. Two gangsters arrive to make Finney an offer 'he cannot refuse' for his club but Brendan overhears them and warns Finney, who then turns the tables on them. At the same time Newcastle is preparing to host a visit from a group of American investors that it hopes to engage in a grandiose regeneration project. Kate (Melanie Griffith), a waitress, has been recruited to service the delegation. Kate and Brendan meet and fall in love. Among the visiting group is Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) a corrupt businessman who we learn uses Kate as a prostitute to secure business deals. It is Cosmo who has been putting the pressure on Finney as the club stands in the way of his plans for the city leading to an eventual conflict.
Wish You Were Here (1987)
, 1h32Directed by David Leland
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Pregnancy films, Films about sexuality
Actors Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Heathcote Williams, Jesse Birdsall, Geoffrey Hutchings, Charlotte Barker
Roles Dr. Holroyd
Rating67%
Sixteen-year-old Lynda Mansell (Emily Lloyd) lives in a small English seaside town in the early 1950s. She is feisty and precocious and tries to shock other people with her vulgar and saucy tongue (her favourite insult is "Up yer bum"). Bored with conventional jobs (which she frequently loses) and her town's dull young men, Lynda has her first sexual experience with Dave (Jesse Birdsall) but after she has slept with one of her father's middle-aged friends (Tom Bell), her life changes. She becomes pregnant and her father, a somewhat rigid and conventional man, disowns her. Desperately she tries to seek an illegal abortion but in the end decides to become a mother.
Little Dorrit (1987)
, 6hOrigin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Derek Jacobi, Joan Greenwood, Max Wall, Patricia Hayes, Alec Guinness, Miriam Margolyes
Roles Dr. Haggage
Rating71%
Le film est présenté en deux parties. Dans la première, sous-titrée "La faute à personne" (une allusion à un des titres auxquels avait pensé Dickens pour le roman), l'histoire est présentée en fonction du personnage d'Arthur Clennam. La seconde, sous-titrée "L'histoire de la petite Dorrit", reprend une grande partie des mêmes événements, mais cette fois selon le point de vue de l'héroïne.
The Tempest (1979)
, 1h32Directed by Derek Jarman
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Fantasy
Themes Films about sexuality, Théâtre, LGBT-related films, Films based on plays, Films based on works by William Shakespeare, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Heathcote Williams, Peter C. Bull, Toyah Willcox, Jack Birkett, Richard Warwick, Claire Davenport
Roles Prospero, the Right Duke of Milan
Rating63%
Malatesta (1970)
, 1h20Directed by Peter Lilienthal
Genres Drama
Themes Films about anarchism, Political films
Actors Eddie Constantine, Heathcote Williams, Vladimír Pucholt, Christine Noonan, Wallas Eaton
Roles Josef Solokow
Rating66%
Scriptwriter
Hotel (2001)
, 1h33Directed by Mike Figgis
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors Salma Hayek, Saffron Burrows, Lucy Liu, Valentina Cervi, Burt Reynolds, George DiCenzo
Roles Adaptation
Rating41%
While a British film crew are shooting a version of The Duchess of Malfi in Venice, they in turn are being filmed by a sleazy documentary primadonna while the strange hotel staff share meals which consist of human meat. The story expands to involve a hit man, a call girl and the Hollywood producer.
The Local Stigmatic (1990)
, 56minutesDirected by Al Pacino
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Al Pacino, Paul Guilfoyle, Joseph Maher
Roles Writer
Rating56%
Malatesta (1970)
, 1h20Directed by Peter Lilienthal
Genres Drama
Themes Films about anarchism, Political films
Actors Eddie Constantine, Heathcote Williams, Vladimír Pucholt, Christine Noonan, Wallas Eaton
Roles Writer
Rating66%