Ken Hutchison

Ken Hutchison

Born: November 24, 1943
Died: August 9, 2021
in Leslie, Fife, Scotland, UK
One of the most brilliant character actors of his generation, Hollywood's loss was British television's gain with Ken Hutchison. Born in Scotland, his handsome features and cheeky expression guaranteed him a career in character roles, but his dangerous streak led him early in his career into dark, villainous roles. He was cast by Sam Peckinpah as one of the sinister villagers of Straw Dogs (1971), raping Susan George and participating in the film's closing violent siege. Peckinpah took to the actor, and the pair indulged in their love of drinking throughout the shoot, often to the frustration of those around them. Hutchison was soon offered a role in the Robert Mitchum film The Wrath of God (1972) but this was his one and only shot at the big time. Quite what went wrong is open to debate. Some say he was wary of success and got cold feet. Whether that is true or not, what certainly didn't help was his unruly behaviour which made studio execs nervous of casting him again. He returned to Britain and continued his career as an anonymous but astounding character actor. He appeared in two of John Mackenzie's Play For Today films based on Peter McDougall scripts. In Play for Today: Just Another Saturday (1975) he played the head thug of the Orange Lodge, and in Play for Today: Just a Boys' Game (1979) he played Dancer Dunnichy, an irresponsible rogue who lived for drinking and dodging responsibility, a character that seemed to echo his offscreen persona. Hutchison was a stalwart of British TV crime series at this time, appearing in series such as Shoestring (1979), Target (1977) and Jemima Shore Investigates (1983) as well as The Sweeney (1974). In fact he also played the lead villain in the movie Sweeney 2 (1978), but the script allowed him precious little opportunity to shown off his skills as an actor. In 1978 the BBC cast him as Heathcliff in a serialisation of Wuthering Heights (1978) and he brilliantly captured the rough magic of the character. In the 80s he was seen less, although he had a regular role as the boss in children's series Murphy's Mob (1982). Since then he has appeared inevitably in shows like The Bill (1984). His great strength is an incredible ability with accents, and super comic timing, but he is also excellent at conveying menace. A riveting screen presence, Hutchison is long overdue for recognition as a treasure for British drama, a talent which his own country has rarely recognised.

Movies for Ken Hutchison...

Mantrap – Straw Dogs: The Final Cut
Title: Mantrap – Straw Dogs: The Final Cut
Character: Self - Actor / Norman Scutt
Released: March 8, 2003
Type: Movie
Documentary about the making of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film "Straw Dogs."
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Title: Hamish Macbeth
Character: Harry Dobbs
Released: March 26, 1995
Type: TV
Hamish Macbeth is a comedy-drama series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton. The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the west coast of Scotland. The titular character was played by Robert Carlyle. It ran for three series from 1995 to 1997, with the first two series having six episodes and the third having eight.
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Milner
Title: Milner
Character: Ronald Jesson
Released: December 19, 1994
Type: Movie
Stephen Milner is a solicitor, but he fits uneasily into the world of Lewis Strange and Partners, who are an upmarket firm of solicitors. The film follows Milner's fraught relationship with a lucrative client, Ron Jesson. When one of his offices goes up in flames, the press are convinced that Ron arranged the fire for insurance purposes. Milner also has to cope with an estranged wife, batty mother and debt ridden younger brother.
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As an Eilean
Title: As an Eilean
Character: MacAlasdair
Released: October 14, 1993
Type: Movie
The inhabitants of a remote Scottish village live and learn.
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Blonde Fist
Title: Blonde Fist
Character: John O'Dowd
Released: November 1, 1991
Type: Movie
A woman attempts to escape her domestic problems by fleeing to New York in search of her father. She finds him, and also new problems, some friendship, a romance, and an unexpected career as pro-boxer, to make ends meet.
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Title: Casualty
Character: Mr. Draper
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
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Ladyhawke
Title: Ladyhawke
Character: Marquet
Released: March 27, 1985
Type: Movie
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
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Gandhi
Title: Gandhi
Character: Police Sergeant
Released: December 1, 1982
Type: Movie
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
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The World Cup: A Captain's Tale
Title: The World Cup: A Captain's Tale
Character: Jimmy Dickenson
Released: June 13, 1982
Type: Movie
The true story of the First world football competition, won by a team comprised of miners from Durham.
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Title: Masada
Character: Fronto
Released: April 5, 1981
Type: TV
A Roman general leads the epic 1st-century siege of Masada, the mountain fortress where more than 900 Jews made a heroic stand against 5,000 Roman soldiers.
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A Gift from Nessus
Title: A Gift from Nessus
Character: Eddie Cameron
Released: February 28, 1980
Type: Movie
Salesman Edie Cameron experiences setbacks in his work and personal life.
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All Quiet on the Western Front
Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Character: Hammacher
Released: November 14, 1979
Type: Movie
At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.
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Just a Boys' Game
Title: Just a Boys' Game
Character: Dancer Dunnichy
Released: November 8, 1979
Type: Movie
Jake lives in the shadow of his dying grandfather, who was once the town's toughest hard man. Despite their hatred of each other, Jake's sole aim is to be as tough as the old man was. One day in Jake's life, as he drifts, drinks and fights, leads to a bleak realisation.
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Title: Minder
Character: Brickett
Released: October 29, 1979
Type: TV
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley.
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Title: Wuthering Heights
Character: Heathcliff
Released: September 24, 1978
Type: TV
Wuthering Heights is a 1978 British film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights, starring Ken Hutchison, Kay Adshead, Pat Heywood, and John Duttine that was originally broadcast on BBC-TV as a 5-part mini-series.
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One of the Boys
Title: One of the Boys
Character: Ted
Released: May 2, 1978
Type: Movie
An evening's drinking by rugby players after a match gets out of hand.
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Sweeney 2
Title: Sweeney 2
Character: Hill
Released: March 30, 1978
Type: Movie
The plot is set on a group of bank robbers, who are both violent and successful, strangely getting away each time with an amount around the £60,000 mark, and often leaving behind cash in excess of this sum. The robbers are willing to kill their own team, to get away. As Jack Regan himself puts it after the first raid in the film: "I've never seen so many dead people". Armed with gold-plated Purdey shotguns, they evaded Regan and the Flying Squad for quite some time, before Regan finds encouragement from his Detective Chief Superintendent who was sent down for corruption because Jack wouldn't testify in court for him.
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Red Shift
Title: Red Shift
Character: Logan
Released: January 17, 1978
Type: Movie
Three men at three different times in history come to Mow Top hill in search of sanctuary from their troubles. A Roman soldier, a medieval rebel and a 1970s young man. Somehow they seem linked through an energy within the hill and an axe. Is history doomed to repeat itself or can loving another person free them?
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Title: Space: 1999
Character: Greg Sanderson
Released: September 4, 1975
Type: TV
The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.
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Just Another Saturday
Title: Just Another Saturday
Character: Rab
Released: July 5, 1975
Type: Movie
It's the day of the Orange Parade in Glasgow, but for Jon, the thrill of leading the parade and swinging the mace soon turns to horror as he learns the truth behind the costumes and songs.
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Deadly Strangers
Title: Deadly Strangers
Character: Jim Nicholls
Released: April 1, 1975
Type: Movie
After she misses her train, a young woman is forced to hitch a ride back to town. After managing to get away from a lecherous trucker, she is given a ride by a good-looking but somewhat mysterious young man, who she comes to suspect may be a dangerous escapee from a mental asylum.
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Title: The Sweeney
Character: Vincent Vaughan
Released: January 2, 1975
Type: TV
Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.
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Title: The Protectors
Character: Mark Jenner
Released: September 29, 1972
Type: TV
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.
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The Wrath of God
Title: The Wrath of God
Character: Emmet Keogh
Released: July 14, 1972
Type: Movie
Set in the 1920s, several foreigners held by a South American military group are offered possible freedom if they accept to topple a local crazed military leader.
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Straw Dogs
Title: Straw Dogs
Character: Norman Scutt
Released: November 25, 1971
Type: Movie
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.
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Title: Play for Today
Character: Macey
Released: October 15, 1970
Type: TV
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
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The Long Distance Piano Player
Title: The Long Distance Piano Player
Character: Macey
Released: October 15, 1970
Type: Movie
The first Play for Today is the story of one man's obsession (to win the world long distance piano playing record) and the battle for good (his wife) and evil (his agent) that rages around him.