Kenneth Colley

Biography

Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing". According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Known For

Midsomer Murders

as Lloyd Kirby

Peaky Blinders

as Vicente Changretta

Agatha Christie's Poirot

as Mathew Davenheim

Vera

as Ronald Devreux

The Avengers

Foyle's War

as Brian Jones

Minder

as Ron

Casualty

as Paddy

Casualty

as Clifford Watkins

Casualty

as Arthur Cobb

Play for Today

as Bruce Tetley

Play for Today

as Frank Benyon

Heartbeat

as Clive Harris

Relic Hunter

as Professor Lamenza

BBC Play of the Month

as Yolinichev

Inspector Morse

as DCI Patrick Dawson

Peak Practice

as Stan Jordan

Crown Court

as Stanley Meredith

New Tricks

Misfits

as Old Rudy