Derek Godfrey

Who was Derek Godfrey?

Derek Godfrey was a British actor who appeared in several films and BBC television dramatisations during the 1960s and 1970s.

Born in London, he performed with the Old Vic from 1956 where he played the roles of Iachimo and Enobarbus. With the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1960, he performed as Orsino, Hector, Petruchio and Malvolio. According to The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, Godfrey "[w]ith his fine voice and often sardonic appearance...was a loyal company actor who revealed an intuitive grasp of the dark characters in Jacobean plays".

He created the role of Jack Gurney in the play The Ruling Class on which the film of that title was based. He also appeared in a number of films such as Hands of the Ripper and The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and the BBC television dramas The Pallisers and Nicholas Nickleby.