One of England's most popular actors for more than four decades, Martin Shaw is noted for his versatility. He has featured in over 100 TV roles, his
long TV career beginning in 1967 with the television episode
Love on the Dole (1967). He achieved genuine stardom with
The Professionals (1977), generally seen, along with
The Sweeney (1975), as one of the two classic British action series to be spawned from the 1970s. Before that, Mr. Shaw had always been careful to be very different in each of his roles to
avoid being typecast, and to spend long periods in the theatre.
His
theatrical career has been very distinguished, with a string of West
End successes, beginning in 1967 with the first revival of "Look Back
in Anger" and most recently on Broadway as Lord Goring in "An Ideal
Husband" which won him a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk award for
Best Actor. The Professionals was an international hit, and brought him
offers of similar roles. Never one to take the obvious route, Shaw
refused them all, including the American series
The Equalizer (1985),
preferring variety of work to riches.
A rare television flop for Shaw was
Rhodes (1996), a quickly forgotten mini-series about the highly controversial British imperialist
Cecil Rhodes. Later projects have included a hospital drama,
Always and Everyone (1999)
from Granada, in which he plays consultant Robert Kingsford, and playing
Adam Dalgliesh in the BBC adaptations of
P.D. James's novels
Death in Holy Orders (2003)
and
The Murder Room (2004).
He works almost exclusively in
England, where he lives in a beautiful Quaker house in Norfolk, once
owned by an ancestor of Abraham Lincoln. He is a pilot, and owns and
flies a vintage biplane, a Boeing Stearman.
Reticent about his private life, he dislikes interviews, and has little
respect for the press.
The Long Call(2021)as Dennis Stephenson
The Jungle Book: The Mowgli Stories(2021)
Off the Rails(2021)as Federico
Inspector George Gently(2007)as DCI George Gently
C.B. Strike(2017)as Tony Landry
Apparitions(2008)
Good Morning Britain(2014)as Self, Self - Guest
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh(2020)as Self
Warbird Workshop(2020)as Self - Narrator
A Century in the Sky(2020)as Narrator
The One Show(2006)as Self - Guest
Coronation Street: Compilations(2020)as Robert Croft
Britain's Favourite Detective(2020)as DCI George Gently
The Cars That Made Britain Great(2016)as Self
The Professionals: Restoration(2016)as Doyle
Almost Famous III(2010)as Self
