John Nicholas Finch (2 March 1942 – 28 December 2012) was an English stage and film actor who became well known for his Shakespearean roles. Most notably, he starred in films for directors Roman Polanski (Macbeth, 1971) and Alfred Hitchcock (Frenzy, 1972).
Between 1950 and 1960, Finch was educated at Caterham School, an independent school in Caterham.[2] Upon leaving school he turned down the offer of a place at the London School of Economics.[3]
After performing in amateur theatre groups and singing in a folk group, Finch did his National ServiceinThe Parachute Regiment and stayed on as a member of the SAS Reserve Regiment, training at weekends and several nights a week. He resigned from the military as his acting commitments became more demanding,[4] and said he was relieved to not have to go to Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation (1963–66).[5]
He appeared on stage in From the Hill in 1963.[6] He got a job as assistant manager in Penbroke Theatre in the Round.[7]
In the early phase of his career, Finch appeared in episodes of Crossroads, The Fellows, ITV Playhouse, City '68, Tom Grattan's War, ITV Sunday Night Theatre and Thirty-Minute Theatre. He was in a number of episodes of Z-Cars and played Sir John Mortimer in a BBC play about Mary, Queen of Scots in 1969.
Finch played the lead character, Simon King, in the BBC science fiction series Counterstrike (1969), one of the last BBC drama series made in black and white. One of the ten episodes made was never screened, owing to the broadcast in its place of a documentary about the Kray Twins when they were jailed.
Finch met Roman Polanski on a plane flight. That led to the actor being cast in the lead in Polanski's 1971 versionofWilliam Shakespeare's Macbeth.[9][10][11][12] His casting was announced in October 1970,[13] and was controversial, because Finch was so young and had not performed any Shakespeare previously.[14][15]
Alfred Hitchcock was looking for a lesser-known leading man for Frenzy (1972). He was impressed with the rushes for Macbeth and cast Finch. That in turn led to him being cast in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), as William Lamb. Finch said at that stage of his career he wanted to make "one good film" a year and do theatre. He had two more films to do for Caliban, the company which made Macbeth, and was going to write screenplays. Projects announced for him included an adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Possessed and a thriller The Reporter.[8]
However, while Frenzy was a hit, Macbeth, Lady Caroline Lamb and Final Programme were commercial disappointments. Finch starred in Diagnosis: Murder (1974).[17] In 1975, he played the title role in a BBC/ABC joint production series about Australia's first outlawed bushranger, Ben Hall.[18]
Finch went to Europe to star in Game of Seduction (1976), directed by Roger Vadim, as well as The Second Power (1976) and The Standard (1977). He was credited as guest star in The New AvengersMedium Rare (1977)
In 1977, he was the original choice for the role of Doyle, taken by Martin Shaw, in the British television series The Professionals (Shaw previously had played Banquo to Finch's Macbeth in Polanski's film).[4] Finch withdrew at the last minute, claiming that he "couldn't possibly play a policeman".[20]
At the end of the decade, Finch's roles in films included Death on the Nile (1978) and La Sabina (1979).[24]
He was cast as Kane in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), but had to drop out after he fell ill on the first day of filming, and John Hurt was cast in his place.[25]
Finch became increasingly associated with support roles like Plaza Real (1988) and Streets of Yesterday, and guest starred on TV shows. On stage, he was the man inside the bandages in Ken Hill’s 1991 production of The Invisible Man at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.[28]
Finch's body was discovered in his flat in Hastings, East Sussex, on 28 December 2012, after friends and family had become concerned for his welfare. He was 70 years old.[29]
While filming Diagnosis: Murder in 1974, Finch was more than 40 lbs underweight, passed out a couple times on set, and was then diagnosed with diabetes after being hospitalised for two weeks.[3] In the early 1970s, until his diagnosis, he was also a racing car driver (single-seaters), but the condition prevented him from getting a racing driver licence.[19]
Finch was married once, to the actress Catriona MacColl. They wed in 1982[30] and divorced in 1987. He later had a daughter.[31][4]
