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 Shak...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Dan Hawk Psychic Detective
2024
as Thaddeus Moncrief
Dan Hawk, an ex-detective turned writer, is re-instated onto the force after returning to his home town. A serial killer has 'donned the guise' of Haw...

Scar Tissue
2013
as Weaver
When Luke wakes up and finds a mutilated corpse in his bathroom, his life changes for ever. Stalked by a terrifying psychopathic serial killer, he has...

LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
2012
as Admiral Piett (voice)
Luke Skywalker embarks on a mission to destroy an Imperial base, but is relentlessly chased by a group of fanatic girls who think of him as a celebrit...

Greetings
2007
as Ken
It's Cathy's party, but she's not having a good time. The boys have found an Ouija board and are out for some harmless fun. When strange things start ...

Greetings
2007
Producer, Director, Writer
It's Cathy's party, but she's not having a good time. The boys have found an Ouija board and are out for some harmless fun. When strange things start ...

Like Father Like Son
2005
as Rawsthorne
Life for Dee Stanton is improving at every turn. Her legal career is blossoming and her boyfriend Dominic unexpectedly proposes to her. Things were ve...
Hold Back the Night
1999
as Uncle Bob
A young woman joins a group of protesters trying to stop the construction of a highway through a forest with the purpose of having sex with their lead...

Shadow Run
1998
as Larcombe
Haskell is assigned a job by his boss, the aristocratic Landon-Higgins, to highjack a high security van in broad daylight while it's in the shadow run...

Brassed Off
1996
as Greasley
A Yorkshire coal mine is threatened with closure and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competiti...

Robert Rylands' Last Journey
1996
as Archdale
Loosely (and controversial) adaptation of the novel "All Souls" by Javier Marias. It tells the story of a Spanish professor at Oxford who witnesses th...

Solomon & Sheba
1995
as Nathan
In the land of Israel, Solomon (Jimmy Smits) is trying to figure out a way to become the world’s supplier of frankincense. He sends an envoy to the ti...

Unnatural Causes
1993
as Inspector Gerry Reckless
Roy Marsden returns as author P.D. James's indefatigable gumshoe, Inspector Adam Dalgliesh. This time, he's investigating the murder of a famous myste...

The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
1992
as John Ireland
A biopic about the eminent composer Sir Arnold Bax.

La Vie de Bohème
1992
as Street Sweeper
Three penniless artists become friends in modern-day Paris: Rodolfo, an Albanian painter with no visa, Marcel, a playwright and magazine editor with n...

Prisoner of Honor
1991
as Capt. Dreyfus
France, 1897. Colonel Georges Picquart challenges the French government when he discovers the obscure political maneuvers that led to the imprisonment...

The Last Island
1990
as Nick
After a large airliner crashes on a deserted island killing most of the passengers, two women, five men and a dog survive: an Eastern European, a Cana...

I Hired a Contract Killer
1990
as The Killer
After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract...

Kremlin Farewell
1990
as Sergej
A drama of intrigue and betrayal in Stalin's Russia. Stepan grows up in an orphanage, learning to love Stalin as 'a father to all children'. He retain...

The Plot to Kill Hitler
1990
as Wilhelm Keitel
A historical recreation of the 1944 attempt by several German High Command Officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take control of the German governm...

The Rainbow
1989
as Mr. Brunt
Born to a rich landowner in the waning days of the Victorian era, Ursula Brangwen grows into a beautiful young woman full of imagination and ambition....

A Master of the Marionettes
1989
as Inspector Tennyson
Teddy Rose's passion is security - selling alarm systems to prosperous yet fearful suburban homes, one of which he and his family inhabit with conspic...

A Summer Story
1988
as Jim
A young lawyer from London, Mr. Ashton, and his best friend are hiking across Dartmoor. When he twists his ankle, Ashton is forced to seek help at a n...

Casanova
1987
as Le Duc
The life story of an 18th century womanizer who's arrested, not so much for his crimes, but because he's viewed as an undesirable by the husbands and ...

The Whistle Blower
1986
as Bill Pickett
A war veteran tries to investigate the murder of his son who was working as a Russian translator for the British intelligence service during the Cold ...

Return to Waterloo
1984
as The Traveller
A man taking the train to work one morning is overcome by melancholy memories and morbid fantasies.

Return of the Jedi
1983
as Admiral Piett
Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, while the Emperor seeks to destroy the Rebellion onc...

The Scarlet and the Black
1983
as Capt. Hirsch
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His...

Giro City
1982
as Martin
Welsh investigative journalists set out to cover the Troubles in Northern Ireland only to unearth censorship and corruption back home.

Firefox
1982
as Colonel Kontarsky
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are ...

I Remember Nelson
1982
as Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
Vice Adm. Horatio Nelson's remarkable naval career and troubled personal affairs are brought to life in this miniseries, which tells his famous story ...

The Empire Strikes Back
1980
as Admiral Piett
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Dar...

Life of Brian
1979
as Jesus
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his...

The Danedyke Mystery
1979
as The Major
In the village of Danedyke St Mary the Reverend Septimus Treloar, a former Chief Inspector, investigates mysterious goings on linked to his church.

Measure for Measure
1979
as Duke Vincentio
When the Duke of Vienna takes a mysterious leave of absence and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, things couldn't be worse for Claudio, who is sente...

Les Misérables
1978
as Police Prefect
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both me...

One Bummer News Day
1978
as Frank Benyon
What happens to provincial journalists when there's nothing in the news and they have a paper to fill?

Come the Revolution
1977
as Bruce Tetley
Comedy about a pub theatre group seen as dramatic revolutionaries by an actress with more than her share of imagination.

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
1977
as Robber
Eric Olthwaite is so boring that his family all leave home to escape him. Then one day he is accidentally caught up in a bank robbery and discovers th...

Jabberwocky
1977
as 1st Fanatic
After the death of his father, young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened ...

Lisztomania
1975
as Frederic Chopin
In the 19th century, Romantic composer/pianist Franz Liszt tries to end his hedonistic ways but keeps getting sucked back in by his seductive fellow c...

Flame
1975
as Tony Devlin
Light the Rock 'n Roll spark with a Flame in the guise of Dave, Noddy, Jim and Don and their showcase of the rise and demise of rock band Flame. Set i...

Juggernaut
1974
as Detective Brown
A terrorist demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he has planted aboard a trans-Atlantic cruise ship.

Mahler
1974
as Krenek
Famed composer Gustav Mahler reflects on the tragedies of his life and failing marriage while traveling by train.

Hitler: The Last Ten Days
1973
as Boldt
Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it provide...

The Triple Echo
1972
as Provo Corporal
After her husband is captured during WWII, homesteader Alice is forced to maintain their land herself. One day, a wandering soldier named Barton stops...

The Boy Friend
1971
as King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)
When the leading lady of a low-budget musical revue sprains her ankle, the assistant stage manager is forced to understudy and perform in her place.

The Devils
1971
as Legrand
In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier seeks to protect the city of Loudun from the corrupt establishment of Cardinal Richelieu. Hysteria occu...

The Music Lovers
1971
as Modeste Tchaikovsky
Composer, conductor and teacher Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky struggles against his homosexual tendencies by marrying, but unfortunately, he chooses wacky n...

Performance
1970
as Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When ...

Dance of the Seven Veils
1970
Russell’s composer biopics were usually labours of love. This was the opposite: he regarded Strauss’s music as 'bombastic, sham and hollow', and despi...

The Blood Beast Terror
1968
as James
A Scotland Yard Detective must investigate a series of murders perpetrated by a giant blood-sucking moth that can take human form.
Who Pays?
1968
as Corbett
After a scout troupe is tragically mowed down by a truck, responsibility passes around the driver, the poorly sited roadworks and the scout master for...

How I Won the War
1967
as 2nd Replacement
An inept British WWII commander leads his troops to a series of misadventures in North Africa and Europe.

The Jokers
1967
as De Winter
Brothers Michael and David Tremayne decide to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, not for criminal purposes, but to make themselves famou...

Three Clear Sundays
1965
as Nick
Ken Loach production for The Wednesday Play, reflecting contemporary debates surrounding the abolishment of capital punishment.

Seventy Deadly Pills
1963
as Covent Garden porter
A small boy, Dickie Goodwin, finds some strychnine pills mixed with sweets in a stolen car left in a deserted garage. With them he buys his way into t...