Biography
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, Kt, CBE (August 29, 1923 – August 24, 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and politician. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Attenborough joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and served in the film unit. He went on several bombing raids over Europe and filmed action from the rear gunner's position. As a film director and producer,...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Humphrey Jennings: The Man Who Listened to Britain
2025
as Self
Documentary about Humphrey Jennings, an English documentary filmmaker from the 1930s to 1950.
And the Winner Isn't
2017
as Self (archive footage)
A satirical documentary charting Geoffrey Moore and his daughter Ambra’s journey through Hollywood, as the pair track down celebrities and industry in...
Diana: The People's Princess
2017
as Self
A princess so tragically taken in the prime of her life. Follow the fascinated tale of Princess Diana… The peoples Princess.
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
2014
as Self
The life story of the film director, movie star and industry figure who furthered the cause of cinema: Lord Richard Attenborough.
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy ...
Return to Jurassic Park
2011
as Self (archive footage)
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the ...
Chaplin the Hero
2008
as Self
Short documentary exploring the fame and talent of Charlie Chaplin.
The Most Famous Man in the World!
2008
as Self
A look at Charlie Chaplin and his rise to fame.
Strolling Into the Sunset
2008
as Self
Documentary about the making of Chaplin (1992).
Closing the Ring
2007
Director, Producer
During the 1940s, a group of young men go off to war, leaving behind Ethel Ann, who is in love with one of them, Teddy. In modern-day Belfast, a man n...
The Making of 'The Sand Pebbles'
2007
as Self
The Making of 'The Sand Pebbles' features video clips of surviving cast and crew, including Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen, and Neile Adams, the...
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
2005
as Self
Friends, family, co-stars and admirers of actor Steve McQueen talk about his life and his movie career.
Toward the Unknown Region: Malcolm Arnold - A Story of Survival
2004
as Self
A documentary portrait of composer Malcolm Arnold. Broadcast in two parts on The South Bank Show but premiered in its entirety at the Royal Festival H...
Within the Way Without
2004
as (voice)
At the dawn of the new millenium, a Dutch social worker, a famous Japanese poet and a Brazilian girl has made the road to Santiago and back to their c...
The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough
2003
as Self
Two-part Arena special celebrating the life and distinguished career of one of Britain's best-loved public figures. Lord Attenborough's film CV as act...
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
2003
as Self
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, writ...
Forever Ealing
2002
as Self
This is a history of the England's Ealing Film Studios, from its beginnings in 1902. It follows the studio's successes through the 1930's, World War I...
Puckoon
2002
as Writer/Director
Spike Milligan's book about the divided Irish village of Puckoon comes to the big screen.
Beyond Jurassic Park
2001
as Self
Prepare to go deeper into the breathtaking adventures of the Jurassic Park Trilogy! Highlighted by fascinating, never-seen-before footage from all th...
The Children Who Cheated the Nazis
2000
as Narrator
A documentary about the decisions parents made in evacuating their children out of harm's way (the Nazis), and being forced to stay behind, the parent...
The Railway Children
2000
as The Old Gentleman
Set at the turn of the 20th century, The Railway Children tells the story of three Edwardian children and their mother who move to a country house in ...
Light Keeps Me Company
2000
as Self
Carl-Gustaf Nykvist's documentary about his father, Sven Nykvist. The film is based on Sven's memoirs with Sven himself as narrator. A journey to the ...
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
2000
as Self
A film biography with a difference, Sir John Mills' Moving Memories charts the life of one of Britain's most distinguished actors. Compiled from inter...
The Spirit of Grey Owl
2000
as Self
Delves into the incredible story of the Englishman Archie Belaney who came to Canada and lived the life of an Ojibwa. He went on to become Canada’s be...
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
1999
as Jacob
Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, is betrayed by his jealous brothers, sold into slavery, and driven to Egypt. Though beset with adversity, Joseph per...
Grey Owl
1999
Director, Producer
Archie Grey Owl is a trapper in Canada in the early 1930s when a young Iroquois woman from town asks him to teach her Indian ways. They live in the wo...
Elizabeth
1998
as Sir William Cecil
The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the C...
Diana: Queen of Hearts
1998
as Self - Narrator
Close friends, family and world leaders profile the life of the princess. Narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough.
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
1998
as Self (archive footage)
Acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Arena explores the rise of the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra from his early fa...
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
1997
as John Hammond
Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing tha...
The Making of 'The Lost World'
1997
as Self
Behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of director Steven Spielberg's 1997 film "The Lost World."
Hamlet
1996
as English Ambassador
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
In Love and War
1996
Director, Producer
After teenage ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway takes shrapnel in the leg during World War I, he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a beautiful ol...
E=MC²
1996
as The Visitor
A physicist struggling to prove one of Einstein's theories still finds time to dabble in an extra-curricular relationship with one of his lab assistan...
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
1995
as Self / John Hammond
This documentary treats film fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Jurassic Park," one of the 90's biggest hits and a milestone in specia...
Miracle on 34th Street
1994
as Kris Kringle
Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, ...
In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid
1994
as Self
A documentary overview and ideological critique of the South African film industry and cinema's historical relationship with apartheid.
A Century of Cinema
1994
as Self
A look back at the first 100 years of the movies.
Shadowlands
1993
Producer, Director
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.
Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
1993
as Self
Audrey Hepburn was one of the movies' best-loved stars, blessed with beauty, talent, an elegant sophistication and an enduring aura of youthful innoce...
Jurassic Park
1993
as Hammond
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of e...
Chaplin
1992
Director, Producer
An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent per...
Pictures of Europe
1990
as Self
What makes European cinema so special? Find out in Paul Joyce’s feature-length documentary, Pictures of Europe, which examines the differences between...
Cry Freedom
1987
Producer, Director
A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods...
Mother Teresa
1986
as Narrator (voice)
We follow the daily activities of Mother Teresa and her nuns, in service to the poor of India and the world. Mother Teresa attends to the basic needs ...
A Chorus Line
1985
Director
A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminat...
The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
1985
as Self
Documentary - After starting his career producing religious film shorts, J. Arthur Rank went on to become Britain's first and only movie mogul with hi...
James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983
as Self
A look back at the first 21 years of Britain's most successful film series.
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
1983
as Self
The making of the film Gandhi (1982).
Gandhi
1982
Producer, Director
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian ...
The Human Factor
1979
as Colonel John Daintry
When a leak of information in the African section of British Intelligence is discovered, a security man is brought in to investigate.
Magic
1978
Director
A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.
The Chess Players
1977
as General Outram
In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich la...
A Bridge Too Far
1977
as Lunatic with Glasses (uncredited)
The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in H...
A Bridge Too Far
1977
Director
The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in H...
Conduct Unbecoming
1975
as Maggiore Lionel E. Roach
A company of British soldiers in colonial India is shaken when the widow of their most honored hero is assaulted. A young officer must defend a fellow...
Rosebud
1975
as Edward Sloat
In a bold coup a Palestinian terrorist group captures the yacht Rosebud and kidnaps the millionaires five daughters on it. At first they demand film c...
Brannigan
1975
as Cmdr. Charles Swann
A hard-nosed Chicago cop is sent to London to bring back an American mobster being held for extradition. Brannigan in his Irish-American way brings Am...
And Then There Were None
1974
as Judge Arthur Cannon
Ten people are invited to a hotel in the Iranian desert, only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one. Could one of them be the kille...
Young Winston
1972
Director
This historical drama is an account of the early life of British politician Winston Churchill, including his childhood years, his time as a war corres...
10 Rillington Place
1971
as John Christie
The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justic...
A Severed Head
1971
as Palmer Anderson
Antonia Lynch-Gibbon, wife of upper-crust wine dealer Martin, falls in love with her husband's best friend, noted psychiatrist Palmer Anderson. While ...
Loot
1970
as Inspector Truscott
Two bank robbers, Dennis and Hal, are on the run from the police after a successful heist. Needing somewhere to hide the loot, they turn to a funeral ...
The Last Grenade
1970
as General Charles Whiteley
Two ruthless mercenaries break their friendship when one of them changes sides.
Don't Make Me Laugh
1970
A compilation of extracts from Children's Film Foundation productions: "The Rescue Squad", "Ali and the Camel", "The Salvage Gang", "Go Kart Go", "Dan...
Will the Real Mr Sellers.....?
1969
Banned by the BBC in 1971, director Tony Palmer's profile of the late Peter Sellers was, in the words of the film's subject himself, "the only portrai...
The Magic Christian
1969
as Oxford Coach
Sir Guy Grand, the richest man in the world, adopts a homeless man, Youngman. Together, they set out to prove that anyone--and anything--can be bought...
David Copperfield
1969
as Mr. Tungay
A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relations...
Oh! What a Lovely War
1969
Director, Producer
The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warf...
The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
1968
as Robert Blossom
Harriet Blossom is married to Robert Blossom, a businessman who'd rather spend the night at his bra factory than at home with her. One day, Harriet's ...
Only When I Larf
1968
as Silas
A master conman leads a pair of British accomplices on an international adventure of highly profitable dirty tricks.
Doctor Dolittle
1967
as Albert Blossom
A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
The Sand Pebbles
1966
as Frenchy Burgoyne
Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat USS San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution...
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
as Lew Moran
A cargo aircraft crashes in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up ...
Guns at Batasi
1964
as Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale
An anachronistic martinet RSM on a remote Colonial African army caught in a local coup d'etat must use his experience to defend those in his care.
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
1964
as Bill
Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance ...
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
1964
Producer
Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance ...
The Third Secret
1964
as Alfred Price-Gorham
A prominent London psychologist seems to have taken his own life, causing stunned disbelief amongst his colleagues and patients. His teenage daughter ...
The Great Escape
1963
as Bartlett 'Big X'
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-secu...
The L-Shaped Room
1962
Producer
Jane is young, French, pregnant and unmarried. Bucking convention, she is uninterested in settling with her baby's father or getting an abortion. Afte...
Trial and Error
1962
as Herbert Fowle
After nearly 40 years of waiting for his big chance, Wilfred Morgenhall is given the case of defending Herbert Fowle who is accused of murdering his w...
All Night Long
1962
as Rod Hamilton
Over the course of one eventful evening, the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane, a jealous, ambi...
Only Two Can Play
1962
as Gareth L. Probert
John Lewis is bored of his job and his wife. Then Liz, wife of a local councillor, sets her sights on him. But this is risky stuff in a Welsh valleys ...
Whistle Down the Wind
1961
Producer
When an injured wife-murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the farmer’s three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of ...
The League of Gentlemen
1960
as Lexy
Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboa...
The Angry Silence
1960
as Tom Curtis
When the union in his factory walks out on strike, a family man refuses to participate, risking the wrath — and retaliation — of his fellow workers.
The Angry Silence
1960
Producer
When the union in his factory walks out on strike, a family man refuses to participate, risking the wrath — and retaliation — of his fellow workers.
SOS Pacific
1959
as Whitey Mullen
A flying boat has to ditch off an island in the Pacific. Along with the injured owner-pilot the passengers include a policeman and his smuggler prison...
Jet Storm
1959
as Ernest Tilley
Crisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
I'm All Right Jack
1959
as Sidney De Vere Cox
Naive Stanley Windrush returns from the war, his mind set on a successful career in business. Much to his own dismay, he soon finds he has to start fr...
Danger Within
1959
as Capt. 'Bunter' Phillips
Drama set in an Italian prisoner of war camp during World War 2, where a group of British soldiers find their plans for escape thwarted by a mysteriou...
Sea of Sand
1958
as Brody
A small British army team is sent deep behind enemy lines to destroy a German petrol dump as part of the preparation for a major attack in the North A...
The Man Upstairs
1958
as Peter Watson
The mental breakdown of a guilt-ridden man provides the drama in this fascinating psychological profile starring Richard Attenborough as a scientist w...
Dunkirk
1958
as John Holden
A British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain someh...
The Scamp
1957
as Stephen Leigh
Tod is a motherless boy, who is mistreated by his violent father. He eventually finds happiness with kindly foster parents.
Brothers in Law
1957
as Henry Marshall
Roger Thursby is an overly keen, newly-qualified barrister who rubs his fellow barristers up the wrong way. When he is thrown in at the deep-end, with...
The Baby and the Battleship
1956
as Knocker White
After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to ret...
Private's Progress
1956
as Pvt. Percival Henry Cox
Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be office...
The Ship That Died of Shame
1955
as George Hoskins
After World War II the crew of a motor gunboat join together to buy their old vessel and go into business for themselves. This may sound like a laudab...
Eight O'Clock Walk
1954
as Thomas Leslie Manning
Only a British cabdriver's (Richard Attenborough) wife (Cathy O'Donnell) and lawyer (Derek Farr) believe him innocent of killing a little girl.
Box for One
1953
as The Caller
A man on the run from a gang of criminals makes a series of increasingly panicked calls from a phone booth.
Father's Doing Fine
1952
as Dougall
Lady Buckering, an English widow, has four daughters; Doreen, married to Dougall and about to give birth at home, and Gerda, Bicky and Catherine. The ...
Gift Horse
1952
as Dripper Daniels
Compton Bennett's war drama The Gift Horse follows the fortunes of ageing destroyer The Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 19...
The Magic Box
1952
as Jack Carter
Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to i...
Hell Is Sold Out
1951
as Pierre Bonnet
A supposedly dead writer suddenly turns up to confront the young woman who is using his penname.
Morning Departure
1950
as Stoker Snipe
The crew of a submarine is trapped on the sea floor when it sinks. How can they be rescued before they run out of air?
Boys in Brown
1949
as Jackie Knowles
Jackie lives in poverty with his widowed mother. In a bid to escape poverty he gets involved in a robbery that sees him sentenced to three years in Bo...
The Lost People
1949
as Jan
Set in a German theatre after the Second World War, two British soldiers are holding a disparate and hostile band of refugees in this theatre, prior t...
London Belongs to Me
1948
as Percy Boon
Classic British drama about the residents of a large terrace house in London between Christmas 1938 and September 1939. Percy Boon lives with his mot...
The Guinea Pig
1948
as Jack Read
A working-class boy wins a scholarship to a public school, as part of a post-World War Two experiment in bringing boys of different social classes tog...
Brighton Rock
1948
as Pinkie Brown
Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's m...
Dancing with Crime
1947
as Ted Peters
When his best friend is murdered inside a London dancehall, a cab driver and his girlfriend involve themselves in the investigation and discover a maj...
The Man Within
1947
as Francis Andrews
A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.
School for Secrets
1946
as Jack Arnold
Wartime tale of a group of British scientists efforts to develop the first radar system. They did it just in time for it to be used in the Battle of B...
A Matter of Life and Death
1946
as An English Pilot
When a young RAF pilot miraculously survives bailing out of his aeroplane without a parachute, he falls in love with an American radio operator. But t...
Journey Together
1945
as David Wilton
Two Englishmen (Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling) train with the Royal Air Force, ending with a bombing raid on Berlin.
The True Glory
1945
as Commentator
A documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen. It opens as the as...
The Hundred Pound Window
1944
as Tommy Draper
An accountant who has to take a second job working at a racetrack, soon becomes mixed up with a shady crowd.
Schweik's New Adventures
1943
as Railway worker
Nazis are nothing to the wily good soldier Schweik (Lloyd Pearson).
In Which We Serve
1942
as Young Stoker
The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only comman...