Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. He is known for his long-running role as Ric Griffin on the BBC One medical drama Holby City (2001–20), and for playing Captain Panaka in the Star Wars film Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). He is also known for stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, of which he has been a member since 1981 and an associate since 2005.[1] His film work includes Highlander, Nightbreed and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. He is a BAFTA Award nominee, and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and Emmy Award winner.
Hugh Quarshie | |
|---|---|
 Quarshie at German Comic Con 2024 | |
| Born | Hugh Anthony Kobna Amo Quarshie 22 December 1954 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Bryanston School Dean Close School |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Annika Sundström |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
editA member of the Euro-African community of Ghana, Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry. He was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina (née Phillips; 1917–2004) and Richard Quarshie (1913–2006). His mother was of chiefly ancestry; her relatives currently serve as the chiefs of the Ghanaian village of Abii.
Hugh emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom at the age of three.[2] He was educated at Bryanston School in Dorset and Dean Close School in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (during which time he played the role of Othello at the Tuckwell Theatre), before reading PPE at Christ Church, Oxford.
Career
editQuarshie had considered becoming a journalist before taking up acting. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), and has appeared in many stage productions and television programmes, including the serial Behaving Badly with Judi Dench. He is well known for playing the roles of Sunda Kastagir in Highlander, Captain Panaka in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Ric Griffin on the television series Holby City. He attended the Star Wars fan event "Star Wars Celebration" in 1999. He portrayed Lieutenant Obutu in Wing Commander.
He appeared in the 2007 two-part Doctor Who episode "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks" as Solomon, the leader of the shanty town Hooverville. He headed the cast of Michele Soavi's The Church (1989) as Father Gus, and played Aaron the Moor in the BBC Television Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.
Quarshie has also narrated for television. His work includes the 2006 documentary Mega Falls of Iguacu (about the Iguaçu Falls), the 2009 adaptation of Small Island, and the 2010 BBC Wildlife series The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart.
Personal life
editIn September 2010, Quarshie featured in an episode of the television genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he traced his Ghanaian and Dutch origins.[3][4] The episode revealed that Quarshie is part of his country's old mixed-race elite as one of his ancestors, Pieter Martinus Johannes Kamerling, was a Dutch official on the Gold Coast. This also made him a distant relative of Dutch actor Antonie Kamerling.[5]
Political views
editQuarshie is a supporter of the Women's Equality Party.[6]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Dogs of War | Zangaron Officer | |
| 1985 | Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend | Kenge Obe | |
| 1986 | Highlander | Sunda Kastagir | |
| 1989 | La Chiesa | Father Gus | |
| 1990 | Nightbreed | Detective Joyce | |
| 1999 | Wing Commander | Lieutenant Obutu | |
| Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Captain Panaka | ||
| 2000 | It Was An Accident | George Hurlock | |
| Threesome | Dave | Short film | |
| 2003 | Conspiracy of Silence | Fr Joseph Ennis, SJ | |
| 2011 | Ghosted | Ade | |
| 2012 | Black Magic | Short film | |
| 2013 | The Meeting | Jack | |
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | Simon Benford | |
| Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Mustafa Kama | ||
| 2020 | What Matters | Ewan | Short film |
| 2021 | Fire Ants | Ewen | |
| 2022 | The Railway Children Return | General Harrison | |
| 2023 | Book Club: The Next Chapter | Ousmane |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Scene | Episode: "Wide Games" | |
| 1979 | The Knowledge | Campion | TV movie |
| 1980 | Buccaneer | Major Nbodi | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Wolcott | Dennis St George | Miniseries |
| The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs | Danny Young | TV movie | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Philostrate | TV movie | |
| 1983 | Rumpole of the Bailey | Jonathan Mazenze | Episode: "Rumpole and the Golden Thread" |
| 1983 | Angels | Turi Mimi | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Sharma and Beyond | Man on Stairs | TV movie |
| 1985 | Titus Andronicus | Aaron | TV movie |
| Alas Smith and Jones | 1 episode | ||
| 1986–89 | ScreenPlay | Mike / Wallace | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | A Gentleman's Club | Baba | Episode: A Question of Er... |
| 1989 | Behaving Badly | Daniel | 4 episodes |
| 1991 | Chancer | Kazeem | 2 episodes |
| Press Gang | Inspector Hibbert | 2 episodes | |
| 1992–94 | Medics | Dr. Tom Carey | 19 episodes |
| 1992 | Surgical Spirit | Fergus Debonaire | 1 episode |
| Virtual Murder | Dr. Mellor | Episode: A Dream of Dracula | |
| The Tomorrow People | Professor John Galt | 5 episodes (The 5-part story officially known as "The Origin Story") | |
| 1993 | The Comic Strip Presents... | Lieutenant Delaney | Episode: Gregory: Diary of a Nutcase |
| Red Dwarf | Computer Voice | Episode: "Emohawk: Polymorph II" | |
| 1994 | Horizon | Narrator (voice) | Documentary |
| The Chief | Vincent Pierce | 1 episode | |
| MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis | Inspector Rhodes | TV movie | |
| Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Cassius (voice) | Episode: Julius Caesar | |
| 1999 | The Murder of Stephen Lawrence | Neville Lawrence | TV movie |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Mustappa | Miniseries |
| 2000 | Jason and the Argonauts | Chiron the Centaur | Miniseries |
| 2001 | In Deep | Jim Craddock | |
| 2001–2020,
2022 |
Holby City | Ric Griffin | 506 episodes |
| 2004–2019 | Casualty | Ric Griffin | |
| 2007 | Doctor Who | Solomon | Episodes: "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" |
| 2009 | Hot Cities | Narrator | 8 episodes |
| 2012 | White Heat | Victor | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Still Star-Crossed | Prince Cosimo | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Absentia | Dr. Semo Oduwale | Season 2 |
| 2021 | Stephen | Neville Lawrence | Miniseries |
| 2021–2022 | Breeders | Alex | 6 episodes |
| 2022 | Vera | Dr. Leon Palmer | Episode: "Vital Signs" |
| Silent Witness | Series 25; Episode: "History Part 1" | ||
| Riches | Stephen Richards | ||
| 2023 | Maryland | Pete | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | McDonald & Dodds | Clarence Adderley | Episode: "Jinxy Sings The Blues" |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Cymbeline | Posthumous | Royal Exchange, Manchester |
| 1985 | The Admirable Crichton | Crichton | Royal Exchange, Manchester |
| 1995 | Goethe's Faust | Mephistopheles | RSC |
| 1995 | Julius Caesar | Mark Antony | RSC |
| 2015 | Othello | Othello | RSC |
References
edit- ^ "Hugh Quarshie: The RSC and me | Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk. October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Hugh Quarshie". TheGenealogist. Genealogy Supplies. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Hugh Quarshie". Who Do You Think You Are?. BBC Magazines. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Hugh Quarshie — Holby City's African chief". BBC News. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Hugh Quarshie". GoldCoastDataBase. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
Hugh Quarshie is related to Antonie Kamerling through Pieter Martinus Johannes Kamerling's brother Anthony Wilhelm Constantinus Gerardus Kamerling (1824–1875)
(registration required) - ^ Hugh Quarshie (23 April 2016). Hugh Quarshie: Give half your votes to equality on 5 May – WE think that's fair (Video). Women's Equality Channel. Retrieved 28 April 2016 – via YouTube.
External links
edit- Hugh Quarshie at IMDb
- Hugh Quarshie Archived 8 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine StarWars.com