Oliver Reed: ‘I’m Mr England!’

This article traces the acting career of Oliver Reed, focusing primarily on his work with Michael Winner, Ken Russell, Joseph Losey and Hammer Films, while also acknowledging interesting later works such as Castaway (1986) and The Brood (1979). It also examines the reasons for his decline in the later years of his career, which were not simply the result of alcoholism, as is all too frequently claimed, but also of the lack of suitable roles in a British cinema then in state of decline and the gladiatorial nature of a tabloid celebrity culture which served only to encourage Reed to indulge his self-destructive ‘hell raiser’ image. The picture that emerges here is of an actor with very considerable physical presence and exceptional vocal control who starred in too few films worthy of his talents, which were squandered by an industry largely blind to the creative possibilities which underpinned his proven commercial drawing power.