Kenneth Colley
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 Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979). Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing". According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Life of Brian
(Jesus)
The Empire Strikes Back
(Admiral Piett)
Firefox
(Colonel Kontarsky)
I Hired a Contract Killer
(The Killer)
Brassed Off
(Greasley)
The Scarlet and the Black
(Capt. Hirsch)
Les Misérables
(Police Prefect)
A Master of the Marionettes
(Inspector Tennyson)
The Blood Beast Terror
(James)
The Jokers
(De Winter)
Solomon & Sheba
(Nathan)
Hold Back the Night
(Uncle Bob)
Return to Waterloo
(The Traveller)
Kremlin Farewell
(Sergej)
Lisztomania
(Frederic Chopin)
The Music Lovers
(Modeste Tchaikovsky)
Robert Rylands' Last Journey
(Archdale)
Unnatural Causes
(Inspector Gerry Reckless)
The Rainbow
(Mr. Brunt)
Scar Tissue
(Weaver)
Jabberwocky
(1st Fanatic)
The Plot to Kill Hitler
(Wilhelm Keitel)
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
(Admiral Piett (voice))
Return of the Jedi
(Admiral Piett)
Casanova
(Le Duc)
The Boy Friend
(King in fantasy sequence (uncredited))
A Summer Story
(Jim)
Who Pays?
(Corbett)
Like Father Like Son
(Rawsthorne)
Giro City
(Martin)
Dance of the Seven Veils
Flame
(Tony Devlin)
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
(Robber)
The Danedyke Mystery
(The Major)
Juggernaut
(Detective Brown)
The Triple Echo
(Provo Corporal)
Three Clear Sundays
(Nick)
The Whistle Blower
(Bill Pickett)
Performance
(Tony Farrell)
Mahler
(Krenek)
Shadow Run
(Larcombe)
I Remember Nelson
(Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson)
The Devils
(Legrand)
Seventy Deadly Pills
(Covent Garden porter)
How I Won the War
(2nd Replacement)
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
(Boldt)
La Vie de Bohème
(Street Sweeper)
Greetings
(Ken)
The Last Island
(Nick)
Prisoner of Honor
(Capt. Dreyfus)
Measure for Measure
(Duke Vincentio)
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
(John Ireland)
One Bummer News Day
(Frank Benyon)
Come the Revolution
(Bruce Tetley)
Dan Hawk Psychic Detective
(Thaddeus Moncrief)
Three Days in Szczecin
(Edmund Bałuka)
Midsomer Murders
(Lloyd Kirby)
Wycliffe
(Sam Peploe)
The Last Train
The Avengers
The Sweeney
(Noah Riley)
Heartbeat
(Clive Harris)
Relic Hunter
(Professor Lamenza)
Inspector Morse
(DCI Patrick Dawson)
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
(Farrish)
No Hiding Place
Play for Today
(Bruce Tetley)
New Tricks
Pennies from Heaven
(The Accordion Man)
Fall of Eagles
(Father Gapon)
The Expert
(Foreman)
The Expert
(Munt)
Judge Dee
Crown Court
(Stanley Meredith)
Foyle's War
(Brian Jones)
Dear Mother... ...Love Albert
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
(Ben Gunn)
The Kenny Everett Television Show
(Self)
Peak Practice
(Stan Jordan)
The Royal
(Bernard Hussey)
Minder
(Ron)
Casualty
(Paddy)
Ripping Yarns
(Robber)
Vera
(Ronald Devreux)
Casualty
(Clifford Watkins)
Casualty
(Arthur Cobb)
The Queen
Agatha Christie's Poirot
(Mathew Davenheim)
Mussolini: The Untold Story
(King Vittorio Emmanuele)
The Wednesday Play
(Bethold Florenberg)
I Remember Nelson
(ice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson)
Peter and Paul
(Theodotus)
Between the Lines
(Chief Supt. Tattersall)
Misfits
(Old Rudy)
Play for Today
(Frank Benyon)
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
(Archie Burlington)
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
(Chief Inspector Heat)
Peaky Blinders
(Vicente Changretta)
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
(Adolf Eichmann)
A for Andromeda
(Dead Body (uncredited))
The Protectors
(Devlin)
Omnibus
(Hitler)
Thirty-Minute Theatre
(Paddy)
Always and Everyone
(Joseph)
BBC Play of the Month
(Yolinichev)
Dickens of London
(Robert Seymour)
Target
(Jessal)
The Love School
(Edward Burne-Jones)
Black and Blue
(Schultz)
The Institute
(Gate Guard #5)
It's Dark Outside
(Hammond)
The Informer
(Slater)
Churchill's People
(Ancient Beau)