
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.
52
Films
55
TV Shows
1
Crew Credits
Known For
107 Credits
Midsomer Murders
as Lloyd Kirby
1997

Peaky Blinders
as Vicente Changretta
2013

Agatha Christie's Poirot
as Mathew Davenheim
1989

Minder
as Ron
1979

Foyle's War
as Brian Jones
2002

Play for Today
as Bruce Tetley
1970

Play for Today
as Frank Benyon
1970

Vera
as Ronald Devreux
2011

Casualty
as Paddy
1986

Casualty
as Clifford Watkins
1986

Casualty
as Arthur Cobb
1986

Heartbeat
as Clive Harris
1992
