John Woodvine was born on July 21, 1929, in South Shields, County Durham. He attended Lord Williams's School in Thame, Oxfordshire. His national service was in the Royal Air Force. Afterwards, he was a clerk for a wool merchant. He studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1954, he joined the Old Vic, at which he appeared in several productions of Shakespeare plays. He made his debut on Broadway in 1956 in King Richard II. In the Fifties, he appeared on Broadway in Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Troilus and Cressida. He made his television debut in 1958 in a guest appearance on the TV show Murder Bag. He appeared on the shows Champion Road, The Terrible Choice, and The Haunted House.
In the Sixties, John Woodvine had a regular role on the British police series Z Cars. He appeared on such shows as Danger Man, Boyd Q.C., Call Oxbridge 2000, Ghost Squad, Man of the World, Moonstrike, Sergeant Cork, The Plane Makers, The Villains, Crane, Diary of a Young Man, Coronation Street, Theatre 625, R3, Emergecy-Ward 10, The Liars, Pardon the Expression, ITV Play of the Week, Armchair Theatre, The Saint, The Baron, Turn Out the Lights, Conflict, The Further Adventures of the Musketeers, Softly Softly, The Avengers, The Champions, Who-Dun-It, The Wednesday Play, The Dustbinmen Thirty-Minute Theatre, and BBC Play of the Month. He appeared in the mini-series The Caesars. He appeared in the movies Darling (1965) and The Walking Stick (1970).
In the Seventies, he was a regular on the TV series New Scotland Yard. He appeared on the shows Softly, Softly: Task Force, Take Three Girls, Aquarius, The Shadow of the Tower, Churchill's People, Against the Crowd, Shadows, When the Boat Comes In, Hadleigh, Play for Today, Return of the Saint, ITV Playhouse, Doctor Who, BBC2 Playhouse, and The English Programme. He appeared in the mini-series Elizabeth R. and An Unofficial Rose. He appeared in the movies The Devils (1971), Young Winston (1972), and Assault on Agathon (1978).
In the Eighties, John Woodvine was a regular on the TV show Knights of God. He appeared on the TV shows Strangers, Squadron, Studio, Juliet Bravo, Swallows and Amazons Forever!: Cool Club, By the Sword Divided, The Tripods, All Creatures Great & Small, Lime Street, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, The New Statesman, Rockliffe's Babies, Alli n Good Faith, Room at the Bottom, Les Girls, Screenplay, Chelmsford 123, and The Chief. He appeared in the mini-series The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Edge of Darkness, The Prisoner of Zenda, Deceptions, The Modern World: Ten Great Writers, Melba, and A Tale of Two Cities. He appeared in the movies An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Spaghetti House (1982). He appeared on Broadway in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
In the Nineties, he had a recurring role on the TV show Runaway Bay. He appeared on the shows Jackanory, The War of the Roses, An Actor's Life for Me, Spender, Civvies, Medics, Demob, Screen Two, Finney, Harry, Crown Prosecutor, Performance, Heartbeat, Doctor Finlay, A Perfect State, Peak Practice, and Verdict. He appeared in the mini-series Tell Tale Hearts, A Pinch of Snuff, and Faith. He appeared in the movies Wuthering Heights (1992), Leon the Pig Farmer (1992), The Trial (1993), and Dragonworld (1994).
In the Naughts, John Woodvine appeared on the shows Midsomer Murders, The Secret, Paradise Heights, The Brief, Shameless, Distant Shores, Holby City, Doc Martin, The Bill, Casualty, Sold, Never Better, Emmerdale Farm, and Coronation Street. He appeared in the movies Vanity Fair (2004), Miss Potter (2006), The Midnight Drives (2007), Flick (2008), and Burke & Hare.
In the Teens, he appeared on Midsomer Murders, Doctors, Hebburn, Vera, The Musketeers, and The Crown. He appeared in the mini-series Decline and Fall. His last screen appearance was in the movie Enys Men (2022).
At least in the United Kingdom, John Woodvine may have been best known for playing police officers. After all, he played Inspector Witty on Z Cars and Inspector Kingdom on New Scotland Yard, as well as playing police officers in various guest appearances. Of course, he played much more than cops. In An American Werewolf in London, he played Dr. J. S. Hirsch, the surgeon who treats David (David Naughton) following an attack by a werewolf. He guest-starred on The Avengers four times, most notably as the sinister Robert Stone in "The Murder Market." He guest-starred on Danger Man three times (once on the half-hour version, twice on the hour-long version). In the episode "Judgement Day," he played a member of a terrorist group. He was the chief villain in the Champions episode "The Search," playing an unreformed Nazi who infiltrates a nuclear submarine along with his men. He played many different roles on many different British TV shows through the years. There should be little surprise as to why he was so prolific. Quite simply, John Woodvine was a very talented, very versatile actor.
