Arka Evren

ACTOR

Nicol Williamson

Known for
Spawn (1997), The Exorcist III (1990), Return to Oz (1985), Robin and Marian (1976)

43 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

Nicol Williamson is an actor best known for Spawn, The Exorcist III and Return to Oz.

28 Interesting Facts About Nicol Williamson

  1. #001

    When Nicol Williamson appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet, directed by Trevor Nunn at Stratford-upon-Avon in the 1974-1975 season, he disliked his co-star Helen Mirren, with whom he was having an affair. The feeling was mutual. John Boorman, director of Excalibur (1981), deliberately cast them as the rival roles of Merlin and Morgana despite both actors' objections, believing that the contempt they felt for each other in real life would create more tension on screen.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #002

    Nicol Williamson died in relative poverty. Only six people attended his funeral. He was cremated and his ashes were given to family or friends.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #004

    Nicol Williamson smoked 80 cigarettes a day.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  4. #005

    According to Kenneth Tynan's profile of Williamson, his erratic behaviour during the North American tour of Hamlet led one of the cast members to publicly apologise to the audience in Boston.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  5. #008

    Nicol Williamson hated appearing on television programmes and claimed he had no memory of ever working on Columbo.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  6. #009

    Although Nicol Williamson was known for being difficult, the opposite was true on the set of Venom, where Oliver Reed and Klaus Kinski drove director Piers Haggard so mad that Williamson promised the director he would be the opposite.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  7. #013

    Nicol Williamson was known to be an admirer of his fellow actor Robert Shaw.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  8. #014

    In 1971, Nicol Williamson recorded an album of country songs.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  9. #018

    Nicol Williamson was originally set to play Colonel Kane in William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration (1980), but he withdrew at the last minute and was replaced by Stacy Keach.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  10. #019

    At one point, Nicol Williamson was regarded as one of the finest classical actors of his era.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  11. #020

    He trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  12. #022

    He admitted that he suffered from a fear of death.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  13. #023

    He took on the role of King Henry VIII in the Broadway musical "Rex."

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  14. #024

    After moving to Amsterdam in the Netherlands in the late seventies to escape media attention, he preferred the company of musicians in the years that followed.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  15. #025

    He spent much of his adult life in the Netherlands.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  16. #026

    He enjoyed the anonymity of spending time in London bars.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  17. #027

    Interest in Nicol Williamson was revived thanks to several biographies of the actor published recently.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  18. #029

    During his national service, the actor served as a gunner in the Airborne Division.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  19. #030

    His performance as Hamlet in the 1960s was hailed as one of the leading interpretations in theatre history.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  20. #031

    According to various sources, the actor was not very eager to take on film roles. Williamson was prone to abruptly quitting film work.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  21. #034

    Director Jack Gold was one of the few people who could work successfully with Nicol Williamson.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  22. #035

    In the early 1960s he was a member of the Dundee Repertory Company.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  23. #036

    Nicol was an avid boxer.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  24. #037

    Nicol Williamson felt more at ease when he was part of a cabaret show.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  25. #039

    During his military service, Nicol Williamson made 13 parachute jumps.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  26. #041

    Nicol Williamson was born on exactly the same date as Walter "Chekov" Koenig, known from "Star Trek."

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  27. #042

    Nicol Williamson joined the Dundee Repertory company and appeared in more than 30 of its productions.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  28. #043

    Nicol Williamson was born at 03:45 BST.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Continue through the archive