Edward Fox (Actor)

English actor Edward Fox. (Photo: Evening Standar / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

This tall blond actor is best known for playing patrician characters noted for their cynicism and cruelty. Born into a theatrical family in London, Fox followed in the footsteps of his younger brother James who was a child performer. He made his first screen appearance in the sci-fi flick "The Mind Benders" (1963). Routine roles followed throughout the 1960s before Fox scored as Julie Christie's fiance in Joseph Losey's "The Go-Between" (1973). Fox won critical praise and is perhaps best known for his performance as the menacing assassin in Fred Zinnemann's "The Day of the Jackal" (1973). Throughout the 70s and 80s, he worked in small or supporting roles, generally in period pieces: "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Duellists" (both 1977); "Soldier of Orange" (1979); "Gandhi" (1982); "The Shooting Party" (1984). Fox has made sporadic appearances on the small screen, notably as the Duke of Windsor in "Edward and Mrs. Simpson" (1978) and recreating his London stage role as the title character in "Quartermaine's Terms" (1987). In a return to leading roles, he won critical praise opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Uma Thurman as one side of a romantic triangle in the period drama "A Month by the Lake" (1995).