Donald Sumpter (born 13 February 1943) is a British actor who has appeared in film and television since the mid-1960s. His credits include three appearances in Doctor Who (1968, 1972 and 2015), The Black Panther (1977), Bleak House (1985), The Queen's Nose (1995-1998), Great Expectations (1999), Nicholas Nickleby (2001), Enigma (2001), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), The Constant Gardener (2005), Being Human (2009-2010), Ultramarines: The Movie (2010), Black Mirror (2011), Game of Thrones (2011-2012), Endeavour (2018), Les Misérables (2018 TV series) (2018), and Chernobyl (2019).

Career

Sumpter was born on 13 February 1943, in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, England. One of his early television appearances was the 1968 Doctor Who serial The Wheel in Space with Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. Sumpter appeared in Doctor Who again, in the 1972 serial The Sea Devils with Jon Pertwee. Sumpter also appeared in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2015, he appeared as the Time Lord President Rassilon in the Doctor Who episode "Hell Bent". His early film work included a lead role as real life criminal Donald Neilson in the 1977 film The Black Panther. Sumpter also appeared in many television films and serials, including adaptations of Dickens' novels: Nicholas Nickleby in 2001, Great Expectations in 1999, and Bleak House in 1985. Sumpter played the part of villain Ronnie Day in Big Deal (1985). He took the role of Alexander Bonaparte Cust in the 1992 Agatha Christie's Poirot adaptation of The ABC Murders. He has also appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders, The Bill, Holby City, Black Mirror, and A Touch of Frost. From 1995 - 1998, Sumpter had a recurring role as Uncle Ginger in the Children's BBC series The Queen's Nose. He played Harold Chapple in Our Friends in the North, and portrayed the physicist Max Planck in Einstein and Eddington. He has also been seen as Kemp in the horror-drama series Being Human. In seasons 1 and 2, he portrayed Maester Luwin in the HBO series Game of Thrones. His film appearances include The Constant Gardener (2005), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Enigma (2001) and Ultramarines: The Movie (2010). In 2018, he played film star Emil Valdemar in Endeavour, Series 5, Episode 2: "Cartouche. The same year, he appeared as Monsieur Mabeuf in the BBC adaption of Les Misérables (2018 TV series).

Filmography

Films

Television