Noel Willman (August 4 1918 - December 14 1988) was an Northern Irish actor and theatre director. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Willman died aged 70 in New York City, United States.Willman's films included Androcles and the Lion (1952), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Across the Bridge (1957), Carve Her Name with Pride (1958), The Kiss of the Vampire (1963), Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Reptile (1966) and The Odessa File (1974).He was also a theatre director and actor, and won a Tony Award in 1962 for his direction of the original Broadway production of Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons. According to Bolt, he was instrumental in many aspects of the play's development, including the casting of Paul Scofield as Thomas More. He was also nominated in 1966 for the same category for James Goldman's The Lion in Winter, and he directed Katharine Hepburn and Christopher Reeve in A Matter of Gravity in 1976. He frequently collaborated with Bolt, also directing The Tiger and the Horse and Gentle Jack (and appearing in Zhivago, which Bolt scripted). One of his most famous theatrical roles was opposite Alec Guinness in the stage production of Bridget Boland's The Prisoner, later made into a film with Guinness and Jack Hawkins.
Serious-looking character actor, educated in France and Ireland. Studied acting at the London Theatre School. First on stage in Peter Ustinov's debut play 'House of Regrets'. On screen from 1952, effectively portraying men of quiet determination or sinister intent, often in period dramas or thrillers. Notable on TV as Aramis, one of the Three Musketeers, in The Man in the Iron Mask (1968).
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Willman's mentor was Tyrone Guthrie, who persuaded him to turn from acting to directing for the stage. His major triumphs in that capacity included 'Rashomon' (1959), 'A Man for All seasons' (1961) and 'The Lion in Winter' (1966).
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A play he staged in 1968, 'Darling of the Day', at the cost of $700,000, became the costliest flop on Broadway up to that time and folded after just 32 performances.
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Won Broadway's 1962 Tony Award as Best Director (Dramatic) for Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons." He was also nominated in the same category in 1966 for James Goldman's "The Lion in Winter."