Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979).
Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing".
According to comments Terry Gilliam (who directed him in Jabberwocky and co-starred with him in Life of Brian) made in the DVD audio commentaries for both films, Colley is a terrible stutterer in real life. When he had a role in a film, however, he could recite the lines perfectly. Stuttering is a character trait, however, in his role as the "Accordion Man" in the BBC television drama Pennies from Heaven (1978). He has also recently starred in BBC's HolbyBlue as a drunk and violent father, grandfather and father-in-law.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Colley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0171829
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q367017
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Filmography (Movies)
Scar Tissue
Character:Weaver
Release Date:12/09/2013
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
Character:Admiral Piett (voice)
Release Date:26/09/2012
Greetings
Character:Ken
Release Date:23/10/2007
Like Father Like Son
Character:Rawsthorne
Release Date:24/01/2005
Hold Back the Night
Character:Uncle Bob
Release Date:10/06/1999
Shadow Run
Character:Larcombe
Release Date:01/01/1998
Brassed Off
Character:Greasley
Release Date:01/11/1996
Robert Rylands' Last Journey
Character:Archdale
Release Date:18/10/1996
Solomon & Sheba
Character:Nathan
Release Date:26/02/1995
Unnatural Causes
Character:Inspector Gerry Reckless
Release Date:02/01/1993
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Character:John Ireland
Release Date:22/11/1992
La Vie de Bohème
Character:Street Sweeper
Release Date:27/02/1992
Prisoner of Honor
Character:Capt. Dreyfus
Release Date:02/11/1991
The Last Island
Character:Nick
Release Date:16/11/1990
I Hired a Contract Killer
Character:The Killer
Release Date:12/10/1990
Kremlin Farewell
Character:Sergej
Release Date:01/04/1990
The Plot to Kill Hitler
Character:Wilhelm Keitel
Release Date:30/01/1990
The Rainbow
Character:Mr. Brunt
Release Date:05/05/1989
A Master of the Marionettes
Character:Inspector Tennyson
Release Date:18/04/1989
A Summer Story
Character:Jim
Release Date:11/08/1988
Casanova
Character:Le Duc
Release Date:01/03/1987
The Whistle Blower
Character:Bill Pickett
Release Date:21/11/1986
Return to Waterloo
Character:The Traveller
Release Date:01/11/1984
Return of the Jedi
Character:Admiral Piett
Release Date:25/05/1983
The Scarlet and the Black
Character:Capt. Hirsch
Release Date:02/02/1983
Giro City
Character:Martin
Release Date:01/11/1982
Firefox
Character:Colonel Kontarsky
Release Date:18/06/1982
I Remember Nelson
Character:Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
Release Date:14/04/1982
The Empire Strikes Back
Character:Admiral Piett
Release Date:20/05/1980
Life of Brian
Character:Jesus
Release Date:17/08/1979
The Danedyke Mystery
Character:The Major
Release Date:03/06/1979
Measure for Measure
Character:Duke Vincentio
Release Date:18/02/1979
Les Misérables
Character:Police Prefect
Release Date:27/12/1978
One Bummer News Day
Character:Frank Benyon
Release Date:12/12/1978
Come the Revolution
Character:Bruce Tetley
Release Date:25/10/1977
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
Character:Robber
Release Date:22/09/1977
Jabberwocky
Character:1st Fanatic
Release Date:28/03/1977
Three Days in Szczecin
Character:Edmund Bałuka
Release Date:21/09/1976
Lisztomania
Character:Frederic Chopin
Release Date:10/10/1975
Flame
Character:Tony Devlin
Release Date:13/02/1975
Juggernaut
Character:Detective Brown
Release Date:25/09/1974
Mahler
Character:Krenek
Release Date:04/04/1974
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Character:Boldt
Release Date:19/04/1973
The Triple Echo
Character:Provo Corporal
Release Date:16/11/1972
The Boy Friend
Character:King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)
Release Date:16/12/1971
The Devils
Character:Legrand
Release Date:16/07/1971
The Music Lovers
Character:Modeste Tchaikovsky
Release Date:12/02/1971
Performance
Character:Tony Farrell
Release Date:03/08/1970
Dance of the Seven Veils
Character:
Release Date:15/02/1970
The Blood Beast Terror
Character:James
Release Date:01/02/1968
Who Pays?
Character:Corbett
Release Date:19/01/1968
How I Won the War
Character:2nd Replacement
Release Date:18/10/1967
The Jokers
Character:De Winter
Release Date:15/05/1967
Three Clear Sundays
Character:Nick
Release Date:07/04/1965
Seventy Deadly Pills
Character:Covent Garden porter
Release Date:01/01/1963
Television Appearances
The Institute
Character:Gate Guard #5
Peaky Blinders
Character:Vicente Changretta
Vera
Character:Ronald Devreux
The Queen
Character:
Misfits
Character:Old Rudy
New Tricks
Character:
The Royal
Character:Bernard Hussey
Foyle's War
Character:Brian Jones
Relic Hunter
Character:Professor Lamenza
Always and Everyone
Character:Joseph
The Last Train
Character:
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Character:Archie Burlington
Midsomer Murders
Character:Lloyd Kirby
Wycliffe
Character:Sam Peploe
Peak Practice
Character:Stan Jordan
Between the Lines
Character:Chief Supt. Tattersall
Heartbeat
Character:Clive Harris
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Character:Mathew Davenheim
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
Character:Chief Inspector Heat
Inspector Morse
Character:DCI Patrick Dawson
Casualty
Character:Paddy
Casualty
Character:Clifford Watkins
Casualty
Character:Arthur Cobb
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
Character:Ben Gunn
Mussolini: The Untold Story
Character:King Vittorio Emmanuele
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
Character:Adolf Eichmann
I Remember Nelson
Character:ice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Character:Self
Peter and Paul
Character:Theodotus
Minder
Character:Ron
Pennies from Heaven
Character:The Accordion Man
Target
Character:Jessal
Dickens of London
Character:Robert Seymour
Ripping Yarns
Character:Robber
The Love School
Character:Edward Burne-Jones
The Sweeney
Character:Noah Riley
Churchill's People
Character:Ancient Beau
Fall of Eagles
Character:Father Gapon
Black and Blue
Character:Schultz
Crown Court
Character:Stanley Meredith
The Protectors
Character:Devlin
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Character:Farrish
Play for Today
Character:Bruce Tetley
Play for Today
Character:Frank Benyon
Dear Mother... ...Love Albert
Character:
Judge Dee
Character:
The Expert
Character:Foreman
The Expert
Character:Munt
Omnibus
Character:Hitler
The Informer
Character:Slater
BBC Play of the Month
Character:Yolinichev
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Character:Paddy
The Wednesday Play
Character:Bethold Florenberg
The Wednesday Play
Character:Jock
It's Dark Outside
Character:Hammond
The Avengers
Character:
No Hiding Place
Character:
Images
