Actor John Neville, Veteran of Stage, Film and Television
Neville is perhaps best known to American audiences for a recurring role on The X Files.
John Neville, a British-born Canadian actor and stage director who appeared in the television series The X-Files, died November 19, 2011, in Toronto, Canada. He was 86.
According to news reports, the cause was Alzheimer’s disease.
A native of England, Neville immigrated to Canada in 1972 and later became a Canadian citizen.
Over a career spanning six decades, Neville worked extensively in feature films, television and theater.
Most American audiences recognize him best from his recurring role as the Well-Manicured Man in the Fox series The X-Files. He reprised the role in the first X Files movie.
He also starred in the 1988 movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Neville was born in London on May 2, 1925, and served in the Royal Navy during WWII. He later trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his career as a member of the Trent Players.
He went on to become a frequent presence in West End stage productions and as a member of the Old Vic Company
Neville’s numerous British television credits included Shakespeare’s Henry V on BBC Sunday Night Theatre and Hedda Gabler on ITV Play of the Week. He also appeared frequently on the ITV anthology series The Company of Five and starred in the 1969 BBC miniseries The First Churchills, which aired in the U.S. as part of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre when it launched in 1971.
Other American television credits included and an adaptation of Hamlet for The DuPont Show of the Month and guest roles on such series as Grand, The Education of Max Bickford and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Other feature films included Oscar Wilde, Billy Budd, Baby’s Day Out, Little Women, Harvard Man, Crime and Punishment and Spider.
He is survived by his wife and six children.