John Standing
Biography
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004). One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner. He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Known For
Game of Thrones
2011
Midsomer Murders
1997
Midsomer Murders
1997
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
The Crown
2016
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Murder, She Wrote
1984
L.A. Law
1986
The Wednesday Play
1964
The Avengers
1961
Hart to Hart
1979
Hotel
1982
Filmography
Game of Thrones
as Jon Arryn · 2011
Midsomer Murders
as Charles Rust · 1997
Midsomer Murders
as Will Tunstall · 1997
Agatha Christie's Poirot
as Colonnel Toby Luttrell · 1989
The Crown
as Imbert-Terry · 2016
Murder, She Wrote
as Arthur Constable · 1984
Murder, She Wrote
as Chief Daniel Trent · 1984
L.A. Law
as Nigel Morris · 1986
The Wednesday Play
as Russ · 1964
The Avengers
· 1961
Hart to Hart
· 1979
Hotel
· 1982
Screen Two
as Jack · 1985
The Saint
as Gendarme · 1962
ITV Playhouse
· 1967
BBC Play of the Month
as Jack Chesney · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Cléante · 1965
Hunter
as George Franklin · 1984
Space: 1999
as Pasc · 1975
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
as Captain Bluntschli · 1969
Lexx
as Count Dracul · 1997
V for Vendetta
as Lilliman · 2006
Van der Valk
as Ehrlich · 1972
Eerie, Indiana
as Professor Nigel Zirchon · 1991
Borgia
· 2011
Drama 61-67
as Ronald Brook · 1961
The Vice
as Paul Weir · 1999
BBC2 Play of the Week
as Captain Winsloe · 1977
Patrick Melrose
as George Watford · 2018
The Elephant Man
as Fox · 1980
Civil Wars
as Terrence Hemnings · 1991
The Main Chance
as Lord Radchester · 1969
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
as Lord Amberley · 1971
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
as Sam Collins · 1979
Keen Eddie
· 2003
In Deep
as Ritchie · 2001
King Solomon's Mines
as Dr. Sam Maitland · 2004
The Frighteners
as Tony Wardle · 1972
The Eagle Has Landed
as Father Verecker · 1976
Gulliver's Travels
as Admiral Bolgolam · 1996
The Contractor
as Sir Anthony · 2007
Jubilee 1977
as John Tallwatch · 1977
King Lear
as Butler · 2018
A Dance to the Music of Time
as Nicholas Jenkins (older) · 1997
Longitude
as Captain Proctor · 2000
Joan of Arc
as Archbishop · 1999
The First Churchills
as Sidney Godolphin · 1969
The Line of Beauty
as Lord Kessler · 2006
Chaplin
as Butler · 1992
Trust
as Teresa's Father · 2003
The Great Escaper
as Arthur · 2023
The Man Who Knew Too Little
as Embleton · 1997
Shillingbury Tales
as Dick Firman · 1981
Paddington Bear
as Mr. Brown · 1989
Scoop
as Garden Party Guest · 2006
Murphy's Law
· 1988
Love in a Cold Climate
as Lord Montdore · 2001
Lime Street
as Edward Wingate · 1985
The Sea Wolves
as Finley · 1980
Rosamunde Pilcher: The Other Wife
as Lord George Meriot · 2012
Armchair Theatre
as Sutcliffe · 1956
Look at the State We're In!
as Dr Smith · 1995
The Happy Prince
as Dr. Tucker · 2018
A Good Woman
as Dumby · 2004
The Other 'Arf
· 1980
The Choir
as Bishop Robert Young · 1995
Fallen Angel
as Voice of Francis Youlgreave · 2007
The Endless Game
as Belfrage · 1989
I Want Candy
as Michael de Vere · 2007
Tonight at 8.30
as Toby Cartwright · 1991
Lassie
as French · 2005
The Legacy
as Jason Mountolive · 1978
A Touch of Love
as Roger · 1969
Rogue Trader
as Peter Baring · 1999
The Woman In White
as Mr. Gilmore · 1997
Walk Don't Run
as Julius D. Haversack · 1966
Torture Garden
as Leo Winston (segment 3 "Mr. Steinway") · 1967
8 ½ Women
as Philip Emmenthal · 1999
Queen & Country
as Grandfather George · 2015
Hot Enough for June
as Men's Room Attendant · 1964
The Woman In White
as Mr. Gilmore · 1997
The Gathering Storm
as Lord Moyne · 2002
Night of the Fox
as Alan Stacey · 1990
The Old Boy Network
· 1992
Mrs. Dalloway
as Richard Dalloway · 1997
Longitude
as Capt. Proctor · 2000
The Hippopotamus
as Podmore · 2017
Nightflyers
as D'Branin · 1987
To Catch a King
as The Duke of Windsor · 1984
The Calling
as Jack Plummer · 2000
King Rat
as Daven · 1965
The Count of Solar
as Coudray · 1992
Au Pair Girls
as Buster · 1972
Beryl Reid
· 1977
Can You Hear Me?
as Ben · 2025
Churchill's Secret
as Lord Camrose · 2016
All the Right Noises
as Bernie · 1970
Zee and Co.
as Gordon · 1972
Pandaemonium
as Rev Holland · 2001
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel
as Whitfield · 1992
The Wild and the Willing
as Arthur · 1962
The Shadow in the North
as Webster Garland · 2007
The Falklands Play
as Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary) · 2002
The Iron Maiden
as Humphrey Gore-Brown · 1963
The Class Of Miss MacMichael
as Charles Fairbrother · 1978
Shoreditch
as Jenson Thackery · 2003
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
as Additional Voices (voice) · 2019
Invitation to the Wedding
· 1983
Chameleons
as Henry · 1989
A Pair of Briefs
as Hubert Shannon · 1962
The Endless Game
as Belfrage · 1989
The Real Jane Austen
as Mr. Austen · 2002
Visitors
as Jack · 1987
Witness to a Kill
as Foreign Secretary · 2001
Mad Cows
as Politician · 1999
The Sinking of the HMS Victoria
as Captain Winsloe · 1977
Nanny's Boy
as John Tallwatch · 1977
Rogue Male
as Major Quive-Smith · 1976
Privates on Parade
as Captain Sholto Savory · 1983
Charley's Aunt
as Jack Chesney · 1969
Consenting Adults
as Lord Goddard · 2007
Riders
as Malise Gordon · 1993
Dark Holiday
as Charnaud · 1989
Wine of India
as Russ · 1970
The Psychopath
as Mark Von Sturm · 1966
A Family Affair
as Bernard · 2019
The Biko Inquest
as Van Rensburg · 1984
Sharp at Four
as Sutcliffe · 1964
Rabbit Fever
as Ally's dad · 2006
Queen's Messenger
as Foreign Secretary · 2001
Animal
as Dean Frydman · 2005
Flapjack Floozie
as Dr. Kipper · 1988
The Last Resort
as Mr. Carpenter (voice) · 2014
May… I Have This Dance?
as Narrator · 2020
Pygmalion
as Colonel Pickering · 1983