Kenneth Colley

Kenneth Colley

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.

Acting

2025

The Institute
Tv

Gate Guard #5

2013

Peaky Blinders
Tv

Vicente Changretta

2011

Vera
Tv

Ronald Devreux

2009

2002

Foyle's War
Tv

Brian Jones

1999

Relic Hunter
Tv

Professor Lamenza

1998

1998

1997

1996

1993

Peak Practice
Tv

Stan Jordan

1993

Unnatural Causes
Movie

Inspector Gerry Reckless

1992

Between the Lines
Tv

Chief Supt. Tattersall

1992

Heartbeat
Tv

Clive Harris

1992

1991

1989

1987

1986

1986

1986

Casualty
Tv

Arthur Cobb

1986

Casualty
Tv

Clifford Watkins

1985

Mussolini: The Untold Story
Tv

King Vittorio Emmanuele

1984

1983

1982

1982

Firefox
Movie

Colonel Kontarsky

1981

1978

Les Misérables
Movie

Police Prefect

1978

Pennies from Heaven
Tv

The Accordion Man

1978

Hazell
Tv

Unknown

1977

Jabberwocky
Movie

1st Fanatic

1976

1975

Lisztomania
Movie

Frederic Chopin

1975

Flame
Movie

Tony Devlin

1974

1974

Juggernaut
Movie

Detective Brown

1974

1973

1972

The Triple Echo
Movie

Provo Corporal

1972

Crown Court
Tv

Stanley Meredith

1971

The Boy Friend
Movie

King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)

1971

1971

The Music Lovers
Movie

Modeste Tchaikovsky

1970

Performance
Movie

Tony Farrell

1967

How I Won the War
Movie

2nd Replacement

1967

1964

The Wednesday Play
Tv

Bethold Florenberg

1963

Seventy Deadly Pills
Movie

Covent Garden porter

1961

Infos

Full Name
Kenneth Colley
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
12/7/1937
Date of Death
6/30/2025
Also Known As

Kenneth Cooley

Ken Colley