Early life

Conti was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, the son of hairdressers Mary (née McGoldrick) and Alfonso Conti. He was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious. Conti's father was Italian and his mother was Scottish.

Conti was educated at Hamilton Park School, an independent Catholic boys' school in Glasgow, and at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

Career

Conti is a theatre, film and television actor. He began working with the Dundee Repertory in 1959. He appeared on Broadway in Whose Life Is It Anyway? in 1979, and in London he played the lead in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell at the Garrick Theatre.

Besides taking the leading role in the TV versions of Frederic Raphael's The Glittering Prizes and Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests, Conti appeared in the "Princess and the Pea" episode of the family television series Faerie Tale Theatre, guested on Friends and Cosby, and played opposite Nigel Hawthorne in a long-running series of Vauxhall Astra car advertisements in the UK during the mid-1990s.

Conti has appeared in such films as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence; Reuben, Reuben; American Dreamer; Shirley Valentine; Miracles; Saving Grace; Dangerous Parking and Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase.

Conti's novel The Doctor, about a former Secret Operations pilot with Intelligence Services, was published in 2004.

He appeared in the hit BBC sitcom Miranda alongside Miranda Hart and Patricia Hodge, as Miranda's father, in the 2010 seasonal episode "The Perfect Christmas".

Conti has been married to Scottish actress Kara Wilson since 1967 and their daughter Nina is an actress and ventriloquist; according to her, her parents have an open marriage.

Conti is a prominent resident of Hampstead in north west London, having lived in the area for several decades. Conti was part of a campaign against the opening of a Tesco supermarket in nearby Belsize Park. Conti put his Hampstead house up for sale in 2015 for £17.5 million after his long running opposition to the building plans of his neighbour, the footballer Thierry Henry. Conti had also opposed development plans for Hampstead's Grove Lodge, the 18th-century Grade II listed former home of novelist John Galsworthy.

Politics

Conti considered running as the Conservative candidate in the 2008 London mayoral election. However he did not, and in the following election in 2012, supported unsuccessful independent candidate Siobhan Benita. In the run up to the 2015 General Election he said in an interview published in several newspapers that " he had come to view socialism as a religion with a "vicious, hostile spirit". and that " Conservatism was about enabling people to improve their lives."

Work

Film City Slacker (2012) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Run For Your Wife (2012) Streetdance 2 (2012) Rekindle (2011) The Tempest (2010) A Closed Book (2010) Dangerous Parking (2007) O Jerusalem (2006) Rabbit Fever (2006) Paid (2006) Derailed (2005) The Enemy (2001) Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1999) Out of Control (1998) Something to Believe In (1998) Sub Down (1997) The Inheritance (1997) Someone Else's America (1995) Caccia Alla Vedova Shirley Valentine (1989) Two Brothers Running (1988) Roman Holiday (1987) That Summer of White Roses Beyond Therapy (1987) The Quick and the Dead (1987) Miracles (1986) Heavenly Pursuits (1986) Saving Grace (1985) American Dreamer (1984) Reuben, Reuben (1983) Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) Full Circle (1977) The Duellists (1977) Galileo (1975) Slade in Flame (1975)

Television Andy Pandy (narrator) Donovan (aka DNa) I Was a Rat Deadline Cosby Friends, "The One After Ross Says Rachel", and "The One with Ross's Wedding" The Inheritance The Wright Verdicts The Old Boy Network Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase Fatal Judgement The Dumb Waiter Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story Faerie Tale Theatre - "Princess and the Pea" The Wall Rosemary's Baby Blade on the Feather The Norman Conquests The Glittering Prizes Sam Barlow at Large Z Cars Adam Smith Thirty-Minute Theatre - Revolutions: Fidel Castro Boy Meets Girl Lark Rise to Candleford Miranda Parents

Stage Whose Life is it Anyway? The Real Thing Chapter Two Present Laughter The Ride Down Mt. Morgan Romantic Comedy They're Playing Our Song The Devil's Disciple An Italian Straw Hat (1986) Jesus, My Boy (1998-99, 2009) Twelve Angry Men (2014)

Stage directing The Last of the Red Hot Lovers Present Laughter Otherwise Engaged

Awards

• National Board of Review for Best Actor (Reuben, Reuben and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence)
• Academy Award nomination as Best Actor (Reuben, Reuben)
• Golden Globe nominations for Reuben, Reuben and Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story
• Tony Award for Best Actor (Whose Life Is It Anyway?)
• Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play ('Whose Life is it Anyway?)
• Variety Club Award for Best Actor (Whose Life is it Anyway?)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]