# David Schofield (actor)
**David Schofield** (born 1951) is an English character actor whose screen work spans five decades. He is best known for playing Falco in *Gladiator* (2000), McQueen in *From Hell* (2001), and Mercer, the enforcer for Lord Cutler Beckett, in *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* (2006) and *[Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End](https://www.edgepedia.org/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end)* (2007).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) • [2](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield) Alongside his film and television career he has performed with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company) and held a long association with the [Royal National Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-national-theatre).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951, Wythenshawe, Manchester, Lancashire, England; one of ten children in a working-class family[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) • [2](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield) |
| Training | Student assistant stage manager at a local repertory theater from 1967; student at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art at 19, leaving early to act[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) |
| Signature stage role | First actor to play the title role in *The Elephant Man* in its initial British run (1977 premiere); Olivier Award nomination, Actor of the Year in a New Play, 1980[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516/trivia/) • [4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Schofield/) |
| Feature-film debut | *The Dogs of War* (1980), as Endean's Man[5](https://www.fandango.com/people/david-schofield-597918/film-credits) |
| Best-known film roles | Falco in *Gladiator* (2000); McQueen in *From Hell* (2001); Mercer in *Dead Man's Chest* (2006) and *At World's End* (2007)[2](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield) |
| Other notable films | *An American Werewolf in London* (1981), *The Last of the Mohicans* (1992), *Valkyrie* (2008), *The Wolfman* (2010), *Darkest Hour* (2017)[2](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield) |
| Recent work | Alpöhi in *Mad Heidi* (2022); George Livesey in *Hotel Portofino* (2024, 6 episodes)[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_schofield) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33641/david-schofield) |
## Early life and training
Schofield grew up in [Wythenshawe](https://www.edgepedia.org/wythenshawe), Manchester, one of ten children in a working-class family. His first acting experience came at a Manchester boys' school at the age of 12. In 1967, after taking various odd jobs and writing a letter to a local repertory theater, he was accepted as a student assistant stage manager on the lowest rung of the ladder. He worked in every department as prop-maker, sound-man, writer, stage sweeper, and tea-maker, putting in 14-hour days six days a week.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) • [8](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield)
When he was 19, once two seasons had passed, he enrolled at the [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art). He acquired an agent and left the academy early to work as a professional actor; thirty years later he still retained the same agent.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) • [8](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield)
## Stage career
**The Elephant Man.** Schofield was the first actor to play the title role in Bernard Pomerance's play *The Elephant Man*, in its initial British run; he developed the character's posture for the 1977 premiere. The role was later played on Broadway by Philip Anglim and, briefly, [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516/trivia/) • [9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/david-schofield) The performance brought him an Olivier Award nomination as Actor of the Year in a New Play in 1980.[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Schofield/)
His classical work includes Angelo in *Measure for Measure* and [Mark Antony](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-antony) in *[Julius Caesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/julius-caesar-play)* for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a long association with the Royal National Theatre in productions including *The American Clock*, *Antony and Cleopatra*, *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*, *As You Like It*, and *Plenty*. He has also acted in musicals and straight plays on the West End, with BroadwayWorld credits including *City of Angels* (London production, 1993, as Munoz/Pancho Vargas) and *As You Like It* on Broadway.[8](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield) • [4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Schofield/)
## Film career
Schofield's feature-film debut came in *The Dogs of War* (1980) as Endean's Man.[5](https://www.fandango.com/people/david-schofield-597918/film-credits) The next year he played the darts player in *An American Werewolf in London* (1981); a deleted scene from *Freebird* (2008), included on the DVD, shows him reprising that role, and he is the only actor to appear in both *An American Werewolf in London* and its 2010 counterpart *The Wolfman*, two films that both featured Oscar-winning makeup by [Rick Baker](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-baker).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516/trivia/)
**Blockbuster roles.** In Ridley Scott's Academy Award-winning *Gladiator* (2000) he played Falco, and he played McQueen in *From Hell* (2001).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) During the back-to-back productions of the *Pirates of the Caribbean* sequels he portrayed Mercer, Lord Cutler Beckett's enforcer, in *Dead Man's Chest* (2006) and *At World's End* (2007), and voiced the character in the *At World's End* video game.[8](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield) IMDb's biography instead credits him as "Mr. Mercer" in *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (2003) as well as the two sequels;[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) the presskit-based Pirates wiki and most filmography databases list him only in the two sequels.[8](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield) • [2](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield)
His historical and genre work includes Sergeant Major in *The Last of the Mohicans* (1992), Nikolai in *Anna Karenina* (1997), Rochefort in *The Musketeer* (2001), [Erwin von Witzleben](https://www.edgepedia.org/erwin-von-witzleben) in *Valkyrie* (2008), Constable Nye in *The Wolfman* (2010), and [Clement Attlee](https://www.edgepedia.org/clement-attlee) in *Darkest Hour* (2017).[10](https://www.whatfilmis.com/de/person/939-david-schofield) • [11](https://watch.rdd.media/p/person-david-schofield/) Later films include Peter Carmichael in *Last Passenger* (2013) and Alpöhi, the grandfather of Heidi, in *[Mad Heidi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mad-heidi)* (2022).[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_schofield)
## Television
Schofield's television credits run from early appearances in *Z Cars* and *Van der Valk* through *Our Friends in the North*, *Band of Gold*, *Footballers' Wives*, and *Holby City* to later roles such as Piero da Vinci in *[Da Vinci's Demons](https://www.edgepedia.org/da-vincis-demons)* (19 episodes, 2013–2015), Abbot Eadred in *The Last Kingdom*, Odin in *Doctor Who*, King Alined in the *[Merlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/merlin-2008-tv-series)* episode "Sweet Dreams", Clive Walsh in *Unforgotten* (2021), and George Livesey in *Hotel Portofino* (2024).[12](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-schofield/credits/3030429827/) • [13](https://www.fernsehserien.de/david-schofield/filmografie) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33641/david-schofield)
## Personal life
Schofield lives in England with his wife, Lally Percy, and their children, Fred Schofield and Blanche Schofield; his daughter Blanche appeared in *Emily's Ghost* (1992).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516/trivia/)
## References
1. [David Schofield (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516)
2. [David Schofield, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/people/david-schofield)
3. [David Schofield – Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774516/trivia/)
4. [David Schofield, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Schofield/)
5. [David Schofield Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/david-schofield-597918/film-credits)
6. [David Schofield, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_schofield)
7. [David Schofield, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33641/david-schofield)
8. [David Schofield, Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/David_Schofield)
9. [David Schofield, NetflixMovies](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/david-schofield)
10. [David Schofield, WhatFilmIs](https://www.whatfilmis.com/de/person/939-david-schofield)
11. [David Schofield, rdd.media](https://watch.rdd.media/p/person-david-schofield/)
12. [David Schofield List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-schofield/credits/3030429827/)
13. [Filmografie David Schofield, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/david-schofield/filmografie)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Q to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license