# Ron Cook
**Ron Cook** (Ronald Graham Cook, born 1948) is an English actor who has worked in film, television, and theater since the 1970s. He is known to film audiences for roles in *Hot Fuzz* (2007), *Chocolat* (2000), and *Thunderbirds* (2004), and to stage audiences for a long association with the Donmar Warehouse and the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/) • [2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Graham Cook, born 1948 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/) |
| Training | Graduate of Rose Bruford College; family moved to Coventry when he was six[2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319) |
| Career span | Active in film, television, and theater since the 1970s[2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319) |
| Best-known films | George Merchant in *Hot Fuzz* (2007), Alphonse Marceau in *Chocolat* (2000), Parker in *Thunderbirds* (2004)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/) |
| Highest-rated film | *Secrets & Lies* (1996), rated 95% on Rotten Tomatoes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ron_cook) |
| Olivier nominations | Best Supporting Actor for *Juno and the Paycock* (2000, 1999 season); Best Actor in a Supporting Role for *Henry V* (2014)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/) • [5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/) |
| Recent television | Mr. Crabb in *Mr Selfridge* (ITV, series 1–4), Willi in *Andor* (2022), roles in *Chernobyl* (2019) and *The Witcher* (2019)[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ron-cook/) |
## Early life and training
Cook was born in 1948 in [South Shields](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-shields), Tyne and Wear, in northeast England, the son of a school cook and a car worker. When he was six, his family moved to Coventry, where he attended Wyken Croft Junior School and then Caludon Castle School. He trained at Rose Bruford College.[2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319)
## Stage career
**Theatre has been the center of Cook's working life.** He was in the original 1988 cast of Timberlake Wertenbaker's *Our Country's Good*, in which [Jim Broadbent](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-broadbent) also performed.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/) His credits with the Royal Shakespeare Company include *A Jovial Crew*, *The Merry Wives of Windsor*, *The Crucible*, and *A Winter's Tale*, and he appeared at the Royal Court, the National Theatre, and Hampstead Theatre in productions such as *Glengarry Glen Ross* at the Donmar Warehouse and *Black Snow* at the National.[6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ron-cook/)
His Shakespeare work at the Donmar includes Sir Toby Belch in *Twelfth Night* and Polonius in *Hamlet* during the Donmar's West End season; the *Hamlet* production transferred to Broadway in 2009, where Cook played Polonius and the First Gravedigger.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/ron-cook) • [5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/) He also played the Fool in the Donmar's *King Lear*, which was broadcast as *National Theatre Live: King Lear* in 2011.[8](https://actoragecheck.com/actor/Ron-Cook/5319)
Cook has twice been nominated for Laurence Olivier Awards: for Best Supporting Actor for *Juno and the Paycock* at the Donmar Warehouse (2000, for the 1999 season), and for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for *Henry V* (2014).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/) • [5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/) On Broadway he appeared in the Manhattan Theatre Club's original production of *The Children* in 2017.[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/) More recent stage work includes David Greig's *Europe* at the Donmar in 2019 and the verbatim-theater pieces *Grenfell: Value Engineering* and *Grenfell: System Failure*.[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/)
## Film
Cook's screen career began with comedies including *Scandalous* (1984) and *Peggy Sue Got Married* (1986).[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ron_cook) He worked steadily through the 1990s and early 2000s, appearing in [Mike Leigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-leigh)'s *Secrets & Lies* (1996) as Stuart, *Topsy-Turvy* (1999) as Richard D'Oyly Carte, *Quills* (2000) as Napoleon, *102 Dalmatians* (2000) as Mr. Button, *Chocolat* (2000) as Alphonse Marceau, *24 Hour Party People* (2002) as Derek Ryder, and *Thunderbirds* (2004) as Parker.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ron_cook) • [2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319) In Michael Radford's *The Merchant of Venice* (2004) he played Old Gobbo alongside [Al Pacino](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-pacino).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/) Later film roles include George Merchant in [Edgar Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-wright)'s *Hot Fuzz* (2007), Mr. Cooper in Sam Mendes's *Empire of Light* (2022), Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in *The King's Man* (2021), Hugh Morris in *The Critic* (2024), and Reverend Woodhead in *The Choral* (2025).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/) • [2](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319)
A recurring casting thread is historical figures: he played Napoleon Bonaparte in both the television series *Sharpe* and the film *Quills*, and Lloyd George in Stephen Poliakoff's *The Lost Prince* (2003).[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/ron-cook) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ron_cook)
## Television
Cook's television work reaches back to Dennis Potter's *The Singing Detective* (1986), in which he played the First Mysterious Man, and includes BBC Shakespeare productions in which he took the title role of *Richard III* and parts in the three *Henry VI* plays.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ron-cook/) • [6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ron-cook/) Later credits span *Little Dorrit* (as Chivery, 2008), *Mr Selfridge* (as Mr. Crabb, series 1–4 on ITV), *Chernobyl* (2019, as the old maternity doctor), *The Witcher* (2019, as Borch Three Jackdaws), *[Des](https://www.edgepedia.org/des-tv-series)* (2020, as DSU Geoff Chambers), *The Salisbury Poisonings* (2020), and *Andor* (2022, as Willi, for Lucasfilm/Disney).[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ron-cook/) • [6](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ron-cook/) In 2025 he appeared as [Max Mosley](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-mosley) in the mini-series *The Hack* and as Frank Cook MP in *I Fought the Law*.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/)
## References
1. [Ron Cook – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/bio/)
2. [Ron Cook, Cinema.be](https://cinema.be/en/personen/ron-cook-5319)
3. [Ron Cook, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177267/)
4. [Ron Cook Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ron_cook)
5. [Ron Cook (Actor) – Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cook/)
6. [Ron Cook, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ron-cook/)
7. [Ron Cook Movies on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/ron-cook)
8. [Ron Cook Acting Credits, ActorAgeCheck](https://actoragecheck.com/actor/Ron-Cook/5319)
9. [Ron Cook, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ron-cook/)
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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: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames C to D*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license