Richard Griffiths, OBE was an English stage, film, and television actor, who was best known for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter film series.
Early years[]
Richard Thomas Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, to Jane Ann (née Denmark, 1899–1976) and Thomas Griffiths (1915–1976). His father was a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, while his mother's occupation was described as "bagger". He had an elder sister and two elder brothers, all of whom died in infancy before he was born. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic.
As a boy he was so skinny that he was given radiation therapy on his pituitary gland when he was eight years old. This permanently slowed his metabolism, making him struggle with obesity for the rest of his life.
His parents were both deaf and he became fluent in British Sign Language at an early age. During his childhood he attempted to run away from home many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-on-Tees at the age of 15 and worked as a porter for Littlewoods for a while but his boss eventually persuaded him to go back to school. He decided to attend a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College. He continued his education in drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre (now Manchester School of Theatre) at the same time as Bernard Hill.
Roles[]
External links[]
Richard Griffiths at the Internet Movie Database- Actors On Performing – Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, April 2006
