
Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, he appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Shaw was born and brought up in Holt, Norfolk, and made his acting debut at age eight at a London theatre. He studied acting at Gresham's School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Although he worked primarily on the London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he played one of the two murderers in Rope's End. He appeared in his first film, Caste, in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in films. He described himself as a "rotten actor" as a youth and said his success was primarily due to his good looks. He claimed to mature as a performer only after returning from service in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Shaw was particularly known for his performances in productions of Shakespeare plays which were considered daring and ahead of their time. In 1966, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he remained for a decade and delivered some of his most acclaimed performances. He also wrote several poems and a novel, The Christening, in 1975.
Sebastian Lewis Shaw
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Titles counted once; a person can act and direct on the same film (roles merged).
56
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Directing
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Other crew
Highest TMDB score (min 100 votes)
Highest TMDB vote count (attention / reach proxy; not box office)
Return of the Jedi
1983 · movie
Casualty
1986 · tv
The Spy in Black
1939 · movie
It Happened Here
1966 · movie
Rumpole of the Bailey
1975 · tv
Reilly: Ace of Spies
1983 · tv
The Story of Star Wars
2004 · movie
Men Are Not Gods
1936 · movie
By release / first air year · movie & TV merged
Adventure Ltd.
movie · as Bruce Blandford · ★ 7.0
Brewster's Millions
movie · as Frank · ★ 8.0
Department Store
movie · as John Goodman Johnson · ★ 7.0
The Ace of Spades
movie · as Trent · ★ 6.5
The Lad
movie · as Jimmy · ★ 6.3
The Way of Youth
movie · as Lieut. Alan Marmon · ★ 10.0
Three Witnesses
movie · as Roger Truscott · ★ 6.0