Flashback: 11 April 1991

Here’s what we were broadcasting 33 years ago today…

Where Do I Know That Actor? (Harry Potter Edition)

Unless you’ve been asleep since the turn of the century, you’re no doubt are aware of one of the biggest blockbuster cinematic franchises ever – Harry Potter. The eight films premiered over a period of ten years starting in 2001 and it’s no exaggeration to say they made an immense impact on pop culture. Later this week, HBO Max will present a reunion of many of the series’ actors and, as I watched a promo for this much-anticipated event, I couldn’t help but notice how many faces I knew from PBS programs.

In celebration of this celluloid juggernaut, I thought it might be fun to cast an eye (or spell) towards the cast of the Harry Potter franchise and see just who’s who from public broadcasting fare.

To start with, Daniel Radcliffe plays the titular hero, Harry Potter, aka The Boy Who Lived. He was John Kipling in the 2008 Masterpiece production of My Boy Jack (based on David Haig’s 1997 play). However, going back to 1999, we see that Radcliffe made his acting debut as David Copperfield in a 2000 adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic on Masterpiece Theatre.

The late Richard Harris played Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. While it is true that Harris is best known for film, he did appear once on Masterpiece Theatre in the mid-90s – as Ernest Kandinsky in The Great Kandinsky.

Wednesday Trivia Question

On what MYSTERY series did Miranda Richardson play a housewife out to rescue her kidnapped children?

Set against the backdrop of a changing Europe and German reunification, this political thriller first aired on BBC2 in 1990. The six-part miniseries was later broadcast on MYSTERY during the anthology series’ 11th season.

Miranda Richardson (The Lost Prince) played Sidonie Reiger, a mother whose two children are kidnapped by her ex-husband, a former radical activist. Frederic Forest, Hans Kremer, Derek Fowlds and Sam Cox also appeared.

Where Do I Know That Actor?

Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is supposed to be the mystery writer’s best-selling novel with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide. The classic mystery has been adapted for radio, stage, TV and film numerous times since its original publication. One of the more recent, a three-part 2016 BBC mini-series, debuted Saturday night on UNC-TV and featured a veritable who’s who of actors from other public broadcasting fare. Let’s meet them.

Aidan Turner portrays soldier of fortune Philip Lombard. Of course, Turner is best known as the dashing Ross Poldark on the hit Masterpiece series.

Sam Neill is General John MacArthur. The Jurassic Park actor has had a long and storied career but longtime PBS viewers may recall him as Sidney Reilly on Reilly: Ace Of Spies on Mystery! Neill also played Victor Komarovsky on an early-aughts Doctor Zhivago (starring Keira Knightly) and Mr. Prettiman on To The Ends of the Earth.