Actors
Richard Griffiths
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Richard Griffiths was awarded the OBE in 2008. His role in Alan Bennet’s “The History Boys” won him an Olivier, a Tony, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. He is widely known for playing Vernon Dursley in the “Harry Potter” films, and for “Uncle Monty” in the cult classic “Withnail and I”, just two roles in his packed career on stage, tTV and screen.
The son of deaf parents, he learned sign language at an early age in order to communicate with them. He even developed an ear for dialects that subsequently landed him several ethnic roles. In his childhood he attempted to run away from home many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede school at 15 and worked as a porter for a while, but his boss eventually convinced him to go back to school. Here he decided to attend a drama class at Stockton








