Geoffrey Copleston was prolific character actor and voice dubber who played small roles in more than 100 Italian films and TV productions from at least the mid 1950s and well into the 1990s.
Geoffrey was born 18th March 1921 in Manchester, England[1], but otherwise there's very little biographical information available on him. According to dubbing director Nick Alexander, Geoffrey was a British Army Captain who had married an Italian girl and stayed in Rome after World War 2 ended[2]. Like a lot of other native English speakers living in Rome, he eventually got involved in the dubbing industry, working both as a dubbing director and dubbing actor on the English-language versions of countless Italian films.
He also began appearing in roles on-screen, with his earliest documented role being a tiny part in War and Peace (1956), a Hollywood epic shot on location in Rome. By the mid 1960s, Geoffrey began to appear in larger and credited roles. His heavy build and characteristic face made him in frequent demand for character roles, and he was cast in a lot of tradionally British parts such as Secret Service bosses or Scotland Yard inspectors.
The 1970s saw Geoffrey becoming more and more active in films, and though he typically appeared in very small parts that consisted of only one or two scenes, he was constantly working. He was usually always cast as foreigners such as tourists, ambassadors, army men etc, but not just Brits - he also played Germans, Americans and even Russians. At the same time, his dubbing career also continued and he usually dubbed his own voice for the English-language versions of the films he appeared in, and sometimes also in the Italian-language dubs.
In the 1980s, he began to appear more frequently on television. Indeed, it was for television that he played the role that most Italians remember him for: Alfredo Ravanusa, the powerful bank director with ties to the mafia in the famous TV series La piovra (1984) - a role which he also reprised for the second series in 1986. Also on television, he appeared as Henry Winterbottom, the boss of Bud Spencer's character in the Big Man movies (1988).
His last known acting role was a surprisingly big part in the infamous neo-giallo Fatal Frames (1996). IMDb and other similar sources list him as having passed away in 1999 (no date specified) but with no source or details...
The filmography I've compiled for Geoffrey should be fairly complete at least as far as credited roles are concerned, but there are surely many more uncredited roles to be discovered. Especially in the period from 1956-66, but also from the early 1970s and maybe the 1990s...
[1] Copleston Family History website
[2] Interview with Nick Alexander in the book "Profondo Argento" (2004)
FILMOGRAPHY
- War and Peace (uncredited) .... Russian officer
1963 - La ragazza che sapeva troppo (uncredited) .... Asylum employee
1965 - Due marines e un generale (uncredited) .... High-ranking American officer
- James Tont operazione U.N.O. (uncredited) .... Secret Service chief
1966 - 7 donne d'oro contro due 07 (credited) .... The auctioneer
- Il grande colpo dei 7 uomini d'oro (uncredited) .... Frank Rogers, chief of LBI
- Io, io, io... e gli altri (uncredited) .... Man in train restaurant
- James Tont operazione D.U.E. (credited) .... Secret Service chief
- Perry Grant agente di ferro (credited) .... Chief Bowles
- Superargo contro Diabolikus (credited) .... Conrad
- Un fiume di dollari (credited) .... Horner
1967 - Matchless (credited) .... Officer at the conference
- Riderà! (Cuore matto) (credited) .... Mr. Deline, the movie producer
1968 - 7 volte 7 (uncredited) .... Chief inspector
- Il profeta (credited as Geoffrey Kopleston) .... Commendator Bagni
- L'oro di Londra (uncredited) .... Inspector Jackson of Scotland Yard (recycled footage)
- Tenderly (uncredited) .... Herr Kruger
1969 - Un detective (uncredited) .... Chief of police
- Una sull'altra (uncredited) .... District attorney
1971 - Quelle sporche anime dannate (uncredited) .... Alec Winter
- Scipione detto anche l'africano (uncredited) .... Senator
- Tre nel Mille / Storie dell'anno Mille (credited) .... Knight
1973 - La mano nera (uncredited) .... O'Connor, the assassinated gubernatorial candidate
1974 - Il portiere di notte (credited) .... Kurt
- Pane e cioccolata (credited as Geoffrey Copplestone) .... Mr. Boegli, the restaurant manager
1975 - Giubbe rosse (credited) .... RCMP chief
- Salon Kitty (uncredited) .... Dinner guest
1976 - A Matter of Time / Nina (credited) .... Hotel manager
- Il genio / Le grand escogriffe (credited?) .... Foreign aristocrat
1977 - Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali (credited as Geoffrey Coplestone) .... Wilkes
- Napoli si ribella (credited as Joeffrey Copleston) .... German boss
- Sahara Cross (credited) .... Mr. Brown
1978 - Il grande attacco (credited) .... Colonel Jürgens
- Io tigro, tu tigri, egli tigra - third segment (uncredited) .... Swiss general
- Quando c'era lui... caro lei! (credited) .... Nazi officer
1979 - Aragosta a colazione (credited) .... Mr. Duchamp
- Dottor Jekyll e gentile signora (credited as Geoffrey Coppleston) .... Archibald Gold, P.A.N.T.A.C. manager
- Mani di velluto (credited) .... Mr. Van Clyft
- Return of the Saint (TV series) - episode 22: "Dragonseed" (credited) .... Nightclub manager
- Sam & Sally (TV series) - season 1, episode 6: "Bedelia" (credited in Radiocorriere TV) .... Kellerman
- Viaggio con Anita (credited) .... Automobilist
1980 - Il treno per Istanbul (TV mini series) (credited in Radiocorriere TV) .... Sir Arthur
- L'avvertimento (credited) .... District attorney
- L'uomo puma (credited as Jeffrey Coppleston) .... Sir George Bradley
- Mia moglie è una strega (credited as Jeoffrey Copleston) .... Doorman at the wedding
- Razza selvaggia (credited) .... Marco
- S+H+E (credited as Geoffrey Copplestone) .... UN speaker
1981 - Bianco, rosso e Verdone (uncredited) .... Russian diner in restaurant
- Black Cat (Gatto nero) (credited) .... Inspector Flynn
- Bollenti spiriti (credited) .... Steiner, Nicole's husband
- Don Luigi Sturzo (TV mini series) (credited) .... Cardinal Bourne
- Il caso Graziosi (TV mini series) (credited) .... Police commissioner
- La nouvelle malle des Indes (TV mini series) (credited) .... Keramos
- La poliziotta a New York (uncredited) .... New York chief of police
1982 - Buona come il pane (credited) .... Colonel Vittorio Bisceglie
- Dio li fa poi li accoppia (uncredited) .... Burgomaster of Kellemborg
- L'adieu aux as (TV series) - episode 6 (credited) .... Müller
- Verdi (TV mini series) (credited) .... Mollien, a critic for The Gazzette
1983 - Il tassinaro (credited) .... American tourist
- Notturno (uncredited) .... British ambassador
- Stangata napoletana (credited) .... Don Vincenzo Coppola
- The Winds of War (TV mini series) - episode 7: "Into the Maelstrom" (uncredited) .... Russian officer making a toast at the Kremlin
1984 - ...e la vita continua (1984) (TV mini series) (credited) .... German businessman
- All'ombra della grande quercia (TV mini series) (credited in Radiocorriere TV) .... German official
- Cento giorni a Palermo (uncredited) .... President of the Bank of Milan
- La piovra (TV series) - episodes 1 - 6 (credited) .... Alfredo Ravanusa
- Vediamoci chiaro (credited as Geoffrey Gerald Copleston) .... Commendator Mercalli
1985 - Assisi Underground (credited) .... Police chief Bertolucci
- I cinque del Condor (credited) .... Harker
- Scemo di guerra (credited as Gerald Geoffrey Copleston) .... German commander
1986 - Attentato al Papa (TV mini series) (credited as Geoffrey Gerald Coppleston) .... Bulgarian ex-Secret Service man
- Detective School Dropouts / Asilo di polizia (credited) .... Mr. Hamelfarm
- La piovra 2 (TV series) - episodes 1 & 2 (credited) .... Alfredo Ravanusa
1987 - The Belly of an Architect (credited) .... Caspetti
- The Sicilian (credited as Geoffrey Coppleston) .... Howard Austin, Pathé journalist
- Warrior Queen (uncredited) .... Bidder at slave auction
1988 - Big Man: 395 dollari l'oncia (1988) (TV) (credited) .... Henry Winterbottom
- Big Man: Boomerang (1988) (TV) (uncredited) .... Henry Winterbottom
- Big Man: Diva (1988) (TV) (credited) .... Henry Winterbottom
- Big Man: Fanciulla che ride (1988) (TV) (credited) .... Henry Winterbottom
- Big Man: Polizza droga (1988) (TV) (credited) .... Henry Winterbottom
- Big Man: Polizza inferno (1988) (TV) (credited) .... Henry Winterbottom
1989 - Classe di ferro (TV series) - season 1, episode 9: "Gli scozzesi" (credited) .... Scottish colonel
- I promessi sposi (TV mini series) (credited as Geoffrey Coppleston) .... Merchant
- Il vigile urbano (TV series) - episode 3: "Campa cavallo" (credited) .... Aide to the king of Sweden
- La moglie ingenua e il marito malato (TV) (credited) .... The downstairs neighbor
- Robot Jox (credited as Geoffrey Coplestone) .... Confederation commissioner
- Willy Signori e vengo da lontano (credited) .... Newspaper director
1990 - Frankenstein Unbound (credited) .... Innkeeper
- Il sole buio (credited but not found)
- L'amante scomoda (credited) .... President of the company
- La primavera di Michelangelo / A Season of Giants (TV mini series) (credited as Geoffrey Coppleston) .... Taddeo Taddei
1991 - The Pit and the Pendulum (credited as Geoffrey Coppleston) .... Butcher
1992 - Klon (credited) .... Big boss
1994 - La ragnatela del silenzio - A.I.D.S. (credited) .... Walter's father
1996 - Fatal Frames (credited) .... Richard Fairbrain
English-language dubbing filmography
Since pretty much every single dubbing credit for Geoffrey on the IMDb is wrong, it might be useful to try to compile a more accurate one here. This is obviously very incomplete as I'm just getting started on this, but I'll add to it as I discover more dubbing roles.
- I cavalieri del diavolo (1959) - voice of Duménil (Andrea Fantasia)
- Il terrore della maschera rossa (1960) - voice of Rebel chief (Ugo Sasso)
- Re Manfredi (1962) - voice of Baron Berthold (Aldo Peri)
- Golia e il cavaliere mascherato (1963) - voice of The King's envoy (Loris Gizzi)
- Mondo cane 2 (1963) - voice of The Narrator
- Lo spettro (1963) - voice of Canon Owens (Umberto Raho)
- Maciste nelle miniere di re Salmone (1964) - voice of King Namar (Giuseppe Addobbati)
- Zorikan lo sterminatore (1964) - voice of The Vizier (Nello Pazzafini)
- La donna del lago (1965) - voice of Enrico (Salvo Randone)
- SuperSeven chiama Cairo (1965) - voice of Yussef (Antonio Gradoli)
- Kiss kiss... bang bang (1966) - voice of Colonel Smithson (Carlo Gentili)
- Le spie amano i fiori (1966) - voice of Stan Harriman (Daniele Vargas)
- Il magnifico texano (1967) - voice of Judge Wilkins (Beni Deus)
- Gungala la pantera nuda (1968) - voice of Sir Frederick (Consalvo Dell'Arti)
- Satanik (1968) - voice of Professor Greaves (Nerio Bernardi)
- Concerto per pistola solista (1970) - voice of Thornton the lawyer (Richard Caldicot)
- La furia dei Khyber (1970) - voice of Captain Miller (Sergio Ciani)
- Quando suona la campana (1970) - voice of Don Vincenzo (Brad Harris)
- L'età di Cosimo de' Medici (1972) (TV mini series) - voice of The ambassador of Venice (Ernesto Colli)
- Carnalità (1974) - voice of Aurelio (Pupo De Luca)
- Le calde labbra del carnefice (1974) - voice of Inspector Walton (Manuel Gas)
- Malocchio (1975) - voice of Derek Stevens (Luciano Pigozzi)
- Gli amici di Nick Hezard (1976) - voice of Parker the jeweler (Franco Ressel)
- Sandokan (1976) (TV mini series) - voice of Lord Guillonk (Hans Caninenberg)
- Occhi dalle stelle (1978) - voice of Air Marshal Thompson (Carlo Hintermann)
- Piedone l'africano (1978) - voice of Captain Muller (Carel Trichardt)
- Alien degli abissi (1989) - voice of Reverend Manuel (unknown actor)
- Black Cobra 3 (1990) - voice of Sir Malcolm (unknown actor)
Filmography to be verified
- Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino (1976)
- L'assassino ha le ore contate (1981) (unaired TV series) - episode "Scambio di persona"
- A Fine Romance (1989) (TV pilot) as Krueger
- C'è posto per tutti (1990) as The American
- Le gorille (1990) (TV series) - episode "Le Gorille chez les Mandingues" as Beckstein
- Killer Rules (1993) (TV movie) as Chairman of the board
- La seconda volta (1995) as Stefano (only source is Wikipedia, so dubious)
- L'assedio (1998) as Sweaty man (only source is Wikipedia, so dubious)
No Geoff in sight!
As is seemingly always the case with little-known actors with large online filmographies, there are a couple of films where Geoffrey is listed somewhere as appearing, but is nowhere to be found in the actual films.
- Al di là del bene e del male (1977) - Listed on IMDb as appearing uncredited as "Guest at Malvida's house", but does not appear. Someone has almost certainly confused Geoffrey with fellow voice dubber John Stacy, who often appears in the same type of roles as Geoffrey and who is present here as one of the guests at Malvida's house.
- Black Cobra 3 (1990) - Listed on IMDb as appearing uncredited as "The Senator", but I couldn't find him anywhere. Geoffrey does, however, dub the role of a minor character named Sir Malcolm, so that might be where the confusion stems from.
- The Godfather Part III (1990) - Listed on Wikipedia as appearing uncredited as a priest, but I couldn't spot him anywhere. There are lots of extras in this film, though, so I might of course have missed him.