Andrew Keir

Andrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s. He is best remembered for starring as Professor Bernard Quatermass in Hammers film version of Quatermass and the Pit . He also originated the role of Thomas Cromwell in Robert Bolts play A Man for All Seasons .

Keir was born Andrew Buggy in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of a coal miner, and had five brothers and one sister. At 14, he left school to work down the coal mine alongside his father. He started acting by chance, when he went to meet a friend at the Miners Welfare Hall, and one member of the cast of an amateur dramatics production being performed at the Hall had failed to turn up. Keir was persuaded to take the minor role of a farmer in the play, and enjoyed the experience so much that he later became a regular in the groups performances.

Source: Wikipedia