Nigel Hawthorne

Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne CBE was an English actor. He portrayed Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role, he won four BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying King George III in The Madness of King George . He later won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor, for the 1996 miniseries The Fragile Heart. He was also an Olivier Award and Tony Award winner for his work in the theatre.

Hawthorne was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, the son of Agnes Rosemary and Charles Barnard Hawthorne, a physician. When Nigel was three years old, the family moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where his father had bought a practice. Initially they lived in the Gardens and then moved to a newly built house near Camps Bay. He was educated at St Georges Grammar School, Cape Town and, when the family moved, the now defunct Christian Brothers College, where he played on the rugby team. He described his time at the latter as not being a particularly happy experience. He enrolled at the University of Cape Town but withdrew and returned to the United Kingdom in the 1950s to pursue a career in acting.

Source: Wikipedia