Philip Madoc was a Welsh actor who had many television and film roles, including the lead role in the detective series A Mind to Kill, the eponymous hero of The Life and Times of David Lloyd George and famously, a Uboat captain in an episode of Dads Army.
Madoc was born Phillip Jones near Merthyr Tydfil and attended Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School, where he was a member of the cricket and rugby teams, and displayed talent as a linguist. He then studied languages at the University of Wales and the University of Vienna. He eventually spoke seven languages, including Russian and Swedish, and had a working knowledge of Huron Indian, Hindi and Mandarin. He worked as an interpreter, but became disenchanted with having to translate for politicians I did dryasdust jobs like political interpreting. You get to despise politicians when you have to translate the rubbish they spout. He then switched to acting and won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art .
Source: Wikipedia