Ian Richardson Movies and Career Information

Ian William Richardson CBE (7 April 1934 – 9 February 2007) was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor. Richardson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Margaret (née Drummond) and John Richardson. He was educated at Balgreen Primary School and Tynecastle High School in the city, prior to training at the College of Dramatic Arts in Glasgow. After a period at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (at what is now the Old Rep), he subsequently appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), of which he was a founding member, from 1960 to 1975. Although he later achieved fame in film and television work such as House of Cards (1990), Ian Richardson was primarily a superb classical stage actor. His first engagement after training was with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where his performance of Hamlet led to an offer of a place with the RSC. He was a versatile member of the company for more than fifteen years, playing villainy, comedy and tragedy to equal effect. He was The Herald in Peter Brook's production of Marat/Sade in London and on Broadway in