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Andrew MacLachlan

Andrew MacLachlan took an unusually winding route to the screen. Born in Trearddur on Anglesey on 27 February 1941, he spent part of his childhood living with his mother in a converted Martello tower at Malahide in Ireland. He later attended St Edward's School, Oxford, before studying at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Cricket came before acting. An all-rounder, MacLachlan made five first-class appearances for Oxford University in 1962, scoring 99 runs and taking three wickets. After graduating, he worked as an English teacher at a prep school, while playing guitar and singing in folk and cabaret clubs in his spare time. He later left teaching and took an office job with the Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association to support his family. MacLachlan was 38 when he decided to try acting. He contacted his Oxford friend Terry Jones, who gave him his first screen role: a Roman centurion in 1979's Life of Brian. It was a late beginning, but it led to a varied collection of film and television appearances rather than a single defining type of part. His film credits included Time Bandits, Who Dares Wins, A Fish Called Wanda, Danny, the Champion of the World and Trauma. He also provided voice-over work for Bob's Birthday. On television, he appeared in Twelfth Night, Play for Today, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and Foyle's War. His final screen appearance came in the 2006 production Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup. MacLachlan's career is notable for the change of direction behind it: from university cricket and teaching to a screen debut near the age of 40, followed by more than two decades of acting work. He died on 17 December 2018, aged 77.