Hugh Quarshie
Hugh Quarshie is a classically trained actor and Royal Shakespeare Company member who is best known for his extensive theatrical work, film roles including Highlander, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, The Dogs of War, and Red Sparrow, and in 2001 he joined the cast of the long-running BBC hospital drama Holby City playing consultant Ric Griffin in over 500 episodes.
Hugh was born in Ghana and educated in the UK, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Christ Church, Oxford while also performing in several student drama productions. Following graduation in 1975, he embarked on a career in journalism writing for a number of magazines including West Africa before being drawn into Theatre in Education (TIE) in Nottingham and the East End of London. He juggled both acting and journalism professions before committing fully to acting and after roles in the West End and TV, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981. He has since performed a number of seasons with the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, the last being in 2016 when he played the title role in Othello. He is now an Associate Artist of the RSC and was nominated for the Best Actor Olivier Award for his performance in the RSC’s The Great White Hope.
In recent years, he has focused on TV and film roles. In addition to his long standing role in Holby City, he was nominated for a BAFTA Best Actor award for his portrayal of Neville Lawrence in the ITV drama, Stephen.
Other films include Nightbreed, La Chiesa, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Hugh has recently appeared in The Son with Hugh Jackman, and Book Club: The Next Chapter with Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen.
He has narrated a number of documentaries in recent years, and in 2010 traced his Ghanaian roots for the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? He left Ghana with his family for London in 1957 and has lived and worked in several countries in four continents but although he now makes his home in London, he still considers himself something of a nomad with no fixed abode either culturally, ideologically or religiously.
Hugh retains a keen interest in politics and current affairs and continues to write - his monograph on the inherent racism in Othello has been widely read - and in 2017 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East Anglia.
Photo: © David Jensen