Michael York on AllMovie

Frequently portraying dashing heroes or upper-crust socialites, British actor Michael York appropriately got his start in the theater. He graduated from Oxford University and toured with the National Youth Theatre before his meeting with director Franco Zeffirelli for the 1965 staging of Much Ado About Nothing. Taking him into the world of feature films, Zeffirelli cast the young actor in the roles of Lucentio for the Taming of the Shrew and Tybalt for Romeo & Juliet. York remains best known for his film work of the late '60s, but he also developed a lengthy career in televised adaptations of literary classics. Over a 30-year span, he played key roles in Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Jesus of Nazareth, and several others. His small-screen work began with the role of Jolyon Forsyte on the BBC's 1967 series The Forsyte Saga. He had some of his most interesting roles throughout the '70s, including the swashbuckling D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Count Andrenyi in Murder on the Orient Express, and the title hero in the sci-fi Logan's Run. He also played the bisexual Konrad in Something for Everyone, the expatriate writer in England Made Me, and he brought it all together as bisexual expatriate writer Brian Roberts in Bob Fosse's Cabaret. After a brief stint as a producer, the '80s were a slow time for York's film career and he moved on to countless TV movies, after-school specials, and a reoccurring role on the soap opera Knots Landing. In the '90s, he returned to the stage for Broadway productions of The Little Prince, Bent, and The Crucible. He also authored his memoirs, released in the U.S. under the title Accidentally on Purpose. Younger audiences may recognize him from the Austin Powers movies as Basil Exposition, head of the British Intelligence Agency, or from the Omega Code movies. Since 2000, York has found work playing the headmaster in Borstal Boy, lended his voice to such History Channel productions as Alexander Hamilton, and resurrected his D'Artagnan character for the miniseries La Femme Musketeer.